Dealing with Dry, Itchy Skin While Pregnant

One of the lesser-known symptoms of pregnancy is dry, itchy skin. Dealing with dry, itchy skin while pregnant can be totally annoying! Even in warmer and humid climates, like Florida, pregnancy hormones can wreak havoc on your epidermis causing parched skin. In areas where snow and teen temps are typical, it's a given to have dry, flaky skin. The lack of moisture outside often equals the lack of moisture in your skin, unfortunately! All that said, there are some solutions for you!

Break out the Jergens

1. ) Remember the huge bottle of Jergens your grandmother kept by her side? Yea, it was there for a reason! You need to be using a ton of moisturizer, especially as your skin stretches to capacity, and thus, loses moisture faster than a giant rain cloud! Lotions that contain humectants (molecules that help the skin retain water rather than lose it, usually drawn from the environment), vitamin E, and emollients. The combination of humectants and emollients ensures that you are not losing moisture, whether it's water or natural oil, and that the lotion or creme fully absorbs into the skin, making it less dry. More moisture means less itchiness. Between pregnancy growth and dry air, a good moisturizer is a necessity. Look for brands that target dry and dehydrated skin so that oils and water are replaced and retained.

2.) Up your water intake! Yes, you really hear it everywhere and generally speaking, your body tells you when you are thirsty. That said, sometimes we ignore it and sometimes we don't decipher thirst. Also, pregnancy tends to make many of us neglect water for fear of our grouchy organ called the bladder. It's already decided to work triple-shifts, why add more, right? Well, because then you trade in tolerable bathroom breaks for angry skin. Your pick. But remember, the body needs more water as your blood volume is doubling to grow that tiny human. The first place it's gonna take from? Your skin.

3.) Lastly, choose comfortable clothes. Wool is warm and all, but damn if it's itchy. Because pregnancy increases sensory reception, anything remotely textured, wooly, itchy is going to feel a thousand times worse, especially if you're already prone to dry skin. Some of our favorite fabrics for pregnancy and winter include modal, 100% cotton, Jersey, and linen. The best solution is to layer up and wear accessories that are warm. In Florida, this isn't as big a deal, except for this past week, but usually, you can get away with a long-sleeved shirt and light cardigan. Nana-nana-boo-boo to our pregnant comrades in the Tundra.

So, the takeaway? Get more lotion, more water, and softer clothes to better deal with dry, itchy skin while pregnant.