After delivery of your baby, hormonal changes make your uterus contract and shrink back to its pre-pregnancy state. It takes time to get rid of the sagging skin on your belly. But with effort and perseverance, getting back to the original shape is not impossible. In this harveycliniccare post, we share tips that might help tighten belly skin after pregnancy.
Tips To Tighten Belly Skin After Pregnancy
The following ways might help in restoring and tightening loose stomach skin after pregnancy. However, they may not work the same way for all.
1. Eat healthy
Your skin requires nutrients to maintain its elasticity. Therefore, you need to take enough nutrients for the skin to remain resilient and soft. Have a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and fats to promote elasticity and the tightening of the loose skin. Eating healthy food may also help in a few more ways:
Fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and strawberries, contain vitamins A and C. Vitamin A can help prevent drying of the skin while vitamin C helps produce collagen that gives firmness to the skin.
Almonds, sunflower seeds, and hazelnuts contain healthy fats. They also have vitamin E and antioxidants that help keep the skin healthy .
Sweet limes, oranges, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries promote collagen production that helps in tightening the skin. Vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, beetroots, and bell pepper are also good sources of collagen.
Zinc-rich foods, including pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, cashews, and mushrooms, also might help in tightening the skin.
Protein-rich foods such as eggs, pulses, soy milk, sprouts, and quinoa may tone the muscles.
2. Exercise to lose weight gradually
Exercise can help tighten the saggy skin by strengthening the abdominal muscles. It helps you lose excess weight, tones stomach muscles and reshapes your body. Exercising also promotes circulation, which improves oxygen supply to the tissues and helps boost collagen and elastin.
Your exercise routine may include:
Cardio exercises that help tone the abdominal muscles by burning the excess fat. You may try brisk walking, jogging, riding a bike or swimming. But talk to your doctor about how soon you can start exercising after your delivery.
Strength training exercises strengthen and tone the muscles, which help improve the skin’s elasticity. Cycling, crunches, and leg raises are some of them you may try.
Add variation to your exercise by either starting with a cardio or strength training. Warm-up and stretch before you begin the workout. Try changing the exercise protocol every two weeks since you may get bored with the same workouts every day.
3. Breathing correctly
Before you involve in any exercise regimen or activity, correct your breathing rate. Breathe in deeply through your nose and let the air fill your lungs. Exhale slowly through the mouth to empty the lungs. The expansion and contraction of the belly through breathing may also work in tightening the loose skin.
4. Keep a healthy mind
Do not lose your calm if you are unable to tighten your belly skin. It takes time, and you need a healthy mind to focus on it. Involve yourself in activities that will keep you happy.
Practice deep breathing and meditation
Listen to your favorite music
Play with your little one
Have some outdoor activities such as gardening
Utilize the baby’s sleep time to take a nap. A research study states that new mothers who slept for less than five hours a night are less likely to lose their baby weight and have also gained extra weight.
Focusing on your emotional and mental well-being will contribute to physical wellness that is essential to work on the loose belly skin. But you will require patience to attain the results.
5. Drink water
Staying hydrated promotes and maintains the skin’s elasticity. Keep drinking water regularly throughout the day. It reduces water retention and burns calories, which can make the loose skin less noticeable. Using a moisturizer also contributes to the skin’s ability to tighten skin.
6. Breastfeed your baby
Breastfeeding is helpful for both you and your baby. A few studies show that breastfeeding might help a new mother lose a few extra calories a day.
7. Exfoliating your skin
Exfoliation promotes new skin growth that will be healthier and tighter than the old skin. It also improves blood circulation, which creates new skin and promotes elasticity. Use a loofah or a bath brush to scrub on your belly while taking a bath.
Some homemade exfoliating scrubs you may try:
Combine one egg white with half a teaspoon of lemon juice and two tablespoons of sea salt. Mix well and massage onto your belly.
Combine half a cup of oatmeal powder, two cups of sea salt and a few drops of olive oil and grape seed oil, and scrub on your belly.
8. Try belly wraps at spa
Getting a skin wrap at the spa may add firmness to the skin, but it is temporary. A spa wrap contains sea salt, powdered kelp, clay, algae, or nourishing oils. All of them detoxify the skin and help in tightening it.
9. Go for a massage
Getting an abdominal massage can promote blood circulation. However, check with your doctor before including it in your routine. You may use olive oil to rub the tummy line since the oil contains antioxidants .
How Long Does It Take To Tighten Belly Skin?
The speed and degree of transition will depend on various factors. For some, it might just take a few months while for others, it may take longer. A few contributing factors are:
- The size of the belly before conception
- The weight gain during pregnancy
- Activity levels during pregnancy
- Bone structure
- Genes
Do not worry if you are unable to reduce the belly skin even after being active, eating healthy and nutritious food because maintaining a healthy lifestyle and being healthy and happy are more important than tightening one’s belly skin