Category Archives: Pregnancy

Our Facebook Birth Announcment

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Because most ultrasound pictures are just boring grey blobs, I wanted to spice up our recent Facebook announcement for the arrival of our daughter this fall (yay!) I was inspired by a PInterest photo (of course) that I put our own little spin on. Playing on the blue/pink boy/girl theme, I used Mike’s blue running shoes, my pink Manolos that I wear far too infrequently, Harper’s Converse, and a pair of her baby shoes that she outgrew many months ago. I think it turned out pretty cute. What a fun way to celebrate our growing family!

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Jessica Alba and the Case for Wearing Corsets

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If this woman can have the world’s smallest waist by wearing a corset for the last 15 years, then Jessica Alba’s recent confession about getting her waistline back in order after kids by wearing a corset seems likely.

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Alba told Net-A-Porter mag, “After birth I wore a double corset for three months. It was sweaty but worth it.”

I had a similar experience after the birth of my daughter when I wore a hospital issued binder to keep my cesarian incision compressed and comfortable. I instinctively wore it round the clock for months just for relief but my stomach did get back to its normal state fairly quickly. (Of course Tracy Anderson’s post-baby workout helped too, but I waited 6 weeks to heal before doing any exercise.)

Hourglass Angel has corsets and waist sinchers especially for this sort of thing. Next time around I think I’ll grab something like this that’s made especially for waist slimming which might offer better support for my incision as well.

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Things I Buy: Ole Henriksen

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When I was pregnant one of the first things I did was switch out my skincare. Goodbye Retin A and all the other hardcore products that keep my face properly sanded down and presentable. See ya later good skin- or so I thought. After some research I found that AHA’s, lactic acid, and a most natural exfoliating ingredients were safe to use so I looked into Ole Henriksen, a brand I’d been sent to review in the past and always really liked. I remembered their natural-yet-effective spin on skincare so I bought Sheer Transformation for a light moisturizer that would also aid in keeping dark spots away. (Sidebar: there’s no stopping that melasma when it comes on, you just have to wait until after the baby is born to tackle it and let it fade out on its own.)

Fast forward to today when I’m out of nearly everything and need to actually buy things because all of the samples on my desk are for skin types unlike my own. I remembered how much I loved my Ole Henriksen so I headed into Sephora to grab another Sheer Transformation. I had also read great reviews on their Walnut Complexion Scrub ($24) which I tried first on my hand- it’s gritty but not too chunky and foams up so I grabbed a jar of that too. I’ve also wanted to try the Invigorating Night Gel ($45) which is a big fave among Sephora reviewers for keeping pores cleaned out and skin really clear and bright. My Sephora bonus gift was Ole too! Small sized Truth Serum Collagen Booster, Ultimate Lift Eye Gel, Sheer Transformation, and Invigorating Night Gel.

I’m always excited to try some new skincare especially when I already know I’ll love it.

Check out the line HERE at Sephora.com.

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In my car after Sephora- the car is parked of course..

If Angelina Jolie Dermarolls, So Shall I

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In my laser-obsessed haze I totally forgot about my Dermaroller. I got it a while back from my estician extrodinare Tjaden at the Skin Studio here in Denver, but we waited to use it until my face had calmed down and gotten to a more peaceful state like it is now. Pigmentation issues aside, pregnancy really cleared up my skin – I hardly had a breakout the whole time and my skin is still in a good place now 11 days out from delievery (fingers crossed!)

Anyway, this little roller is covered in fine point needles designed to create micro punctures in the skin so it’s forced to heal itself which then brings new skin in that looks even better. It’s the same principle that’s behind laser treatments, just a different means of getting those results. It works for stretch marks, acne scars, pigmentation, and keloid scarring. I was Googling around getting more info about it when I saw THIS LA TImes piece about how well it works and how celebs like Angelina Jolie attribute their great skin to Dermarolling (a.k.a. microneedling) so I was excited to know that I already own a really effective treatment that I can use to start tackling my melasma right away.

I’ve totally oversimplified what it does, the article explains it better as does this vid from the show The Doctors below.

Here’s mine.


The box


The roller


The size

I’ll consult with Tjaden to get a specific regimen, but I’ve already used it a few times on my chest where i have some freckles (a nice way to say ‘sun damage’) but I only did one pass, not the back and forth like THIS article says to do. I also don’t know what to put on over it once I’ve rolled. If you use something like a straight vitamin c serum, it might be too acidic and burn my skin (!) since it’s all opened and vulnerable. Some say that the rolling is enough though and not to worry about products on top. I have some scary ‘before’ pics of my melasma from the delivery room with no makeup and my pigmentation in all of its glory, I’ll let the rolling begin and hopefully have some good ‘afters’ before long.

Do some research before getting one on the size of needles, construction, how to clean it, etc., HERE is a bunch of rollers on Amazon.com that start at around $20.

Yay Himalaya Neem Cleanser, Boo EvanHealy

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When I first found out I was pregnant I was freaked out by changing my skincare routine. Hey later, Retinol. See ya around, Benzoyl Peroxide.. I’m so screwed. Hardworking acids and harsh yet effective treatments were commonplace for my can-take-anything skin so the thought of using just nuts and berries for 9 months had me in a panic. Coming off Botox was bad enough, but now the thought of my true, chemical-free face being revealed was too much to bear. I was doomed to many months of breakouts without any reasonable relief. Always favoring a natural solution first, I headed over to Whole Foods in search of something safe.

Recommended to me were two things, one I love and will buy over and over again- it’s this Himalaya Neem Face Wash, a lightly foaming cleanser I use with my Clarisonic daily. It looks a little like an aloe gel without a discernible scent and works great with natural ingredients, and costs like $7. Sold.

Also highly recommended (as in she practically forced me into buying) was this EvanHealy Blemish Kit $34 containing their Pomegranate Repair Serum, Tea Tree Gel Cleanser, Blemish Treatment Roll-On, Green Tea Clay, and Lemon Thyme Facial Tonic Hydrosol. I found the line to be a shining example of what’s wrong with natural and organic lines. Sure on paper the ingredients used are supposed to be antiseptic and healing for blemish-prone skin, but in practice nothing worked and the scents were gag-inducing – especially the Pomegranate Repair Serum. My skin was decidedly worse after a few faithful weeks of use, it caused a massive breakout that my skin hasn’t experienced before or since I stopped using it. Total waste of money. I can’t speak for the rest of the line, but as far as this kit goes, I’d say there are far better options out there.

I did eventually put together a safe, effective skincare routine (which you can find HERE) that has worked perfect – my skin hasn’t looked so good as is has these past 8 months. Maybe it’s my foreskin cream? I’ve found that I need a little bit of science mixed in with nuts and berries, that’s just how my skin rolls.

My Safe Skincare During Pregnancy Segment on Denver’s Everyday Show

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Here’s a look at my segment from this morning’s Everyday show where I brought my person arsenal for keeping skin looking great during pregnancy. Don’t mind the microphone pack in my back pocket, I thought I was going to be on the other side…

Here’s a list of what I brought along with pricing and links out to the products:

For stretch mark prevention and to soothe dry, itchy skin:

Coconut Oil
One Love Organics Skin Savior $68

For acne and oily skin:

Glytone Cleansers $30

Obagi Exfoderm Forte $58

For melasma, acne scarring, and discolorations:

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation $45

For wrinkles and fine lines:

Trilogy Organic Rosehip Oil $44

Everything I brought were products I use daily and love (you can tell by the Ole which had finger dips in it) so it’s a great lineup even if you’re not pregnant but just looking for safer, chemical-free alternatives.

Again, see the segment HERE