Oh Baby: Caroline Hirons' Advice for Mums-To-Be

We've been chatting about all things Caroline Hirons related over the last week or two. We caught up with the skincare guru recently and just stared at her for a while, before dragging our eyes from her beautiful skin and remembering that we had a job to do.

She shared her best skincare tips with us, got us looking at Omega oils and revealed her favourite budget skincare picks.

But today, we're talking babas. And more specifically, mamas mit baybays (does Bridget Jones roundy tum charade).

If you are one of the ladies who is growing a human, then read on, we have have some fabulous Hirons-stamped advice for you!

On Pregnancy

I asked Caroline the following question:

'We have a lot of readers who are concerned about skincare during pregnancy. Do you have anything to say about that?'

Her answer was sublime, and went like this:

'Yeah. Chill out. The the f*^k out.'

She went on to say:

'The industry - it's a market.Pregnant women are a moneymaking market. You can use exactly the same product.

What you absolutely cannot use when you're pregnant is Roaccutane [a prescription acne medication], but when you take Roaccutane, you're prescribed the pill... but that extreme has led to everyont thinking that any variation of vitamin A when you're pregnant has to be warned against, and it's nonsense.

There are strong versions; anything on prescription, your doctor will probably say 'well, you're pregnant, you should take it easy', but anything you can buy over the counter? Nothing is going to be strong enough to permeate your bloodstream and damage your child. So relax!'

'Pregnancy can make you more prone to chloasma [dark pigmentation patches that can appear during pregnancy], so use SPF. But you know, I used exfoliating acids, retinol creams, everything through my pregnancies. Anything you can buy over the counter is not going to have a high percentage. You'd have to EAT bottles and bottles of cream for them to have any effect. Who does that!? It's about moderation. Keep using your routine, and if you're worried, talk to your doctor, say 'I'm pregnant, should I be worried?' If you're not talking to a doctor, that means you're using over-the-counter product, and you're FINE! Chill!'

On Stretch Marks:

Unfortunately, it's mostly genetic. If you've got stretch marks that are still pink, you can fix them. If they've gone white, it's too late. Don't buy any cream that says it'll fix stretch marks if your stretch marks are white.

If they're pink - use a good stretch mark cream, or a good body oil. The blood flow is still there, so the skin can still heal. Obviously, if you've had triplets, and you've got jagged stretch marks across your belly, you're never going to have that immaculate, flat belly again.But you can certainly help them.

And this is the letter of St Caroline to the Mamas.

What do you think of Caroline's advice? What were your holy grail products when you were pregnant? And if you are mit baybay at the moment, what are your skin and beauty concerns?