acne when pregnant

You know my sister, Molly, the super awesomest of us all who founded Brooklyn Herborium, that I’ve talked about a few times and times. She wrote this guest post over at Well Rounded NY a while back about 5 skins tips for the pregnant woman whose face is being assaulted by her own bod. You know how it goes. — Hormones are amazing. They enable us ladies to become pregnant in the first place, given that they are the body’s chemical messengers. They also are the culprits in some of pregnancy’s less charitable contributions to our skin in the 9 months leading up to birth. The good news is that the vast majority of pregnancy-related skin woes will disappear post-birth. But in the mean time, there are some lovely herbal remedies for alleviating their presence here and now. (I’m writing these recommendations both as a pregnant woman and as an herbalist who makes skincare products.) 1) Acne. As if exhaustion and bloating weren’t enough to think about, acne of pregnancy can be an unfortunate curse for some women. Your hormones can cause your natural sebum (human skin oil) production to go into overdrive (as happens during puberty). This in turn can lead to plugged pores, infection and oxidized papules. Simply put, blackheads and pimples, along with an oily sheen can make your hard days much worse. NOTE: Because of serious risk of birth defects, the anti-acne prescription drugs, such as Accutane and Retin-A, cannot be used during pregnancy (and we don’t think those…