Stretch Marks Home made Salve

Oh stretch marks…

I got them with my first, and have since gotten rid of them, even through four more pregnancies (and I haven’t gotten any new ones).

I think it is largely due to the healthier diet and lifestyle I’ve adopted during that time, but today I’m also sharing my salve that I make to help keep belly skin smooth during pregnancy. I call it Tiger Salve since I’ve often heard stretch marks referred to as “Tiger Stripes.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my stretch marks and wouldn’t trade a second of motherhood for perfect abs, but I also prefer to avoid getting any more stripes! I do think that diet is a crucial part of pregnancy health though, so this alone won’t keep stretch marks away for everyone…

This salve is designed to keep skin supple so that it can accomodate a growing belly, but also to sooth any skin irritation that accompanies pregnancy. It’s also super simple to make, so I can even manage to remember the recipe when I have placenta brain…


Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
40 mins

This easy salve is soothing and nourishing to skin as it adjusts to your growing belly!
Author: Wellness Mama
Recipe type: Beauty/Skin
Ingredients
¼ cup Shea Butter
¼ cup Coconut Oil
3 Tablespoons Apricot Kernel or Almond Oil (can also use Olive oil)
1 Tablespoon Calendula Flowers (optional)
¼ tsp dried Ginger Root (optional)
Instructions
If using the calendula and dried ginger, add to Apricot Kernel or Almond Oil and place in a double boiler or bowl over a small pan of water. (or use a glass jar for easier clean up)
Bring to a simmer and heat for 30 minutes on medium low heat to incorporate the properties of the herbs.
Strain through a cheesecloth or metal strainer to remove herbs. YOu will want to make sure you still have at least 2 tablespoons of liquid oil left.
Return the oil to the double boiler and add the shea butter and coconut oil.
Heat until melted and stir to incorporate.
Remove from heat and store in small glass jar.
Add any pregnancy safe essential oils if desired.
Use as needed on skin before, during or after pregnancy as needed.

Sebum in hair – How to control, What happens When Overproduced

Sebum plays an important role in maintaining your hair and skin healthy. But, too much sebum can bring the opposite result. Lack of sebum can cause dry hair, dry scalp and increment of wrinkle formation. Conversely, over production of sebum may trigger to oily hair, oily scalp and many more problem.

What the heck is Sebum?

Sebum is natural oil which ejects from the sebaceous glands. With the help of hair follicle, sebaceous glands generate natural oil to smooth and moisturize the hair and skin. Sebum is produced to keep the scalp from drying out and maintain the balance and volume of both hair and skin.

Sebum is a complete combination of lipids which includes, Fatty acids, Squalene, Glycerides, Cholesterol and Cholesterol esters. Natural oil sebum is found all in the body but mostly in the chin, forehead and mid-back. But, the soles of feet and the palms of hands are out of syllabus.

Jobs of Sebum in Hair

Under the hair scalp, Sebaceous glands are connected to the bottom of hair follicle. The job of sebaceous glands are to manufacture the sebum. In a particular time, cells outburst and sebum ejects. The job of sebum is being started off soon after the sebum makes its way to the surface of your hair scalp.

The following jobs have been done by the sebum oil,

It provides moisture to the hair and skin
It moves dead skin cells from the hair follicle to the surface
It prevents the scalp from drying out by lubricating
It reduces water loss from the skin surface
It protects the skin from friction
It also prevents the buildup of certain bacteria and fungi

Reason of Overproduction of Sebum
Scientists didn’t haven’t identified the exact causes yet, but they have discovered some factors responsible for the overproduction of sebum. Let’s talk it about,

The moment people entered into the short time of Menopause, the sebum production is dramatically enhanced. But, after the puberty, sebum production is nicely balanced into normal rate.
Seborrheic dermatitis is another reason. When It appears in people, the sebum production is incremented in all parts of the body.
Men’s sebaceous glands are the king of manufacturing sebum than women. That’s why, oily scalp and baldness are a common scene in men. So, gender can be another reason.
During the time of pregnancy, hormones imbalances may cause excess production of sebum. This is why, acne is a common problem in women’s pregnancy time as acne is also induced by the excess sebum ejection.
Genetics can be a cause of over production of sebum oil. If a parent suffers oily scalp, then chances are, their youngsters could possibly have the exact same problem.
Poor nutrition and fatty foods can be another  issue. Consuming too much oily and fatty foods bound the sebaceous glands to crank out excess sebum.
What happens when sebum is heavily produced?

As soon as the sebum is heavily produced, it goes directly to the scalp and hair, tends to make them oily. The following are the main problems that appeared soon after the excess oil transmission.

Oily scalp
Oily hair
Acne
Hair Loss
Baldness
Conversely, lack of sebum end results skin dryness, dry hair, dry scalp and unhealthy appearances.

How to control the overproduction of sebum?

Sebum lacking can bring about dry hair, dry skin and increment of wrinkle formation. Conversely, over ejection can trigger to oily skin, oily scalp etc. We have to choose a mid-level place to be safe and of course, we can do it by cutting down the level of excess sebum production.

Vitamin A :

Vitamins are always good and helpful for human body. Overproduction of sebum can be lowered by taking vitamin A. You can take medicated tablets or go for foods that contain vitamin A. Cantaloupe, spinach, carrots, milk, egg yolks and mozzarella cheese contain a good volume of vitamin A that you can have in your daily foods. Also stay away from vitamin A depletes like alcohol and coffee.

Vitamin B :

Maintain enough vitamin B for controlling the sebum production to a normal rate. You can go for meat, fish, eggs, green leafy vegetables, peas, breads, dairy products and many cereals. Also you can make sure plenty of biotin from egg yolk, liver and yeast.

Avoid oily and fatty foods :

Go for healthy and balanced foods and avoid fatty and oily foods. Oily foods are the key of bounding sebaceous glands to build excess sebum.

Maintain a good sleep :

Get a good sleep every single day. Lack of sleep and rest can trigger to many dangerous problems . Maintain a good amount of sleep to ensure Cortisol to act at a normal rate. Otherwise, Cortisol has an effect on the sebaceous glands to supply excess sebum.

Manage your stress :

Stress can lead to sleeping disorder and increment the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. As I previously mentioned, Cortisol stimulates sebaceous glands to burst more natural oil. Stress also depletes the body of B vitamins. To compensate you can take B complex vitamin.

Laser treatment :

You can take laser treatment method to control the overproduction of sebum. This kind of laser treatment is formulated to deal with exactly the oily skin. It will make the sebaceous glands to work on a balanced rate to keep the hair and skin soft and moisturized.