I started using Bio-oil a couple of days ago as I had heard such great things about it, but I've since broken out in a red bumpy rash. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions of a different product to use?
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I started using Bio-oil a couple of days ago as I had heard such great things about it, but I've since broken out in a red bumpy rash. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions of a different product to use?
It didn't give me a rash but the smell gave me a headache :(
I used it as well and had the same sort of reaction. I started using it more for dry skin than for stretchmarks though and I started using a bath oil from the chemist instead.....can't remember its name for the life of me and of course I am at work and can't go and check. If it will help you any PM me and I will find out when I get home. Otherwise a good vit E oil from a chemist will help with stretchmarks.
stop using it. everyones skin reacts differently with everything. Try some good ol Vitamin E cream or something.. there is heaps out there :) HTH
I had a similar reaction to bio oil.
Just about the only thing I can use on my skin at the moment is sorbelene.
I have standard sorbelene I buy for $3 odd bucks at Aldi for a litre and one that the chemist makes up himself, has some vitamin stuff in it I think and olive oil, it has a sorbelene base.
Maybe you could go to your local chemist and see if they do something similar. It literally fixed my really dry itchy skin up almost straight away.
It's still dry but well on the way to recovery and I don't look like an ape when I am out and about from constantly scratching.
I just use the Vasaline cream that has Vitamin E and Alo Vera then after I apply that I put Johnsons and Johnsons baby oil on. Soaks up nice and like the smell, it gives me something to look forward to when bump arrives. I normally suffer from dry skin especially this time if year and so far I have avoided any painful out breaks.
Urgh all of these things are petrochemical or contain derivatives, no wonder you are all breaking out in rashes... vasoline, bio oil, sorbolene - all not great! Your skin absorbs that crap - yep it does absorb it in - thats how nicotine or hormone replacement patches work!
Try the belly balm from miessence, its a certified organic product and highly unlikely you'll get ANY reaction (except a great one ;))
ONEgroup - Products - Belly and Breast Balm
Thanks everyone for your responses. Kelly, I looked up the miessence oil and it's $45! I've ordered a different organic oil which only costs $10, so hopefully it will work just as well.
I use Bio oil about twice a week and no problems...but if you do, stop using it!
ARe there REASONABLE alternatives to this then without the petrochemicals and such? Something can buy in the chemist or similar? 10 or so dollars?
Most of us cannot afford $45 dollar creams.
Unfortunately chemicals are cheap to manufacture, and naturally occuring ingredients that have gone through the certification process are more costly to produce. They all come with a money back guarantee too - but I completely understand the budget!
Ugh.. completely agree - stay away from mineral oils and petro chemicals. Bio-oil and Palmers stuff are full of it. And I can't believe J&J sell that baby oil.
i used the belly balm from Beauty & the Bees, they are in Tasmania. I had the 120ml tin and it lasted more than one pregnancy. That is $34. Or there's a smaller one for $17.
I make my own now tho, coz we make our own soaps and creams and things. Belly balms are heaps easy to make.. you just put all the oils together and heat it up to melt some beeswax in it, pour it in a container and let it cool :) We were starting to sell our stuff, but it's too much work for so little profit LOL. So we just make it for ourselves and friends now :)
You can always just rub olive oil into your belly. It's fantastic for your skin and cheap! Avocado oil is meant to be good for stretch marks too. Perhaps shop around for just one oil to use?
ETA: Yeah, certified stuff gets expensive. We looked into certified organic ingredients, but I'm just happy to be using natural ingredients that aren't manufactured chemicals. Depends if certified is important to you or not. I'm happy with just 'organic' and not necessarily 'certified organic'. hehe.
Thanks Liz - Olive oil and Avacado oil are good suggestions. Keep them coming please - I will finish this Bio oil and then that is it.
I knew Baby oil was not good because as a triathlete, it is not recommended to use with your wetsuit (oils on the skin help to put it on and off during transition between swim and ride !!) - baby oil damages the wetsuit, so imagine what it can do to skin!
Wow.. that just says it all really doesn't it. LOL.:
if you're not adverse to animal products, apparently Emu Oil is fantastic for reducing scars and things.. which would include stretch marks.
Hi all. Some great tips, thanks. I tried Bio Oil approx 2 weeks ago and also broke out in red dots that turned into a rash on belly and breasts where I had rubbed it. I haven't used it since but rash has not disappeared, in fact rash has spread a bit. I showed to my obstetrician this morning an she basically dismissed it as having anything to do with pregnancy and said "see your GP". Can anybody tell me how long it took for their rash to clear up? My guess is GP will just say to use Calamine lotion and wait.....pray:
Hi Jaz - my rash cleared up within about 3 days of not using the Bio-Oil and hasn't come back so it was definitely a bad reaction to the oil. I've been using a 'Baby Organics' oil since and have not had any problems with it. I thought I was going great guns on the stretch mark front up until 2 weeks ago, and now it seems like I get a new stretchy every day - bummer!
I know in pg that your skin is extra sensitive and creams that you used without a problem pre-preg can cause a rash when you fall preg. I'd try to stick to only organic creams and oils and see how you go.
How long were you using the bio oil prior to breaking out in the rash? I've been using it for about a week with no problems, however last night I began to notice that I had an itch and this morning I woke up with redness and bumps covering my stomach, chest, back, and arms. I normally don't have sensitive skin but I cannot figure out what else would have caused this rash. It's driving me nuts. I didn't use the oil this morning in fear that it might be what's causing the irritation and will switch to something else if it seems that was the cause of the rash. I'm only 12 weeks and waking up with such a rash (I've never had any sort of skin rash in my life) made me nervous.
My naturopath recommended Rosehip oil to me and I love it!! There's no crap in it and it's not expensive.
S X
i use almond oil ... practically no smell and not too greasy on the skin ...
and it only costs about $4 for a 1.5ltr bottle!!
I have been using bio oil twice daily for my whole pregnancy (no stretch marks yet - yay!) but a friend who is pregnant bought some and got itchy once she started using it, so has passed it onto me. I think you're extra sensitive when pregnant so maybe that's why. It hasn't affected me but I haven't been able to wear earrings (weird huh!)
I have heard that apricot oil which you can get from a health food shop is meant to be good to stretch marks, not sure of the price though as I have just stuck with the bio oil.
Slightly off topic but still on the petrochemical debate...everyone I speak with says with new babies you just need to wash them in sorbolene cream and water. I was never going to buy J&J or anything like that but after hearing alot of bad stuff about petrochemicals (and yes I am still using bio oil) I am now hesitant to use sorbolene cream in the baby's bath.
Any ideas for something else that I could use when I want to put something other than plain water in the bath?
Thanks :)
Hi Hummingbird, sorry to co-hijack the thread Claire... but I was advised to use no products for the first six weeks. I thought that would result in a smelly sticky baby but she's six weeks today and she's quite nice-smelling. I did wash her hair in J&J (only thing on hand) after she slept on my dad for a few hours after he went on a big bike ride. Her hair STUNK like his BO and I just thought it needed more than water to clear it. Thankfully, no bad reaction. Mum's given me some organic bath wash which I'm going to use later. Water seems to be working ok for now.
BTW, I am usually very sensitive but I had no reaction to bio oil. I started using it at about 34 weeks, usually forgot to put it on, and had no stretchies. But I think that's genetic, not really related to any product.
Hi I got the rash and swapped to a water based qv type cream...no stretchies on my belly but my boobs copped it lol..
Hi there,
I've just joined and not sure how all these forums work. I know this is an old one, but I saw the post from Sullen2 where they've written:
"i use almond oil ... practically no smell and not too greasy on the skin ...
and it only costs about $4 for a 1.5ltr bottle!! "
I have been trying to find almond Oil for a couple of weeks now and the only one I could find is 200ml of sweet almond oil in chemist/pharmacy for $15.
Could you (or anyone else that uses almond oil during pregnancy) please let me know where you found your almond oil from? I'm in my first trimester (just found out about it a couple weeks ago :) ) and would like to start using almond oil to try and avoid stretch marks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks heaps!
Mum2B: I got my massive bottle from a health food shop. It's actually oil you can use for cooking so just go to the HF shop and ask for almond oil. I have used it on and off since start of my pg and it has been pretty good! Barely used any and not greasy like most oils. And it is really high in Vit E and no chemicals.