During pregnancy, the skin of the belly, hips and breasts stretches week by week, and it often feels drier and tighter than usual. The kindest thing you can do for it is simple: moisturise those areas every day with a body oil or cream made for pregnancy, and give the ritual a few unhurried minutes. Below is how to choose between an oil and a cream, how to apply them, and the formulas we would choose for each.
If you have any questions about using a product during pregnancy, ask your midwife or doctor.
Why Does Skin Feel Different in Pregnancy?
Skin is supple, but it is being asked to change shape over a matter of months. Where it stretches most, across the belly, the hips, the thighs and the breasts, it can feel taut, dry and less comfortable than the rest of the body. Moisture helps that feeling: skin that is well cared for feels softer, moves more easily and is simply more pleasant to live in.
What a Stretch Mark Cream Can and Cannot Do
Many of the formulas made for this moment carry the words "stretch mark" on the pack, and it is worth being clear about what to expect. How skin marks during pregnancy depends on many things, and no cream or oil can promise an outcome. What a good formula does is cosmetic and genuinely worthwhile: it helps skin feel hydrated, soft and supple, and it makes a daily moment of care out of something that could otherwise feel like a chore. That is how we have chosen the pieces below.
Body Oil or Body Lotion?
Both do the same job in different ways, and the right one is the one you will enjoy using every day.
- A body oil glides, which makes it ideal for a slow massage. Dry-touch oils sink in quickly, so you can dress soon after.
- A body lotion or cream feels lighter on warm days and is quick to smooth on in the morning.
- Many people use both: a cream by day and an oil in the evening, when there is time to massage.
Body Oils Made for Pregnancy
Lierac's Phytolastil Massage Oil is a light oil that absorbs quickly without a greasy residue, with a soft scent of cotton and white blossoms; the house describes it as suitable for pregnant women and all skin types. Its pump makes it easy to warm a little in your hands before massaging it in with slow circles. Suavinex's Essential Stretch Mark Care Dry Touch Body Oil is made for daily care throughout pregnancy and beyond, with a dry-touch finish and a pump bottle, and the house notes it has been dermatologically and gynaecologically tested. E'lifexir's body oil for the look of stretch marks and scars pairs organic Centella asiatica with rosehip oil in a blend of eight oils, and the house describes it as compatible with pregnancy, the weeks after birth and breastfeeding. Bio-oil's Specialist Skin Care Oil, for face and body, is built around its own PurCellin Oil for a light, spreadable feel, and its record lists it as suited to pregnancy skin care.
- Phytolastil The Massage Oil
- Essential Stretch Mark Care Dry Touch Body Oil
- Anti-Stretch Marks and Scars Oil
- Specialist Skin Care Oil
Body Lotions and Creams for Pregnancy
Sebamed's body cream for sensitive skin is made for sensitive skin during and after pregnancy, with avocado oil and shea butter in a pH 5.5 formula, and the house suggests applying it daily throughout pregnancy. E'lifexir's body emulsion is a comforting, fast-absorbing emulsion for skin that is changing with time, movement or pregnancy, with nourishing olive-derived fatty acids, in a practical tube. Mustela's L'Essentiel Multi-Purpose Lotion comes from the house's maternity care: a fragrance-free milk texture that sinks in without greasiness, which its record notes is suitable while breastfeeding, smoothed over the body with gentle upward strokes.
- Sensitive Skin Anti-Stretch Mark Cream
- Anti-Stretch Mark Emulsion
- L'Essentiel Multi-Purpose Lotion Body Lotion
How to Apply Body Oil and Cream in Pregnancy
- Choose a time you can keep: after a bath or shower, while skin is still slightly warm, suits most people.
- Pat the skin almost dry, then warm a little oil or cream between your palms.
- Work in slow, light circles over the belly, then sweep up over the hips, the thighs and the sides of the waist.
- Smooth the cream or oil around the breasts with light upward strokes.
- Give each area a minute. The point is a gentle massage, not pressure.
- Repeat every day. Regular care is what keeps skin feeling comfortable.
When to Start, and How Long to Continue
There is no need to wait for the bump to show. Beginning early makes the ritual a habit before skin feels tight, and many people carry it on for the months after birth, when the same areas are still adjusting. Several of the formulas above are described by their houses as suited to the weeks after birth or to breastfeeding as well.
Scent, Sensitivity and a Patch Test
Many people find their sense of smell sharpens in pregnancy, so a scent you loved before may feel too much now. If so, a fragrance-free formula such as Mustela's lotion is a calm choice. Skin can also feel more sensitive than usual: try any new product on a small area first and wait a day before using it more widely. If your skin becomes very itchy, sore or a rash appears, stop using the product and speak to your midwife or doctor.
If you have any questions about using a product during pregnancy, ask your midwife or doctor.
When the time comes to care for your baby's skin too, our Baby Skincare guide walks through a gentle daily routine. For now, choose one oil or cream you look forward to using, and give it five quiet minutes each evening.
