9 Easy Beauty Secrets for Busy Moms

Running around after a toddler or taking care of a baby all day doesn’t leave much time for self care for new moms. I get it. Your go-to look right now might be some lip balm and a “mom” bun.

Personally, I feel better when I look better. I wanted to look better for myself, but I didn’t have much time with a new baby. These beauty secrets are my mom of two, trial-and-error, tried-and-true ways to look more put together and more like myself pre-baby vomit.

In my blog post “Am I Ready to be a Mom?” I talked about importance of having a manageable self-care regimen and a skincare routine. It helps level the drastic transition to motherhood in a small, but recognizable way.

All of these tips for busy moms are super easy and fast to do, but doing them (one, some, or all) consistently will make a BIG difference over time!

(Psst…if you are a husband reading this, these also make thoughtful Mother’s Day gifts to give to the mothers in your life)

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1. Use a terry cloth lined shower cap between wash days.

2. Blow dry your hair with the right products.

3. Silk scrunchies and silk pillowcase for wrinkle free hair and wrinkle free face.

As busy moms, our go-to hairstyle is usually the mom bun. Using silk scrunchies will be gentle on the hair to keep it healthier without snags.

Healthier hair means better looking hair for those rare occasions we do go out and have to style it nicely. Keeping your hair healthy is also important because your postpartum hormones have probably taken half of your hair from your head (typing this as hair is falling off my head at an alarming rate – first time moms: it’s normal between 3-8 months to have A LOT of hair fall out from hormones shifting postpartum).

Silk pillowcases are important for 2 reasons:

1. Maintaining your styled hair over night.
2. Prevent wrinkles (and breakouts!) as it is a much smoother surface than cotton and doesn’t pull at your skin.

If you’re waking up multiple times a night like me, you’d want the silk pillowcase for a cool surface to sleep on, and protect that rapidly aging skin at the same time. When I’m crashing into my pillow after the 3rd night wake, I find that I often wake up with “sleep lines”. Silk pillowcases saves my face from these dreaded creases and imprints when I wake up.

Literally zero time wasted!

4. Layering your toner essence for a glowing complexion.

In my skincare routine blog post, I use a toner mist as a part of my regimen day and night.

For busy moms that get very little sleep, our skin is likely dehydrated and looking a little dull. Remember to use an alcohol-free toner that is hydrating (there is NO NEED to waste a super expensive toner for this trick)!!

I like to use this trick when I don’t have the time to indulge in a face sheet mask.

Toner Layering Method

1. After washing your face, do not towel dry your face. Pat dry with your hands with most of the water still on your face, apply the first layer of toner essence with your hands.
2. Fully pat and let toner essence absorb into the skin, then do another layer.
3. Repeat at least 3-5 times (adjust as you need).
4. Continue and finish the rest of your skincare routine.

Mini Toner Face Mask

Another way you can use toner essence to quickly boost your skin’s appearance and hydration is to drench a facial cotton pad with toner and use it on the driest parts of your face (cheeks and forehead for me) as you are getting ready in the morning making coffee or feeding your baby.

Make up will also go on beautifully if you have time for that afterwards!

5. Do face yoga and facial massage.

I wanted to test out the face yoga (first video) techniques and did it everyday for a week and it REALLY WORKED!

Nowadays with a newborn, I don’t do it every day – just whenever I remember. I try to do the facial massage techniques every couple of days with a face oil at the end of my skincare routine.

6. Moisturize on the go.

Moisturizing is the key to that glowing complexion and feeling confident without piling on tons and tons of makeup (we really don’t have time for that, anyway). Since I’m not the best water drinker, I try to let my skin do the hydrating, instead.

7. Lipstick trick that lasts all day.

I suffer from dry lips, and I’m terrible at drinking water. To ensure that my lips stay somewhat presentable and not flaking every day, I put on a generous layer of the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask every night.

Having a flush of colour on the lips can help you look more refreshed and polished. I used to use lip stains or liquid lipsticks for its lasting power, but I find that both really dries out my lips at the end of the day. Now I pretty much exclusively use bullet lipsticks with good formulation.

For work, I usually wear a more true red seeing I’m wearing a full face of makeup. On maternity leave (or on weekends), I opt for a deeper red that is more wearable. I find red hues the most flattering on all skin tones to look noticeably more put together.

My favourite lipstick formulation is by Charlotte Tilbury, particularly the shade Walk of No Shame [Sephora]. I also really enjoy Revlon’s Super Lustrous lipstick formulations and the shade Wine With Everything is a great dupe with a less matte finish.

Blotting your lips with lipstick is not so much of a secret, but I recommend trying my lipstick trick below to really lock in the colour so it stays all day. This tip will also help your lipstick fade nicely over the course of the day and not have joker lips by the end.

Step by Step Lipstick Trick

1. Line outer edges of lips with lip liner in the shade ONE SHADE deeper than your natural lip colour,
2. Optional: apply a layer of Buxom’s Plumping Lip Balm (I use Dolly Fever).
3. Apply a generous layer of lipstick.
4. Blot.
5. Apply the same lipstick to the center of the lips.
6. Blot.
7. Dap the lipstick all over lips.

There you have it. 3 thin layers and you’re good to take on the day without having to retouch (unless you eat, of course)!

8. Your hands are your second face.

…is what my mother always says to me. Our hands and neck are the first to show signs of aging.

With COVID, a new baby, and a messy toddler, I am constantly washing my hands. I can tell my hands are extra dry when my cuticles start to look crusty and hard.

As a busy mom, it’s impossible to remember to put on hand lotion every time I wash my hands. I try to keep hand lotion in all of areas where I would wash my hands in the house. I also keep hand lotion by my nightstand, on my office desk, and in my bag.

My top pick for a nourishing and fast absorbing is the Clarin’s Hand and Nail Treatment Cream. It’s both pregnancy AND nursing safe as seen in my blog post here.

I’ve recently added this cuticle oil to my night routine and it’s helped my cuticles to be much less crusty.

Here comes the real deal: UV protection driving gloves [Canada / US]. I know, I know. I have been laughed at when seen wearing it, but honestly, I’m not bothered.

The sun is your ultimate enemy when it comes to aging. You can google and find crazy comparison images of truck driver’s left and right side from the exposure to sun just driving!

Do it for your future self, and it takes literally 10 seconds to put on.

9. Use sunscreen like your life depends on it.

If you know me, you know I HIDE from the sun. With a baby and a toddler, however, you really need that vitamin D for everyone to be happy and healthy. Maintaining healthy Vitamin D levels is also shown to help with postpartum depression (PMID:30894884).

Exposure to UV rays is the #1 cause for aging, wrinkles, and dark patches. Using the proper sunscreen will give you the MOST “anti-aging” benefits long term over anything else.

You might hate the smell of sunscreen, the white cast, or even the tacky feeling of sunscreen. This is because you’re using the wrong sunscreen.

Chemical vs. Mineral Sunscreen

• Chemical sunscreens are your friend if you don’t like white casts. Chemical sunscreens have thinner formulations and absorb into the skin.
• Mineral sunscreens are also called “physical” sunscreens and they sit on top of your skin to absorb the UV rays. If you have sensitive or acne prone skin, you might want to opt for mineral sunscreens.

Korean or Japanese brands are hands down THE BEST when it comes to sunscreen that is virtually undetectable and has awesome spf coverage.

My Favourite Sunscreens

• Hydrating with a glow with no white cast: Laneige Hydro UV Defense.
• Virtually undetectable and great under makeup: Kanebo Dew UV Day Essence.
• Ultra sensitive skin and children: Shiseido Ultra Sun Protection [Shoppers].

UVA and UVB Rays

You want to look for at least spf 50 (protects against 98% of UVB) and ideally with PA +++ (extremely effective against UVA) protection.

• UVB rays penetrate into the epidermis (top skin layer) and causes you to get tanned or sunburnt.
• UVA rays penetrate deeper into the dermis, causing dark patches, wrinkles and premature aging.

I am terrible with re-application unless I’m at the beach, but I like to use the mineral powder brush-on sunscreen [Canadians can find it in Wholefoods or on Well.ca] on my face and neck if I’m out and about for long periods of time.

Remember, wear sunscreen EVERY DAY on anywhere that has exposure to UV rays (most often on face, neck, hands, arms), RAIN OR SHINE!

This post was all about beauty tips for busy moms. New moms and seasoned moms alike want to look good and feel good. Postpartum is a time to heal, and we are often bombarded with comments about our appearance (most of them backhanded compliments…ugh).

I know that taking even a couple minutes a day for yourself may seem like a luxury, but please remember, you are the foundation for your family, and you come first!

I hope you try my beauty secrets for yourself sometimes, all the time or whenever you have time.

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Thank you for reading this far and if you have any beauty secrets of your own, I’d love to know in the comments below!