Getting Pregnant vs Clear Skin: Which Would You Choose?

“Were you afraid to get pregnant knowing that it would cause your Rosacea to flare up?”

I get asked this question a lot on Instagram, especially by those who would be first time moms and have no idea what to expect in pregnancy.

The short answer: YES

Long answer: Grab a cup of coffee, because this might take a moment.

My Rosacea Pregnancy Story: Baby #1

When I got pregnant with my first son, I was 26 going on 27 years old. Up until that time, I’d only struggled with cystic acne and I had completely bought into the common myth of the “pregnancy glow.” You know, the one where everyone tells you that your hormones cause your skin to have this youthful dewy look that’s radiant and healthy…

I’d had some luck controlling my acne as a teen by using birth control and so I figured that maybe if I got pregnant, the hormone shift would make my skin better - like it did when I was on the pill. What I got instead was a crash course on how hormones affect women with chronic skin conditions while pregnant. The prognosis - It makes it 10x worse.

In the first trimester, my skin didn’t change at all.

In my 2nd trimester, I started noticing red flaky patches across my cheeks and forehead. It was winter, so I purchased an exfoliant and heavy moisturizer and called it a day. I was still convinced that clear skin was on the horizon.

By the end of my 3rd trimester, it looked like someone had rubbed sandpaper across my face. By the time I went into labor, my skin tone went from red to deep purple.

It wasn't until after I delivered and talked to a dermatologist that I was told I had Rosacea. Up until that point, I’d never even heard of it.

My Rosacea Pregnancy Story: Baby #2

After delivering my first son via an emergency c-section, I was given two very strong antibiotics through an IV to prevent infection. Not only did it help in my recovery from surgery, but it also had an unexpected benefit of clearing my skin up completely. At the time, I didn’t realize there wasn’t a cure for Rosacea. I just assumed that I would only have issues if I was pregnant.

When the time came to grow our family, I was nervous about getting pregnant because I knew that my rosacea issues would come back. Again, however, I concluded that perhaps it wouldn't be that bad as long as I was prepared to treat it with “all natural” “clean” skincare products. I invested in oils, cleansers, and serums all made with “healing” essential oils and no “chemicals.”

In the first trimester, I started to get red, tiny bumps across my face. No big deal, I’ll just cleanse more often and use a stronger serum.

In the second trimester, the rosacea and acne took over my face. I saw a dermatologist who told me to stop using the skincare products I’d placed my hope in. Essential oils are essentially fragrance, which is a HUGE trigger for rosacea. Also, the extra cleansing was stripping my skin allowing the rosacea to spread and worsen.

By the start of my third trimester, rosacea had become a runaway train across my face. It was so bad that I don’t even have pictures of it. I was in a deep depression, not leaving my house, and could barely lay my face on my pillow at night because it hurt so bad. I went back to the dermatologist who told me the pregnancy hormones were the main culprit and that antibiotics were necessary otherwise I could go blind (the rosacea had spread to my eyes).

My Rosacea Pregnancy Story: Baby #3

After my experience with my second pregnancy, I became obsessed with learning more about rosacea—Not from skincare companies or blog posts from beauty bloggers, but from research-based scholarly articles.

I realized I only had a small part of the picture of my rosacea:

Yes, hormones seemed to play a part, but how?
Skincare product choices also seemed to have a major impact, but why?

In the first trimester, I didn’t have a ton of skin issues. I focused on a minimal ingredient skincare routine, tried to get as much sleep as I could (for hormone regulation), and exercise as much and as gently as possible (also hormone regulation).

In the second trimester, my worst fears played out. The rosacea came back, seemingly overnight, and with a vengeance. In the span of two weeks, I went from having a few red spots to having my entire face covered with red, itchy, infected lesions. So I pared down my skincare routine even more and adopted a plant-based diet. I also saw my dermatologist and got a medicated topical lotion safe for pregnancy. This was also the time when I started documenting my skin journey on Instagram and created this blog.

By the start of my third trimester, my rosacea was still very much present, but it was no longer painful or infected. Even though my skin was still red, I found a place of acceptance both through the acne and rosacea community on Instagram, but also within myself.

I sacrificed my skin to have my babies.

My journey with rosacea is intimately tied with my one of motherhood. Both have been stressful, up and down health wise, and overall extremely rewarding. I don’t regret having children and believe it or not, I don’t resent developing rosacea.

Having rosacea is proof of my unconditional love for my children—and myself. Even equipped with the knowledge that my skin violently reacts to pregnancy hormones, I chose to have my babies. It’s cheesy, but I knew I loved them before I even met them, and being pregnant with them taught me new dimensions to who I am as a person that I didn’t realize were there before. I learned to face the world with my bare skin and through embracing my red face I found that what I look like on the outside is ZERO reflection of who I am on the inside.

What about you? Would you make the choice to start/grow your family knowing your rosacea could worsen?

Today’s post is the first of a series of posts where I answer YOUR questions about rosacea. You can leave a comment on this Instagram post or send me an email with whatever you’d like to know more about.

lifestyleKristin MorasOctober 19, 2020pregnancy8 Comments