Brooke Tucker-Reid, momstown Writer
There aren’t many skills new moms can borrow from their teenaged selves, but looking less tired when necessary might just be one of them. No longer are you sleep deprived due to an all-night rager, but rather you’re sleep deprived due to a little rager in footy jammies who kept you up all night. Le sigh.
I’m not out of the woods yet. My two-year-old still wakes up at night a couple of times per week. She usually times it pretty well when I’ve got a big meeting or an early morning the next day. Here are a few beauty tips and tricks I’ve learned along this delightfully chaotic journey we call motherhood.
Beautiful mind
To this day I maintain that the best pieces of advice I received about surviving the early days of my maternity leave came from a colleague of mine. She told me to promise myself I would shower every day, and also leave the house every day, even if it’s only for a short walk. Doing both of those things really helped me gain some perspective on those days where I felt stressed, exhausted, frustrated and confined. I found when I took (and carefully planned) a few minutes to take care of myself, I felt a lot better inside.
Take care of your skin
The LAST thing I wanted to do after getting the baby down for the night was wash my face and moisturize before bed. Do it. Muster up that last little bit of energy you have in the name of acne-free, supple, glowing skin. Also, if you’re breast feeding you’re probably thirsty all the time and drinking an insane amount of water anyway, but keep the H2O consumption high to keep your skin looking hydrated.
Nothing a little make-up can’t fix
If all else fails, there’s always makeup. Splurge on a good concealer to mask those dark eye circles. Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with a white eyeshadow, white eyeliner or an eye brighter to make you look more awake. Doing just those two things will make a big difference. Still have a few minutes to spare? Slap on a quick coat of mascara and a little cheek tint. You’ll feel like a whole new person in less than four minutes.
The Mombre
What is a mombre you ask? A mombre is essentially an unintentional ombre. This happens when a mom lets her roots grow in so much it starts to turn into an ombre. I neither condone nor condemn this “trend” but I died laughing the first time I read about it. I hope you found it as clever as I did.
Postpartum frizz begone
I don’t know about you, but my hair has really gone through the ringer since I was pregnant. First my hair was lustrous and thick while I was pregnant, then it started looking a little sparse when my daughter was an infant. Now it’s grown back but I’m left with a lion’s mane along my hairline. To help tame the frizz, I moisturize my hands then run my fingers along my hairline. Spraying a toothbrush with hairspray before combing the frizz down also works well.
I know it can seem daunting to do anything other than care for your newborn, but taking time to care for yourself is important too.
What are some of your new mama beauty tips?
