When flamingos first give birth and are raising their young, they lose their pink color for a while. Once their babies get more independent, they’re able to nourish themselves better and start to regain their beautiful pink hue. That pink disappearing and reemerging is perfectly symbolic of the mental and physical journey the average new human parent takes after giving birth.
Being a second-time parent, the fourth trimester was a little easier to navigate this time around. Meaning, I was able to prioritize my self-care a bit more easily, and thankfully, find my pink again. Even before delivering Mackenzie I knew I wanted to get back to my normal beauty and health routine ASAP. To the point where I packed my retinol night cream in my hospital bag – I just missed it so much! Being able to devote more energy and attention to myself this time, these are the health & beauty products I’m deeming my favorite postpartum products.
Favorite Postpartum Skincare Products
When I tell you the first thing I packed in my hospital bag was my retinol night cream, I am so serious. I couldn’t wait to get back to my normal skincare products because pregnancy overtakes your poor skin. Some of these are ones I’ve been using for years, others are recent postpartum additions.
My Longtime Skincare Products
The products I’ve used the longest are primarily from the moisturizer category. I found ones I loved years ago and with the exception of the retinol night cream, I was able to still use all of them during pregnancy.
My morning moisturizer routine is very simple. I use goPure Vitamin C Moisturizer. Since there’s the potential for makeup in the morning I don’t lay on too many products, and vitamin C is wonderful for hydrated, glowing skin.
At night, I recently started using my retinol cream every other night. On off-nights, I sub in a non-retinol moisturizing cream. We’re coming out of a very dry winter and I have needed all of the extra moisturization I could get. I may switch back to only using retinol night cream once we hit late spring, we’ll see.
Lastly, I use the goPure Neck Firming Cream on the neck and décolleté area. It’s specifically for this area and has a firming agent in it that I like for anti-aging.
Recently Added Postpartum Products
On my quest to add better skincare products to my sink, I came across Sunday Riley. After trying their Sunday Riley Jewel Box sampler I was hooked.
In particular, I really like the Luna Night Oil in this box. It has the most pleasant chamomile scent and has been wonderful for my skin before bed.
Good Genes is one of their most popular products. It’s a day and night anti-aging serum that I apply after the Luna Night Oil, before my moisturizers. Always follow the thinnest-to-thickest rule when applying skincare! I only use Good Genes at night though, because I use the CEO Glow Serum in the morning and another product just seems like overkill.
I recommend Sunday Riley for a full-system routine if you’re looking for one. However, if even the Jewel Box is more than you’re looking for right now, they also have a CEO Glow and Luna Duo. You can see how you like those two products and go from there!
Favorite Postpartum Products for Hair Health
Ever since five months after my first baby I’ve been using the Divi scalp serum. I had a brief moment where I thought I somehow avoided postpartum hair loss, but nope! And there’s a lot of products out there preying on newly postpartum moms afraid of the hair loss, so be careful.
I didn’t use any special vitamins or pills, just this hair serum that was developed by a mom who suffered from hair loss even before having her children. It’s been way more affordable than any of those major brands that target worried postpartum moms.
Combining my Divi regimen with the use of a silk pillowcase (not satin, there’s a difference), a SleepyTie and avoiding hot tools as much as humanly possible, I’ve been able to promote noticeably healthy regrowth without doing extra damage in my sleep. Even my hair stylist says she sees all kinds of little hairs starting to regrow when she’s washing and styling!
SleepyTie
Okay, but what the heck is a SleepyTie, right? It’s a genius silk hair accessory comprised of a solid half moon shape opposite two silk scrunchies. You wrap your hair around the solid half-moon shape holder and then secure it with the two scrunchie pieces afterwards.
Though, it’s not only one of my favorite postpartum products, it’s also quickly become one of my favorite hair products. It literally saves your hair and your time. It’s a mom’s dream! I made this short how-to video on LTK a while back and their website also has a tutorial.
This setup preserves not only your hair, but your hairstyle. Thus enabling you to go multiple days without using hot tools on your hair while still having beautifully styled hair.
Favorite Postpartum Vitamins
With both pregnancies, I was still finishing my bottle of prenatal vitamins even after delivering. They’re still a very viable multivitamin. In fact, OBGYN’s recommend taking them postpartum for various reasons. For me, I simply didn’t want to waste perfectly good vitamins. Once those were gone I switched over to a woman’s multivitamin.
Jury is still out if I like taking gummies as much as capsules, simply because I’m currently wearing my Invisalign 24/7 and it’s annoying to take them out just for vitamins. However, these have been great for me, functionally speaking. The bottle instructs you to take six per day, which feels SO excessive. I take three per day to supplement my already very mindful diet and feel the benefits just fine.
Do what’s best for you, but if you’re eating well, theoretically you don’t need as much supplemental nutrition. But also… why can’t we just pack the nutrition into less gummies so people don’t have to eat six? Questions I’d like the answers to!
For me, doing everyday pre-pregnancy things like my normal skincare routine was what helped me “get my pink back” after my second child. Then, I took it next level by finding some better products a few months ago and my skin has never felt better!
Combining my upgraded skincare with a better diet and regular exercise via tennis has really made me feel like I’ve never been in better health. Here’s to good health and beauty products, and even better healthy habits!
