Best Aesthetic Treatments for Moms for a Little Self-Care

For women who have experienced pregnancy and childbirth, you know that while it was a beautiful process, there are ups and downs. We don’t all experience that usual pregnancy glow and no matter your personal experience, pregnancy and childbirth can take a toll on your body. Further, motherhood can be demanding on your time and energy, reducing your opportunity for a little self-care as you work to ensure your family is happy and healthy. This is a trend that carries on as children grow, but believe it or not, it’s easier than you think to make time for seeking out a little self-care, particularly with today’s advances in aesthetic treatments.

Just as pregnancy and motherhood are truly unique experiences, your own aesthetic concerns and body goals following pregnancy and childbirth are unique to you. Find the perfect, customized treatment plan that meets your unique aesthetic goals with the following top aesthetic treatments for moms.

Common Changes Experienced Following Pregnancy or Childbirth

The physical changes of pregnancy and childbirth can be dramatic and long-lasting. While a standard recommendation is for women to return to their pre-pregnancy weight within a year after gaining 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy, a recent study shows that 75% of American women who were normal weight when they became pregnant were heavier a year postpartum. In fact, almost half were more than 10 pounds heavier than their pre-pregnancy weight. 

If you’re concerned about stubborn fat around the abdomen, then, you may take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. But this just one of the typical changes many women experience post-pregnancy. While far from an exhaustive list, the following are just some additional changes that may be expected:

• Lax skin around the abdomen
• Stretched and/or separated abdominal muscles
• Stretch marks on the abdomen, buttocks, and thighs that are pink, red, or—when chronic—white
• Cellulite related to hormonal and weight fluctuations
• Scars from caesarean sections, which typically are horizontal lines about six inches long when healed
• Melasma, characterized by discoloration or darkening of the skin, usually on the face, that is triggered by hormonal changes (just one of the ways skin changes during pregnancy)
• Spider veins on the face due to hormonal changes and increased blood volume during pregnancy

Effects of Pregnancy and Childbirth on Self-Esteem and Self-Care

The cumulative effect these changes can have on our self-esteem is all too common. Research shows that our self-esteem sees a significant blow during pregnancy and the early years of motherhood, with mothers of three-year-old children reporting the lowest self-esteem. While some physical changes may be a welcome sign of a healthy pregnancy, it can be difficult to see our bodies warp into new shapes, showing signs with which we are unfamiliar and causing struggles with identity and self-esteem.

While poor body image can sometimes be fought off with diet, exercise, and a little work on the inside, bouncing back to our pre-pregnancy shape through lifestyle changes alone is no easy feat. Fat and cellulite can be stubborn, skin may not want to bounce back, melasma may not fade, and being mothers, there is little time for self-care as we put our children first. It also doesn’t help seeing #fitmoms and celebrities posting on social media who seemingly regain their pre-baby bodies overnight, while new moms struggle to just find some time for a quick sleep or a hot cup of coffee.

In the end, it is easy to feel depleted caring for everyone in your life but yourself. To look your best and be able to offer the best version of yourself to your family, you need to take a little time to yourself, to work on your own goals and do something just for you! That’s where aesthetic treatments may step in.

The Most Popular Aesthetic Treatments for Moms

Scheduling in an aesthetic treatment helps to keep your commitment to your me-time while working on restoring a better sense of self by rejuvenating and reversing some of the most common aesthetic changes that often linger post-pregnancy. By realigning your aesthetic appearance with your own self-perception, you can help to restore your confidence, which has a positive effect on other areas of your life. To get started, consider one or more of the following top aesthetic treatments that are perfectly suited for moms.

Skin Tightening Treatments

Rapid weight gain in the third trimester of your pregnancy, when your baby is growing at its fastest rate since conception, is entirely natural and a sign of a healthy child. However, rapid stretching of the skin to accommodate your growing baby bump and the decline in stretch following childbirth can leave skin appearing loose and lax afterward. For those concerned with the appearance of loose skin, skin tightening treatments utilizing Multi-Polar Radio Frequency (RF) combined with Pulsed Electro MagneticFields (PEMF) can help. These treatments deliver energy deeper below the skin’s surface where it’s converted to heat, spurring increased collagen and elastin production while encouraging skin cell renewal to repair stretched skin and recoup skin’s elasticity for a smoother, firmer silhouette. With sessions taking a maximum of 30 minutes, these skin tightening treatments for moms are an easy way to schedule a little self-care around the daily demands of motherhood. The treatments are comfortable and can actually be quite relaxing, making for a nice little break for busy moms.

Body Contouring and Cellulite Reduction Treatments

Radio frequency is also considered one of the most effective non-invasive technologies for cellulite reduction and body contouring. With weight gain experienced in the abdomen, hips, and thighs during pregnancy and a sharp drop in estrogen post-pregnancy, which is linked to decreased collagen production and skin elasticity, pregnancy often increases our likelihood of developing cellulite. Further, as mentioned earlier, many women experience difficulties shedding those little pockets of fat gained during pregnancy well after childbirth. Both stubborn fat and cellulite may be effectively treated using RF-based body contouring or cellulite reduction treatments. These treatments deliver RF energy deep below the skin’s surface to break down fat cells . A benefit in cellulite reduction treatments, this technology may also be used to promote increased collagen and elastin production, improving skin laxity and smoothing out cellulite’s bumps and dimples. RF technology is proven to be safe and effective for all skin tones and treatments can be completed in quick sessions lasting no more than 30 minutes.

Photofacial Treatments

While melasma often fades as hormone levels decline following childbirth, it is not uncommon for melasma to stick around. Similarly, spider veins resulting from pregnancy-related hormonal shifts stick around following childbirth. To treat both melasma and spider veins, you might consider photofacial treatments. Utilizing Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technology, these popular treatments address spider veins by delivering heat energy to the targeted veins, which triggers the vein walls to collapse. Over time, the treated spider veins gradually disappear as they get absorbed by the body. Treatment sessions take just 20 minutes maximum, making it easier for new moms to sneak away from the little one for some quick me-time. Similarly, when resolving melasma, photofacial treatments target the higher concentrations of melanin that are at the root of the discoloration. IPL technology destroys melasma, setting off a signal to skin to begin its natural healing cycle to replace damaged cells via healthy skin cell renewal. The result is a clearer, more even-toned complexion.

Skin Resurfacing Treatments for Stretch Marks and C-Section Scars

Concerns regarding the visibility of caesarean-section scarring and stretch marks are common, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting 32% of North American births are by C-section and up to 90% of women develop stretch marks during pregnancy.

In reducing the appearance of stretch marks and C-section scarring, skin resurfacing treatments featuring NanoFractional RF™ technology have been proven effective.

Delivering NanoFractional RF technology delivered through tiny pins that penetrate the skin’s surface, these skin resurfacing treatments spur skin’s natural healing process, with skin cell renewal helping to repair signs of skin damage, including stretch marks and C-section scars, visible on the skin's surface. The micro-dermal wounds created by the pins are so small that this treatment is much more comfortable compared to some other skin resurfacing treatments, while still producing visible results at the completion of your treatment plan. Overall, these skin resurfacing treatments are simpler, faster, and much more convenient with very minimal downtime, making them the perfect aesthetic solution for busy moms.

Take the First Step…

Ready to get started scheduling in some me-time to meet your personal aesthetic goals? Use the search field below to locate a provider near you and to book a consultation for a customized treatment plan.