They said, “You might not even find the time to use lotion sometimes.”  I laughed hard at that. Boy, were they right. Within a week of giving birth to my newborn baby, my hands were not what they used to be. My fingers especially weren’t what they used to be. 

They were dry and looked like I hadn’t moisturised them in about a month. My previously perfectly manicured nails looked thirsty and my nail polish was chipped. It’s not that I didn’t notice these things. I did. I just didn’t think I’d have enough time to fix them all before my newborn baby needed me again. I now know I’m not alone in thinking this way. Lots of moms with newborns experience this. If you’re a new mom, or about to become a mom for the first time, know that your beauty routine doesn’t have to get as desperately non-existent as mine did. Your routine needs a complete revamp and, for your sanity, you may need to prune it down a bit.

By the time my baby had hit two months old, I’d established a mini beauty routine of sorts. I figured out that I had to pick my battles, to start with. I also had to stick to  a few things that I’d do everyday no matter what. Moms of newborns should choose at least three of the most important aspects of their pre-baby beauty routines and consider how they can do them faster than they did before. 

Of course, there are other things that new moms should do to get through those early months. Generally though, remember that when you look good, you feel good. Granted, there are some moments of feeling a high simply from looking at your newborn baby. In those moments, you might be covered in spit up and not brushed your hair in a month but still feel amazing. Try implementing these 11 tips though, and see how much more amazing you feel.  

1. Under eye concealer

The dark circles that come with newborn sleep deprivation are something that very few moms are able to escape. A few dabs of concealer under your eyes can make all the difference to brightening up your eyes in this situation! Even without using a foundation or any other eye makeup, some under eye concealer will make your eyes look a lot less tired and help you generally look more put together. This little trick is especially useful for outings like a quick shopping trip. 

2. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

I’ll say it again. Moisturize. It did turn out to be true, at least for me, that I was forgetting to use lotion. It’s crazy how much drier my skin got after only a couple of days of being left dry. I really think that had to do with the fact that I was breastfeeding pretty much around the clock. I decided to make a conscious effort to incorporate it into my shower routine by doing it right after a shower and before I came out of the bathroom each day. It made a big difference and only added an extra minute in the bathroom. By the way, invest in your moisturizer. Don’t skimp when it comes to what you’re nourishing your skin with. Your skin will thank you for it later. 

3. Petroleum jelly to tame your brows

I used to get my eyebrows threaded every couple of weeks or so. It was the easiest way to “tidy up” my face as my eyebrow hairs grow in a zillion different directions and can become conjoined twins rather than just sisters if I’m not careful. 

Well, in the first three months of being mommy, I couldn’t be bothered with going to join the ever lengthy queue at my salon to get my usual threading done. Instead, I used a toothbrush dipped in a bit of Vaseline to brush out my eyebrows. It was quick and worked a treat to tidy up and keep the eyebrow hairs in place all day long. 

4. Mascara 

If you can do nothing else to your face, do this. It opens up your eyes while making your natural lashes appear longer. It also takes less than 30 seconds to do! 

5. Get professional eyelash extensions 

This may seem a bit extreme if you’ve never had them before and also a bit silly if you don’t think you have enough time right now. Yes, it can take about two hours to do (!) but then it can also last for up to two months, depending on how long it takes your natural lashes to grow out. That’s up to two months of gorgeous looking lashes that you don’t have to do anything to all day long. It’s up to two months of brighter and more vibrant looking eyes even without makeup. 

6. Go microblading 

You might notice a running theme here. I’m all about eyes. They’re the windows to the soul. They’re also where you look first when you’re checking yourself out in the mirror. That’s why you’ll notice your eyebrows too. Maintaining them to a certain standard can be tough with a newborn baby, especially if you have eyebrows like mine. Microblading is a type of semi-permanent tattoo process used for eyebrows. Like eyelash extensions, they’ll take a chunk of your time but they’ll last a long time. Longer than lash extensions. Up to 18 months! I’d say that makes it well worth the total of up to 5 hours that it takes to complete the process. 

7. Wet your sponge 

If you like to use foundation and are dealing with newborn life in the warmer summer months, or are lucky enough to live in warm weather all year round (lucky you!), you’ll appreciate this. Fully soak your foundation sponge and squeeze it out before applying your foundation. Don’t bother using a setting spray after or spraying the wet sponge with a setting spray. Applying with a wet sponge means that the foundation is set once the damp on your skin dries out. The application is also smoother and therefore faster with a damp sponge. 

8. Tinted lip gloss 

This is another way to brighten up your face quickly without using any other form of makeup. It takes a second to do but because it’s tinted, it adds some colour! 

9. Use razors with moisture blades 

With all the mental organisation that a mom of a newborn is doing every second, it’s easy for her to forget to shave in the shower. It’s also annoyingly easy for her to remember that she intended to do so the minute she’s done in the shower! Trust me. I know this. That’s why I love shaving sticks with moisture bars. Look into these if you haven’t tried them before. I use the Gillette Venus Comfortglide ones with Olay. Moisture bars mean that I don’t have to hop back into the shower. I can quickly shave the minute I remember and my skin is moisturised during and after shaving! 

10. Nail polish in cold water 

When a new mom gets a moment to paint her nails, the next concern can be how quickly she can get them dry before she has to complete the next baby-related task – which tends to come up quickly! This tip saved me so much time both before I had my baby and during the newborn days. Simply immerse your freshly painted nails into a medium sized bowl of cold water for at least two minutes. The water should be deep enough to fully cover your fingernails. This is a far quicker way to dry your nails than air drying! 

11. Go naked

On your nails. You may find that it’s easier on your beauty routine if you eliminate nail polish altogether. This way, you won’t have to worry about your polish chipping. It definitely simplifies your life! 

What tricks did you use to edit your beauty routine as a mom to a newborn to help you save time?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abby is a daughter, sister, wife and mum of one little girl. British but Ghanaian by birth and living temporarily in Germany, she’s a writer and financial services professional and has an educational background in Gender & Politics, which makes for an interesting variety of topics on her blog.