Your skin is affected by stress, tiredness and hormonal changes. Once your baby arrived, you probably had huge changes in your sleeping routine, causing chronic fatigue much of the time. During pregnancy, your body released many hormones. These levels are normalising now, but this can and does affect your skin. You may have had clear skin during pregnancy and find that you now suffer from periodic breakouts. This is normal.
Besides the fatigue and hormones playing a part, there is also your lack of personal time. You probably don't follow the same skin care routine that you used to before the baby – mainly due to time constraints. Try different moisturisers and cleansers, to balance out your skin's natural oil levels. If your skin is dry, use good moisturisers; brands like Dove and Oil of Olay are not too expensive, but work really well. Lotion or skin cream with 12 percent lactic acid can be used as a mild exfoliant.
If you have oilier than normal skin, try and use oil-free cosmetics. Heavy base and powder will clog up your pores, making the oil problem worse. If you have very dry skin, it could be as a result of an under-active thyroid. This affects between two and five percent of new mothers for the first year after they've given birth. A simple blood test done at the baby clinic or at your doctor can confirm the presence of this condition.
