Postpartum skin care: what to expect after birth

Your skin does not go back to normal the moment your baby arrives. Hormone levels drop quickly, your barrier is still recovering, and the changes of the postpartum months are their own distinct phase. This article explains what is happening, what settles on its own, and what is appropriate to use while you are breastfeeding. If you want the full picture from conception onwards, start with how skin changes during pregnancy.

What happens to your skin after birth?

Most pregnancy skin changes begin to reverse after birth, but they do so slowly and not all at the same pace. The vascular and oil gland changes of pregnancy are driven by hormone levels, and as those levels fall, the flushing, shine and increased oiliness generally settle over the following months.¹

The more useful finding for the postpartum months is about your skin barrier, the outer layer that holds water in and keeps irritants out. In a small longitudinal study of 52 first-time mothers, water loss through the skin rose across pregnancy and was highest, above the normal range, at two months after birth.²

Your barrier is measurably at its most fragile after your baby has arrived, not while you are pregnant. It explains why so many women find their skin feels tight, flaky or newly reactive in the early postpartum weeks, when they expected the opposite.

What is normal after birth, and what settles on its own?

Most postpartum skin and hair changes resolve without treatment, though the timelines are longer than most women expect. Here is what to expect from the four most common ones.

Why is my skin so dry after having a baby?

Postpartum dryness is common and reflects a barrier that is still recovering, with water loss through the skin peaking around two months after birth.² Broken sleep, feeding through the night and long hot showers all add to it.

The response is not more product. It is the right kind of product, used consistently. Moisturisers that contain ceramides, the fats that hold your skin barrier together, restore barrier function measurably rather than just sitting on the surface. In one clinical study, a moisturiser containing a ceramide precursor improved barrier function within four weeks.³

Glycerin works alongside them by drawing water into the upper layers of the skin, so a formula that pairs the two does both jobs.

Our moisturiser for pregnancy is built around this pairing, with three ceramides plus glycerin, squalane and shea butter. It is the same formula you were using while pregnant, and it is exactly what postpartum skin needs a lot of.

Is postpartum hair loss normal?

Postpartum hair loss is normal, extremely common and temporary. During pregnancy, higher hormone levels keep more hair follicles in their growing phase for longer. When those levels fall after birth, that larger group of follicles shifts into the shedding phase at once.⁴

The result is a heavy shed that feels alarming and is not. In a study of 331 women surveyed 10 to 18 months after delivery, 304 of them, or 92%, reported postpartum hair loss. On average it started at 2.9 months, peaked at 5.1 months and ended at 8.1 months after birth.⁵

So the shedding you notice at three months is on schedule, and it typically finishes within a year. Handle your hair gently, avoid tight styles while it regrows, and speak to your GP if the shedding continues past 12 months or comes with fatigue, as iron and thyroid levels are worth checking after a birth.

Will melasma go away after pregnancy?

Melasma improves for most women after birth, though not for everyone and not quickly. Melasma, the patchy facial pigmentation often called the mask of pregnancy, affects between 36% and 75% of pregnant women, and up to 30% of cases persist after delivery, sometimes for years.⁶

That means roughly 7 in 10 women see their pregnancy melasma fade once hormone levels settle. Give it several months before deciding it is permanent.

Sun exposure is the factor most within your control. Melasma darkens with ultraviolet light, so daily sun protection matters more than any other single step, particularly through an Australian summer.

If your pigmentation is still there after a few months, a serum for pigmentation during pregnancy is appropriate to continue postpartum and while breastfeeding. Our guide to hyperpigmentation vs melasma explains what you are looking at and why the two respond differently.

Do stretch marks fade after birth?

Stretch marks fade but do not disappear. They affect between 50% and 90% of pregnant women and after birth they gradually lose their pink or purple colour and settle into paler, flatter lines.⁷

Nothing you apply will remove them, and any product promising that is overstating what topical skincare can do. Moisturising will not prevent them either, though it does help with the itching and tightness that often come with them.

Prescription retinoids and laser treatments have the best evidence for improving their appearance.⁷ You should consider talking to your dermatologist about these options after birth.

What is reasonable in the meantime is keeping the skin comfortable and well moisturised, and giving the marks time. Most of the fading happens over the first year, and they continue to become less noticeable well beyond that.

Which skincare ingredients are safe while breastfeeding?

There is some skincare that is considered appropriate to use while breastfeeding. To understand more about this, read our article on skincare ingredients to avoid during pregnancy (and what to use instead).

The one clear exception in that guidance is hydroquinone, which should be avoided because it is absorbed through the skin in significant amounts.⁸

The general principle is simple. Almost nothing you apply to your face reaches your milk in a meaningful amount, so the practical concern is direct contact rather than absorption. Anything applied near your chest can transfer to your baby's skin or mouth during feeding, which is why guidance consistently advises keeping products off the nipple and areola.⁸

Every nātelle formula is appropriate to continue throughout breastfeeding. Nothing needs to change when your baby arrives. If you want to check a specific product, our full ingredient list sets out what is in each formula and why.

Can you use retinol while breastfeeding?

Topical retinoids are handled more cautiously during breastfeeding than most other skincare ingredients, and the specialist guidance is to use them sparingly rather than to rule them out. Dermatology guidance recommends applying them to the smallest area for the shortest time necessary, and never to the nipple or areola.⁹

Australian guidance is more conservative again, noting that prescription tretinoin should not be used in pregnancy, while vitamin A in over the counter cosmetics is present in small amounts and minimally absorbed.⁸

Our position is that you do not need to make this decision at all. Bakuchiol delivers comparable results to retinol on lines and pigmentation, with better tolerance, in a randomised double-blind trial.¹⁰ It is a reasonable choice for the postpartum year, and our article on bakuchiol during pregnancy covers the evidence in full.

If you would like to return to a prescription retinoid, raise it with your GP or dermatologist rather than deciding alone.

How to build a postpartum skincare routine

Keep it short, and lead with barrier repair. In the first three months after birth, the goal is a calm, comfortable barrier, not a new set of results.

Cleanse once or twice daily with something that does not strip. Our hydrating cleanser is the gentler of our two cleansers and suits skin that has become reactive.

Moisturise morning and night, without exception. This is the step that does the work in the postpartum months.

Add sun protection every morning, especially if you are watching pigmentation.

Once your skin feels comfortable again, usually somewhere between 2 and 4 months, reintroduce your serums. Brightening in the evening if pigmentation is your concern, vitamin C in the morning if dullness is.

The Postpartum Kit is built in this order.

This article is intended as general educational information and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider or dermatologist before making changes to your skincare routine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.