Chorevia

Day 75 of 280 · 10 weeks + 5 days

Skin and hair

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 5 sources · Plain-text version

Darker patches, oilier skin, faster nails: what pregnancy hormones do to your skin and hair, and the one habit that keeps the patches from darkening.

Size this week
about the size of a small apricot
Length this week
around 30 mm from head to bottom
A South Asian woman in a loose t-shirt pausing at her open front door in bright late-morning light, a wide-brimmed hat in one hand and a tube of sunscreen in the other.

Ten weeks and five days. Today is about the mirror: what's changing in your skin and hair, why it's happening, and the one thing worth doing about it.

Your baby

A single small apricot on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 30mm long from head to bottom, about the size of a small apricot (NHS). The ears and nostrils are forming this week, along with the rest of the facial features, the jaw and the milk teeth (NHS). "The head is still too big for the body, but the face is more recognisably in proportion" (NHS).

Your body

Skin and hair changes are on the NHS's list of common signs at 10 weeks (NHS), and next week's list adds facial darkening, oilier skin and thicker hair (NHS). MedlinePlus spells out what's going on: hormone changes can cause brownish or yellowish patches on the face, called chloasma or the "mask of pregnancy", and a dark line down the lower abdomen, the linea nigra (MedlinePlus). Sunlight darkens both, so the advice is a hat, protective clothing and sunblock, and no concealers with bleaches (MedlinePlus). Most skin color changes fade within a few months after birth (MedlinePlus).

Hair and nails may grow faster and feel stronger during pregnancy; many women lose some hair after delivery, and both return to normal over time (MedlinePlus). The headline is simple: most skin, hair and nail changes in pregnancy are normal and resolve afterward (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The hat-and-sunscreen habit

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Put a hat you'll actually wear on the hook by the door, where your keys are.

    2. Put the sunscreen next to it. Sunlight darkens chloasma and the linea nigra, so the hat, protective clothing and sunblock are the whole plan (MedlinePlus).

    3. On bright days, add long sleeves to the pile.

    4. If a patch bothers you, cover it with ordinary makeup, not a bleaching concealer (MedlinePlus).

    Make it work:

    The habit matters more than the product. A hat you grab every time beats a stronger sunscreen you forget.

Watch for

  • Normal

    brownish patches on your face or a dark line down your belly; most fade within a few months after birth (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider

    for persistent itching without a rash, which may indicate cholestasis (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    a headache now and then; it's on the NHS's list of common signs this week (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for a headache that won't go away or gets worse over time (CDC).

  • Normal

    greasier skin and a few spots (NHS).

    Call your provider

    before taking an antihistamine for itchy skin, and keep perfumed products off it in the meantime (MedlinePlus).

For you

Oilier skin or thicker hair is hormones, not a sign of anything. Darker facial patches are common enough that the Office on Women's Health lists them among the ordinary changes of the second trimester (OWH), and MedlinePlus's whole page on the subject comes down to "normal, and resolves afterward" (MedlinePlus).

If a patch on your face is the thing you see first every morning, that's allowed to be annoying. It isn't a health problem, and it isn't permanent.

If you're the partner: don't comment on her skin unless she asks. If she does, the true answer is that it fades after the birth (MedlinePlus).

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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