Pregnancy can age you. Your skin knows it. But can it recover?

Hello and hope you are doing well,

Came across a statistic that the next three months are the busiest time of the year for childbirth in India. Nearly one in every three babies born this year will arrive during this period.

Which also means millions of women are either in the final stretch of pregnancy or beginning one of the most remarkable periods of recovery the human body will ever experience. Which, as data shows, can be highly impactful on aging – and that’s one of the main things we will discuss in this email to you.

Here's what's in this edition:

1. Does pregnancy accelerate aging?

2. The good part

3. What supportive skin care in this phase is

4. News and Updates

According to published research : Pregnancy ages you – by as much as 5.3 years over only 7 months.

Not exactly the sentence any expecting mother wants to read.

In this research study, they measured biological age, using epigenetic clocks, molecular markers that estimate how old our cells appear biologically as compared to our chronological age (how many birthdays we've celebrated) – to come up with the above statistic.

Fortunately, that is not the whole story. Much of that ageing appeared to recover after delivery, even more when babies were exclusively breastfed!

So, the highlight of this set of studies (I looked at a few more around this) was the ability of the body to bounce back – the resilience. Which makes pregnancy, and the postpartum period very interesting from a physiological perspective.

To look at this a little deeper, pregnancy is unlike almost any other physiological state. Over nine months, the body changes in extraordinary ways. Hormones are completely reorganised. Blood volume increases. The immune system is more accepting. Metabolism and sleep cycles are shifted. The placenta develops as an entirely new organ.

The skin also participates in this ‘makeover’ drama. Pigmentation becomes easier to trigger. Dryness becomes more common – the skin barrier becomes more vulnerable. Many women notice that products they tolerated before pregnancy suddenly feel irritating.

Almost every system in the body is adapting at the same time.

Pregnancy isn't simply about growing a baby. It's also about supporting one of the most complex biological adaptations we experience as humans. And when pregnancy ends, recovery begins.

If recovery is part of the story, what helps the body recover?

Some answers are already familiar. Good nutrition. Adequate sleep. Movement, where appropriate. Time.

The body already knows what to do. Our job is simply to support it. And what can that be, for us at CHOSEN?

Because if pregnancy is already asking everything of the body, pregnancy skincare should ask as little as possible.

What supportive skin care in pregnancy is

It shouldn't create unnecessary irritation.

It shouldn't make the skin work harder.

It shouldn't expose the body to ingredients whose endocrine activity is still being debated if equally effective alternatives exist.

It shouldn't require a complicated routine that becomes difficult to follow during one of life's busiest phases.

Pregnancy skincare doesn't need to do more. It needs to support better.

At CHOSEN, every formulation that’s relevant to pregnancy starts with three questions we ask together as a team.

Is it reassuringly safe for long term use during pregnancy and nursing? We evaluate ingredients using toxicology databases, regulatory assessments and peer reviewed literature before they ever become part of a formulation.

What is the actual skin problem that pregnancy creates? Pregnancy increases the likelihood of pigmentation, barrier disruption, dryness and sensitivity. Those are the problems we're trying to solve.

Can we still solve those problems while placing the smallest possible additional burden on the skin?

That philosophy influences every formulation decision.

Supporting the skin barrier instead of being demanding on it.

Protecting against ultraviolet and visible light because pregnancy skin is more susceptible to pigmentation.

Choosing ingredients with reassuring long term safety profiles.

Being thoughtful about ingredients where endocrine activity continues to be debated, particularly during a period when the body is already undergoing profound hormonal change.

What is as simple as possible - works for this phase – a broad spectrum sunscreen, a preservative free, fragrance free body butter, and a face moisturiser that is baby safe too, for when you need this in the future.

Pregnancy is already a phase of hyper awareness.

You worry about everything.

We are aware of that too.

That's exactly what we hope to cover for, to be a trusted source of calm skin care through this phase, not one more thing to watch for.