Dry, itchy skin is very often on of those things that goes hand in hand with pregnancy. As your baby growth your skin gets pulled tighter – this is why keeping your skin hydrated is so important. In this post, we take a look at the best lotion for pregnant bellies.
6 Best Lotions For Pregnant Bellies in [xyz-ips snippet=”currentDate”]
The Belli brand was born in 2002 while the founders were expecting their first time and struggled to find a safe and effective skincare product. Drawing on their backgrounds in medicine and skin care, the husband and wife team started to design products that are not only luxurious but work!
The Belli Elasticity Belly oil has been specially designed to maintain smooth, healthy-looking skin before, during and after pregnancy.
There’s a lot to like about the Elasticity Belly Oil.
Application
As with the majority of oil-based products, once it’s been applied you need to give it time to be soaked in by the skin. Thankfully, the Belli Elasticity Belly Oil is quick to be absorbed so won’t have you sitting around waiting for it to dry.
Smell
Most customers find the lavender scent to be nice, light and unlike other oils, it’s not overpowering and doesn’t sit heavy on the skin, something that’s particularly important during the early stages of pregnancy.
Coverage
The Elasticity Belly Oil is pretty thick which means a little does go a long way and provided a good coverage. A bottle tends to last a trimester.
Does It Work?
It seems that even the most skeptical of users have found that the oil works well when used consistently.
Overall feedback is that Belli Elasticity Belly Oil does help prevent stretch marks, provides excellent hydration and leaves your skin feeling moisturised, soft and smooth.
For a start, based on real customer feedback, Belli Elasticity Belly Oil works!
Unlike some oils, Belli Elasticity Belly Oil is absorbed well, doesn’t stain and most importantly, doesn’t itch!
Postpartum, it seems like the oil works wonders in helping skin bounce-back and quickly recover.
Key Ingredients:
- Sweet Almond Oil (Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis)
- Grape Seed Oil (Vitis Vinifera)
- Lavender Oil (Lavandula Angustilfolia)
- Vitamin E Acetate (Tocopheryl Acetate)
- Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao)
- Sunflower Seed Oil (Helianthus Annuus)
- Gotu Kola Extract (Centella Asiatica Extract)
Blending omega-packed organic oils with Shea butter, Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter offers maximum protections against itchy tummies and stretch marks during pregnancy.
Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter comes highly recommended having won Harper Bazaar Best of the Best 2014 award and is apparently the one used by Angelina Jolie.
High praise indeed!
The lotion is safe to use during pregnancy as it’s free of parabens, petrolatum, colourants, xenoestrogens, PEGs and phthalates.
The Tummy Rub Butter is easy to apply, soaks in quickly (certainly faster than oils) and doesn’t leave your hands feeling sticky afterwards. It’s also light and doesn’t leave your skin feeling heavy or greasy.
Smell
The smell is flowery and based on comments from those who use the product, it’s one of those love it or hate it scents with some users finding it pleasant while others finding it overpowering..
Coverage
If there was one criticism of the product, it’s that you need to be quite liberal with how much you use and it take a lot of Tummmy Rub butter to cover cover your tummy, butt, hips , thighs and boobs.
Does It Work?
While genetics obviously plays a big part in the development of stretch marks, in general Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter does seem to get positive feedback and work for most women.
Key Ingredients:
- Organic Shea Butter
- Organic Sacha Inchi Oil
- Organic Argan Oil
- Organic Coconut Oil
- Organic Avocado Oil
- Organic Sweet Almond Oil
- Organic Rosehip Fruit Oil
- Vitamin E
The Mambino Organics Belly Butter really is a mommy-must-have product.
What we really like is that once applied in the morning, skin feels noticably hydrated for the rest of the day. After using this twice a day for four weeks, our testers found that skin felt smooth without causing itching or irritation and elasticity had returned.
Mambino Organics Belly Butter is free of petroleum based ingredients, synthetic preservatives and emulsifiers so you can use knowing it’s good for you and safe for baby.
Application
If there seems to be a gripe with this product it’s about the application. To get the Mambino Organics Belly Butter out of the tub, you need to rub it until it warms up and enough comes out that you can apply to those key areas. While not a huge issue, this can be a pain if you’re in a rush.
Smell
The butter smells amazing! Even the most sensitive of pregnancy noses will find the tropical mango/citrus smell to be light and pleasant.
Coverage
Once you rub out enough of the belly butter, coverage is good and doesn’t leave your skin feeling weighed down, heavy or greasy.
Does It Work?
Our testers found that using the body butter twice a day worked well and left skin feeling soft, smooth and free of stretch marks.
Key Ingredients:
- Organic Shea butter,
- Organic cocoa seed butter,
- organic mango seed butter,
- organic calendula officinalis flower extract in organic olive oil,
- rosa canina (organic rosehip) fruit oil,
- organic sea buckthorn fruit oil,
- organic tamanu seed oil,
- organic sweet orange) peel oil,
- organic lavender oil.
This is the best selling stretch mark prevention creams and after a few months of use, it’s easy to see why!
Mustela Stretch Mark Prevention Cream uses a plant-based formula including avacardo peptides to help prevent any skin tightness and larch tree extract which helps with skin elasticity.
As an added bonus, Mustela Stretch Mark Prevention Cream is safe to use when breastfeeding so it’s ideal for pregnancy and beyond!
Application
The cream absorbs well and once dry doesn’t leave that greasy feelingly and leaves skin feels really moisturized.
Smell
Mustela Stretch Mark Prevention Cream is available in scented and unscented so even if your nose is super sensitive then you’ll be able to use the cream. The scented version smells sweet with a slight flowery aroma but it’s certainly not overpowering.
Coverage
If you plan on using this on your tummy, butt, hips , thighs and boobs then you’re going to go through a lot of cream! To really get the most from this product you need to be using it twice a day and be quite liberal with how much you use.
Does It Work?
We always think that a sign of a quality product is not just if you’re willing to recommend to a friend, but if you’re prepared to buy and use it again yourself in the future. We’ve spoken to plenty of mommas who’re on to their third pregnancy and still using Mustela Stretch Mark Prevention Cream!
Ingredients:
More than any other cream, oil or body butter on our list, Palmer’s Tummy Butter has been tried and tested by more mommys-to-be than any other!
Application
As with most body butters, you need to work hard to ‘dig out’ the contents before massaging it onto your skin. While this isn’t a huge issue, both creams and oils are significantly easier and faster to apply to the skin.
Smell
While some find the smell to be delicious, others find it to be terrible. During our tests, we even found that some users who loved the smell before pregnancy couldn’t stomach it once pregnancy nose kicked in.
Coverage
Again, as with a lot of tummy butters, you really have to work hard to get even a modest coverage which means you need to use a lot to cover a large area like a pregnant tummy.
Does It Work?
One of the main reasons that Palmer’s Tummy Butter is so popular is for the simple fact that it works! While you do have to put in a little effort to get it to spread, it’s well worth it as it leaves your skin feeling wonderful.
Key Ingredients:
- Made with Natural Vitamin E
- Cocoa Extract,
- Sunflower Seed Oil,
- Cocoa Seed Butter,
- Sweet Almond Oil,
- Shea Butter
- Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen,
- Safflower Seed Oil
If you’re looking for a belly butter that comes highly recommended by thousands upon thousands of mamas to be then look no further than Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter.
Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter is phathalates, parabens and petrolatum free so it’s not going to itch once applied.
Application
Application is easy and soaks into the skin quickly once it’s been applied.
Smell
If you’re finding that you’re struggling with strong smells during pregnancy then Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter could be for you. The smell is extremely mild and we’ve not come across anybody who’s found it overpowering.
Coverage
Coverage is good and it only takes a small amount for full coverage.
Does It Work?
In a word yes. While the body butter is a little oily, it provides excellent hydration that you can still notice even after a long day.
Key Ingredients:
- Shea Butter
- Vitamin E
- Cocoa Shea
- Jojoba butters
The Bottom Line
So there you have it, 6 of the best lotion for pregnant bellies. All of those we’ve reviewed above have been thoroughly tested by mommas and will help to maintain softer, more hydrated skin during your pregnancy.
Last update on 2022-12-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Ellen Fetters
Ellen Fetters, is a former Children's and Young People's Nursing Practice with an BSc from the University of Sunderland. After completing her SCPHN - HV she then worked as a Health Visitor within the local community.
In 2017 Ellen left nursing to launch Parenting Click, an online parenting resource aimed at creating happier families through better parenting.
She lives with her husband, beautiful baby girl, and two darling dogs. She spends her free time writing, running and learning how to become a better parent.