The Importance Of Self Care + Clean Beauty During Pregnancy

The radiant  pregnancy glow is real but so is navigating hormonal breakouts, skin sensitivity and the oh-so-dreaded adult acne. Don’t fret — these skin impurities are normal and navigating the beauty minefield that is pregnancy might seem daunting but we’re enlisting the trusted help of Fitglow Beauty Makeup Artist, Stephanie Neiheisel, a.k.a. Goth Gloss Creative, who shares her pregnancy beauty hacks, her new pregnancy beauty habits and the importance of clean beauty. 

Being pregnant is an exciting time! What's been your biggest 'aha' moment when it comes to your beauty routine pre-pregnancy to now during your pregnancy? 

It’s absolutely so exciting. We are super excited to welcome baby girl! I was really lucky when it came to my overall beauty routine and skincare routine. I’ve been using clean/organic/non-toxic skincare and beauty products for years already and working in this industry really helped me to already have a good regimen already in place. However, I had to take things into account like natural retinols and Vitamin A’s, etc.. to ensure I was safe to use them. I highly recommend people research specific ingredients! Even though I’m educated in skincare, there was still a lot I didn’t know about. Knowledge is power!

What's your favourite beauty ritual to unwind and unplug during a busy work day?  

Washing my face is my FAVOURITE part of the day. My boyfriend always laughs at me and says “for a makeup artist, you sure do love removing your makeup.” I always remove my makeup with an oil and following up with a cleanser. Double cleansing is something I really believe in. I make sure to spend time massaging my face too. I don’t always use face rollers, sometimes my fingertips are just fine. But that facial massage helps me end my days.

Stephanie recommends: It's super important to cleanse your skin and remove all traces of makeup so your skin can heal during the night. Use the Makeup Cleansing Oil followed with Detox Cleanser to give your skin a deeper cleanse. 

What's the one skin condition you're dealing with during pregnancy and how are you combatting it? 

Bacne! Like what the?! I’ve been using products to help heal the blemishes and moisturize the skin to help them heal faster. I believe letting my body do its thing and helping it heal is more productive than fighting it with exfoliators or masks. I let it come through so that later I won’t scar. I make sure to put sunscreen on too.

Stephanie recommends: Use the Detox Cleanser in the shower all over your body or those stubborn parts suffering from breakouts. The activated bamboo charcoal in the Detox Cleanser helps remove pore-clogging oils to help combat blemishes. 

Why is clean beauty important during pregnancy and beyond?

Clean beauty, in my opinion, should be important no matter what stage of life you are in. The skin is your largest organ and absorbs 60% of everything applied to it directly into the bloodstream. Kind of scary when you think about how many products & ingredients you are applying daily. I started being concerned about skincare and diet my senior year of High School. So basically for the last 15 years, I’ve been on a mission to live a clean lifestyle including my skincare and makeup! 

The one new beauty habit you've taken up since being pregnant? 

I’m WAY better about moisturizing my body now that I’m pregnant. Before I was kinda lazy about it but now I make sure to moisturize my body every morning and night. You lose so much moisture during pregnancy so I want to stay hydrated and hopefully stay away from stretch marks.

What does your morning and night time skincare routine look like? 

I always use an oil cleanser to remove my makeup then I follow it up with my daily face cleanser. I own a few so I switch up my 2nd cleanser depending on what my skin needs that day/week. Then I apply my eye cream, sprits my face with a toner, apply my moisturizer, then sunscreen, and as always top my lips off with the Fitglow Night Serum. I LIVE for that product. Wearing it to bed at night helps my lips so much. I do the same routine at night only I skip the sunscreen and apply a subtle essential oil blend to my neck to help me sleep.

What's in your Fitglow Beauty goodie bag? 

What ISN’T in my Fitglow beauty bag?! Seriously I own everything and I send people to Fitglow daily to shop. If I could only pack 1 small makeup bag it would include the- Night Lip Serum, the Corrector+ Peach, the Gleam Lip Serum, Good Lash mascara, Lumi Buff, and the Night eyeshadow palette.

What are your go-to beauty tips and tricks to feeling your best? 

I truly believe it starts with good skincare. Whenever someone messages me about needing a routine, I get them completely started on Fitglow skincare and makeup. Helping people target their skincare needs, THEN having them use products like Fitglow that deliver so many healthy ingredients to the skin will just prolong their benefits over time and they will looking glowing and glam at the same time. One thing that drew me to Fitglow was that I could have that “glam” look without ever looking or feeling cakey. It's the perfect “less is more, but make it glam!” combo. 

The one Fitglow Beauty item you can't live without? 

The Night Lip Serum. That thing is gold!