There is a reason why the term ‘Yummy Mummy’ was coined. New and older mums seem to have woken up to the fact that having a baby or children to care for does not mean an end to their desire to look and feel beautiful. Giving teeth to this claim is a survey conducted by Momspresso, which is India’s largest user-generated content platform for women.
Momspresso’s ‘Mom’s Happiness Index Survey’ suggested that one of the key drivers influencing a mom’s happiness is ‘how much time she gets for herself’, and the factors that contributed to it included time spent on personal grooming, visiting parlours, how happy the mom is with her looks, time spent on worrying about beauty concerns, etc. A staggering majority of women feel very differently about beauty after they become mothers, as clearly shown by the data from the Momspresso beauty survey. Parul Ohri, editor at Momspresso, says, “Time, quite understandably, becomes the biggest constraint and moms with small children just don't seem to be able to find that little window when they can indulge in some much-desired self-care. Young mothers very frankly express how they miss that aspect of their lives. Those with a reliable support system at home are more fortunate, but those in nuclear families are the most hard pressed for time.”
So a beauty regime, that at some point included homemade or commercially available hydrating masks, scrubs, packs etc., reduces to the bare minimum 10 minutes a day with a basic facewash and moisturiser routine.
The other trend is to do with the nature of beauty-related concerns. After motherhood, women are looking at a more corrective approach to their overall appearance and that goes well beyond facial beauty. “They now want solutions for weight loss, stretch marks, dark circles, puffy eyes, blemishes, and fine lines. Hormonal changes post delivery can cause excessive dryness, pigmentation, adult acne, patchiness and other similar conditions that may need a dermatological prescription rather than just cosmetic care,” Parul informs.
What is also very interesting is how women start viewing beauty more holistically, with a greater focus on internal well-being rather than just external appearance. Nutrition and fitness take priority over beauty at just the outer level and as they grow older, women have a greater understanding of how health is directly related to their appearance.
