How to Eliminate Loose Skin After Pregnancy

Pregnancy tends to bring so many changes to the skin. After delivery, these changes tend to disappear, but you might notice some loose skin. The fact that skin constitutes elastin and collagen makes it susceptible to expansion due to weight gain. After the stretching, it might be challenging to return it to its former shape. Having loose skin may affect women emotionally, especially if they want their prepregnancy bodies back. Here are ways to tighten the skin after pregnancy.

1. Consume Healthy Proteins and Fats

Proteins are a source of collagen, and therefore consuming them together with healthy fats will promote muscle growth. An individual’s need for proteins is unique due to factors such as exercise, weight, and height. In case you are breastfeeding, ensure you increase your consumption of proteins.

2. Come Up with a Cardio Routine

If your goal is to tone the muscles and burn fats, engage in cardiovascular exercises. These include swimming, walking, riding a bike, and jogging. Before starting a new routine, consult your doctor to know whether it is okay to work out. Start with slow exercises and gradually increase the intensity. Exercising regularly helps to minimize and prevent excess skin.

3. Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated helps to promote elasticity which tightens loose skin. Ensure you consume a lot of water daily, a minimum of eight cups. Water is so healthy since it also helps to burn calories and minimize water retention in the stomach.

4. Engage in Strength Training

Strength training exercises help to tone and shape your body muscles. Building your muscle tone has an impact on your loose skin. Try exercises that tighten your hip, core, and glute muscles like yoga, Pilates, and barre classes. This will help to lengthen and tighten your skin by improving muscle tone.

5. Use a Skin Firming Product

The underlying muscles are a major determinant of your skin’s firmness. The underlying muscle is what offers support and pulls the skin to promote tightness. However, you can also increase your skin tone by applying a skin firming product with ingredients like vitamin C, collagen, and retinoids. Ensure you massage the firming gel gently into your hips, stomach, breasts, and thighs twice daily.

6. Maintain a Calm and Healthy Brain State

Most women get frustrated when they try to tighten their loose skin after pregnancy, especially when there are no visible results. The process of eliminating loose skin is slow and gradual, which means that you will need to remain calm and avoid stress.

Here are ways you can boost your mental state during this recovery period:

* Listen to favorite music
* Play with the baby
* Tell yourself patience is a good virtue
* Take deep breaths whenever frustration starts hitting
* Nap when the baby naps
* Meditate

Give yourself permission to kick back and relax. You’ve definitely earned it! You can utilize any resources available in your life to help take the load off, such as family members and friends. Don’t be afraid to reach out to these resources when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

7. Use Skin Wraps

Skin wraps are a great option for special occasions since they are temporary. The skin wraps contain the following:

* Sea salt
* Algae
* Minerals
* Nourishing oils
* Clay
* Powdered kelp

8. Consume Collagen Supplements

Collagen is a structural protein that helps in rejuvenating your loose skin. As stated above, consume foods such as chicken, pork, beef, fish, grains, and vegetables which are rich in protein. To ensure your body is getting a sufficient amount of collagen, add a collagen supplement.

If you are breastfeeding, worry not since collagen consists of amino acids which are naturally occurring in the body. That means that your baby is familiar with metabolizing and digesting this nutrient hence no side effects.

9. Get Enough Sleep

Due to the changes that have taken place in your body while giving birth, your body will use a lot of energy to repair itself. It is advisable to get enough sleep to give your body what it requires to bring back the pre-baby form. Unfortunately, a newborn comes with so much responsibility, and it might be hard to get enough rest.

To fall asleep faster, check on the following:

* Get the right mattress
* Ensure your room is dark
* Avoid caffeine
* Cool your room

It’s important to allow yourself to nap when the baby naps. Ensuring that you are on a relatively similar sleep schedule with your newborn allows you to tackle the day with more energy and less stress.

Pregnancy brings about a lot of changes in your skin. As the belly grows, the skin expands. Most women have loose stomach skin after giving birth. If you are self-conscious regarding loose skin, try to employ any of the above techniques to tighten your skin and feel better.