It can be a little annoying watching celebrity pregnancies. They always look so beautiful and you can’t help but think about all the time and money they put into that beauty. But it seems that Victoria Secret Model Marissa Miller has decided to embrace the more natural side of pregnancy and she has a wealth of knowledge to offer up, not just to women who are pregnant, but all women.
“I always felt, even before I got pregnant, that it’s better to accentuate your curves,” Marissa told Allure magazine. “A lot of women try to tuck in their butt in or kind of slouch because they’re trying to hid. Obviously, you can’t suck it in, but it’s really important to show off the belly. For some reason, for me, from the side it looks the biggest, so that’s what I tried to do.”
Marissa has also dumped the chemicals and embraced a more natural beauty regimen. Ironically, she’s loving her skin, nails and hair more now than she did before the pregnancy.
“When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing that had to go was the acne medicine and chemical-filled face lotions,” Marissa said. “I made sure everything was natural and organic, and I started reading blogs by other pregnant women. Everyone was talking about AfricanBlack Soap. It’s made out of plantain ash, vitamin E and shea butter, and it worked really, really well. I felt so weird using soap because you think, ‘Don’t use soap on your face. Use a cleanser, something fancy.’ But I haven’t had a breakout since my first trimester.”
“I was taking tons of vitamins, and with the increased blood flow, everything grows faster – my hair, my nails. It was the first time in my life I’d actually cut my nails with a clipper! When I found out I was pregnant, I cut all my hair’s breakage off, thinking, ‘This is the only time I can have a break and do a little hair boot camp.’ My stylist was worried I was going to cry, but it was for my hair’s health – I didn’t care how it looked. My color grew out naturally and eventually looked sort of ombre. Once I got into my second trimester, I asked my stylist about a few small highlights around the face, just to break up the color a bit. We used organic dye, and to make sure I didn’t inhale anything, we even did it outside.”
And while Marissa doesn’t seem overly concerned with weight gain (thanks to a wonderful support system), she has remained active throughout her pregnancy.
“I’d heard that swimming feels so good when you’re pregnant, and I love being in the ocean. I was even paddle boarding up until 17 weeks, but then my center of gravity and balance were completely off. I looked so funny standing up on the board with all that extra weight in front. I did Pilates five times a week during my second trimester, but it’s so modified now, mostly stretching and breathing. It’s easy to feel swollen ad puffy, and moving really helps with the circulation,” Marissa said. “Embrace everything and all the changes. My sister said to me, ‘You’re eating healthy and you’re working out, so whatever your body gains, it knows what it’s doing.’ I had never even owned a scale before, but gaining weight is a part of charting your progress. Yes, I was seeing numbers I’d never seen before, but I let go of that because I had a new goal and focus. It’s an adjustment, but it helps having a lot of positive support.”
But Marissa says that embracing those changes doesn’t mean you have to forgo preventative measures for things like stretch marks.
“My sisters both had babies this year and were really religious about preventative care,” Marissa said. “I’d been on Molly Sims’s blog a lot – she was in her third trimester when I had just gotten pregnant – and she posted this recipe: shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil and vitamin E. I made it myself, boiling the ingredients, and I poured it into mason jars. I’ve loved the community of women who share their tips.”
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Thank you for sharing this story, I love to see celebs share the wealth of knowledge.. you know they have the best teams of people that are up the latest remedies, products and tricks to pregnancy. The picture on the white background is iconic. Love her. Thanks for posting Cathy! 🙂
thanks Marissa, the men of America thank you for these pics!