The Pregnancy Mask. My nose, cheekbones, forehead, upper lip and a little on my chest, have all got what can only be described as splashes of darkened skin. I first noticed it a few weeks ago (probably around the week 15 mark of pregnancy) and scrubbed my chest thinking it could be a build up of suncream but nothing came off, the darkened skin stayed. I then forgot about it until I noticed dark areas on my face.
I vaguely remember hearing about pregnancy hormones causing skin changes but I didn’t expect it to be so obvious. Chloasma or melasma gravidarum (another gravidarum word), is the official name. It’s related to pregnancy hormones and is often called the ‘mask of pregnancy’ as the blotchy skin on the face can appear in the shape of a mask. I’m fortunate in that my hormones seem more balanced while pregnant than ever before in terms of no emotional outbursts… but it’s definitely playing havoc with my appearance.
Apparently it’s common with darker skin tones and is likely to disappear after I give birth but it can also stay. I also read that 50-70% of women actually experience this in their first or second trimester, so it’s fairly normal. I can’t even blame it on the sun as I wear SPF 50 on my face and always cover it with a hat. I never ever sunbathe with my face directly in the sun!
I’ve mostly just covered it with makeup when I’ve actually made the effort…. but a few natural remedies I’ll try:
- Lemon juice (the acidity helps to peel off the outer skin layer)
- Turmeric (lighten the blotchy areas)
- Eating more fibre
- Drinking even more water
If you are reading this and know of a quick fix for melasma during pregnancy, please do share! I recently read that Jenna Dewan Tatum, you know that hot wife of Channing Tatum, suffered with pregnancy melasma too. She spent two years trying to treat it and eventually succeeded with Coolaser by Dr Ourian at Epione Beverly Hills (the Kardashian beauty Dr of choice). So there is a way to remove it permanently but it’ll cost ya!