Stretch Marks, Swelling, and Skin Woes: How 5 Beauty Experts Survived Pregnancy

She's tended to Chrissy Teigen, Naomi Campbell, Olivia Palermo, and Yara Shahidi as a celebrity hairstylist, but it was Lacy Redway's turn for a little extra TLC when she started prepping for motherhood. Fittingly, her area of expertise — hair — posed little trouble: Redway had already stopped relaxing her curls in favor of a more natural look free from chemical processing. Prenatal vitamins also stimulated hair growth, a nice perk of family planning.

Warding off stretch marks was a bigger concern for the Aveda-trained stylist, now mom to a 5-year-old son. While she swears by shea butter, she's learned to let go of so-called "imperfections."

"The most beautiful [thing] about becoming a mom and [worth] more than any product on the market is self-love," she said. "Learn to love all of you — every stretch mark, every roll you may not have had before, every new baby hair you've discovered if your hair begins to shed postbaby, down to the new designer bags under your eyes from lack of sleep. Continue to love yourself through it all."

"Raw shea butter has been a staple," Redway said of her postbaby routine. During her pregnancy, she would rub shea butter over her stomach and hips to prevent stretch marks. Currently, she and her son both use products from the Shea Moisture baby range, including this Raw Shea Butter Chamomile & Argan Oil Baby Eczema Therapy Butter ($11).

Beauty buffs will recognize hair guru Sarah Potempa as the creator of The Beachwaver, but two small children know her better as Mom.

"I was surprised at how much the skin around your belly stretches!" she said of her pregnancy experience. "I remember getting pure cocoa butter from a lady that extracted it herself. It instantly soothed the dry skin and prevented stretch marks."

Postpregnancy, Potempa's pro tip has been to try to shave time off her beauty routine. Multitasking products and strategic scheduling have helped her stay glam while parenting her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. Read on for the timesavers she keeps on hand.

Potempa didn't have to look far when pregnancy hormones and biotin intake triggered regrowth that made her locks a bit unruly. "My hair changed and I needed to use The Beachwaver Co. Coast Pro Ceramic Styling Iron ($169) and pomade to reduce flyaways created from the new growth," she said. "And I used the Wrap Up ($12) to keep my hair off my face until my son was about 7 months!"

Hair care remains important — it is her job, after all — but mom life has called for some flexibility. Potempa now washes her hair at night and lets it air-dry, curling it the next morning and using dry shampoo to set the style.

With two children underfoot, the queen of curl has also learned to make her makeup routine more efficient. "I now know how to get ready so much faster by using products that last," she said. Two favorites: Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Bella ($22) and Tarte's Tarteist Pro Glow Highlight & Contour Palette ($45) — a must for multitaskers.

When she's not getting celebrities like Brie Larson or Emma Stone glam in her role as director of pro artistry and red carpet for Nars, Rachel Goodwin is overseeing two small children at home. The makeup artist and mother — her son and daughter are 5 and 2 years old, respectively — gained newfound appreciation for "gorgeous organic skincare lines" during her pregnancies. The shift to stripped-back products was born out of necessity; pregnancy made her sensitive skin even more prone to inflammations and dryness.

Goodwin continues to stock up on all-natural buys at The Detox Market, but she's also on the lookout for small indulgences that make mamas feel "uplifted and special." A favorite is In Fiore's scented body balm ($120). "It smells like you've just come running out of a floral garden," she enthused. "It's about little things that I can do for myself that make me feel good."

Pregnancy may have strengthened Goodwin's fine hair, but it wreaked havoc on her temperamental skin. "I definitely have always had sensitive skin, and when I got pregnant, I noticed that it just became more reactive," she said. "I had to be really careful about some moisturizers and products that I put on my skin. As a makeup artist, I experiment with new skin care pretty regularly, but I had to stop. My skin would get really red or had a lot more sensitivity."

Goodwin turned to her all-natural Northern California girl roots for guidance. "Dr. Hauschka became a staple; I used a lot of Epicuren," she said. "I used aloe vera gel and a lot of special creams."

By her second pregnancy, she'd become "addicted" to facialist Tracie Martyn's organic range. "The Amla Purifying Cleanser ($65) specifically is just incredible," Goodwin raved. "It's so easy and makes my skin so calm; it's got turmeric. Nothing in it is harmful."

The fermentation-focused Australian line Beauty Chef is another go-to; Goodwin used its fermented coconut Beauty Fix Balm ($30) on her eyes, lips, and other dry patches during her pregnancy. Once her son was born, she used it on him as a makeshift salve.

Beauty vlogger Alba Ramos of SunKiss Alba went through some major beauty changes when she had her son Manny, now 8. Unfortunately, they didn't last. Though she enjoyed clear skin, that much-lauded pregnancy glow, and healthy hair growth during her pregnancy, the postpartum months saw hair loss and breakouts "worse than a teenager," she said.

SunKiss Alba followers won't be surprised to learn that the natural-beauty advocate gained a new appreciation for organic beauty products once she became a mother. "As moms, we all want the best for our babies and to provide the cleanest products and the best of everything," she explained. "For me, that also applied to food, water, and my own self-care so that my baby can have the best home inside and outside of me."

For Ramos, that means shopping for nontoxic items and prioritizing her personal beauty regimen. "My alone time in the bathroom shortened and I could no longer take my time with my makeup, so I adapted to a simple routine with less products and less work," she said. "Motherhood has taught me to get ready quicker, and I've become more skilled since then, too. Prior to being a mom, I didn't wear a lot of makeup and I used to get my hair professionally done. Today, it's the opposite."

Like many expectant moms, Ramos religiously rubbed oil and shea butter over her belly to prevent stretch marks, but she advises targeting the sometimes-overlooked hips and lower abdomen area, too. These days she's swapped shea butter for a household favorite among eco-minded moms.

"The most wonderful multitasking product is The Honest Company's Honest Organic All-Purpose Balm ($13). Of course it's great to heal a baby's rash or burn, but it's also amazing to use as a lip balm/gloss, hand moisturizer, or to tame flyaways and dry ends of my hair. I also place it on my son's face during Winter because his skin often gets cracked from the cold weather."

Makeup artist Alaha Majid made headlines when she was filmed applying a full face of makeup from her hospital bed while about to give birth to her daughter Sofia, now 18 months old. While glamour is a top priority for the beauty buff, she disputes news reports that she just wanted to look good during childbirth.

"My epidural wore off after three hours," she said. "I was in so much pain, and I didn't want to make everyone around me miserable, so I did my makeup to distract myself. I cranked it up because I was still in pain and had a lot of time to kill. It took me four times as long to do my makeup because of the contractions."

Little Sofia appears to have inherited this passion for all things beauty. She's prone to creeping into the makeup room Majid has at home, where she ransacks the foundation and lipstick drawers and imitates her mom's makeup application. Has a mini makeup artist been born?

During her pregnancy, Majid noticed that her typically normal T-zone would become so oily, makeup would slide right off. She initially tackled the latter issue by carrying foundation in her purse for constant touch-ups. Later, she found that a combination of primer and Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Full Cover Foundation ($55) finally stayed put on her newly oily skin.

Then there was the swelling. "When you're pregnant, your nose and lips start to swell up a little," she said. "So I had to contour every day, because my nose was bigger than I was used to. Creams wouldn't stay so I would use Mac Pro Longwear Concealer ($23) and then Benefit Hoola bronzer ($15) to set."

Lip swelling — a pregnancy symptom Beyoncé experienced with her twins — was less of a concern, as it happens. "I loved how plump and full they looked," Majid admitted. "My pregnancy is what encouraged me to get lip fillers. I waited until I stopped breastfeeding to get them. But that's what motivated me. I saw how I looked with fuller lips and I liked it."