Postpartum skin can run drier, and stretch marks slowly lose their early red or purple color. Hair sheds too, and it's usually heaviest around four months. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) calls that shedding normal and temporary, and time does more for it than any jar.
This post is for the first year after a baby. Your OB or midwife leads on the birth itself, stitches and incisions included, and a dermatologist leads on stretch mark treatment. We make the balm I'm about to recommend.
For everyday dryness, it's Bare Silk ($34, as of October 5, 2026) in the Unscented original, the jar we use on our own baby. For the look of stretch marks, it's Recovery Balm ($74), the helichrysum tallow balm. Below is what the research measured, and where a balm stops and a clinician takes over.
Why does skin feel drier after a baby?
Pregnancy pushes estrogen and progesterone to the highest levels they'll ever reach, the federal Office on Women's Health says. Within 24 hours of birth, both are back to pre-pregnancy levels. The AAD ties the hair shedding months later to that falling estrogen, but whether the drop dries skin is less clear. I couldn't find a study that measured whether falling hormones or short nights dry the skin. The research is thin.
The hands are easier to explain, since every diaper change ends at the sink. The AAD's dry-skin tips say to moisturize after each hand washing, while skin's still damp, and they rate ointments and creams above lotions. A balm with no water sits at the ointment end of that shelf. In a 2016 review, Sethi and colleagues describe occlusives as a water-repelling film that physically blocks water loss from the skin's top layer. That's a tallow balm's job here: it slows water loss and relieves the dry, tight feel.
What happens to stretch marks after the baby comes?
A stretch mark is a type of scar that forms when skin stretches or shrinks quickly, the AAD says. They're common: a 2017 review by Motosko and colleagues in the International Journal of Women's Dermatology puts them at more than 63% of pregnant women. Over time, the review says, they turn paler and less noticeable but don't disappear entirely.
Plenty of posts promise an oil that makes marks vanish, and the AAD's page says popular home remedies haven't worked in studies. None of the marks faded with almond oil, cocoa butter, olive oil or vitamin E. Tallow's a fat, like most of those. Like any scar, the AAD says, a stretch mark is permanent, though treatment may make it less noticeable. I won't claim a jar of ours does what those oils couldn't. Treatment does more for early marks, and in-office procedures such as lasers have proven more effective than creams. If you're breastfeeding, check with your doctor before starting any treatment.
Recovery Balm is our jar for the look of stretch marks, with helichrysum and sea buckthorn CO2 in the tallow. It softens how the skin over a mark looks and feels while it's on. That's the whole claim.
Why does hair shed around four months after birth?
Many new moms see noticeable hair loss a few months after having a baby, and the AAD says it isn't true hair loss. It's telogen effluvium, meaning excessive shedding, and falling estrogen causes it. Shedding usually peaks about four months after birth, and most women see normal fullness back by their child's first birthday. Many get there sooner. The Motosko review gives a similar window: hair regrows in 6 to 15 months.
You don't have to do anything to remedy it, the AAD says, though its tips can help hair look fuller. Use a volumizing shampoo and a conditioner made for fine hair, mostly on the ends. A shorter cut can look fuller. We don't sell anything for shedding, and no jar of ours changes it. If your hair hasn't regained its normal fullness after a full year, the AAD suggests booking a visit with a dermatologist.
Will the darker patches on my face go away?
Some women leave pregnancy with patches darker than their natural skin tone on the cheeks, forehead, chin or above the upper lip. That's melasma. The AAD says it's so common in pregnancy that it's sometimes called the mask of pregnancy. Motosko's review puts it at up to 70% of pregnant women. For some women it goes away after the baby is born, the AAD says, and for others it can last for years.
Sun brings it back. It often returns after unprotected time outdoors, the AAD says, so its advice is daily sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. Tallow doesn't screen UV and it isn't a treatment. Balm goes on first and sunscreen over it, as our post on tallow and zinc sunscreen lays out. If the patches stay, see a dermatologist.
Where does a balm fit, and where does a clinician take over?
A balm does one surface job after birth, slowing water loss from intact skin, and it does nothing upstream for hormones or hair. Keep every jar off an incision or stitches until your OB or midwife says the skin's closed. A pea of balm, warmed between your fingertips, is plenty.
Some dryness is a signal. The American Thyroid Association says postpartum thyroiditis affects about 5 to 10% of women in the US, and its low-thyroid phase typically comes four to eight months after delivery. Dry skin's on its list of typical symptoms, beside fatigue and depression. If dryness arrives with deep fatigue or a low mood, it's worth a call to your OB. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment. Your provider's plan comes first.
Which jar do we keep in the house after a baby?
One jar covers the most ground: Bare Silk Unscented, with five ingredients and no essential oils or fragrance. It smells like nothing. That matters when a baby's face spends hours on your chest. When our baby got the first jar, it was this one, and it's the jar I'd keep by the sink after a day of diaper changes. For the baby's side, read our posts on tallow on baby skin and Bare Silk for pregnancy and babies.
Add Recovery Balm if the look of marks on your belly bothers you. Where the baby's cheek lands, we don't use anything but the Unscented jar, so Recovery stays on the belly and hips.
The jar for this job is Bare Silk ($34). Subscribe to two jars and a third rides free, and every subscription takes 25% off the first delivery.
Questions we hear
Is postpartum hair loss permanent?
No. The American Academy of Dermatology calls it telogen effluvium, or excessive shedding, and says falling estrogen after birth causes it. Most women see normal fullness return by their child's first birthday, and many sooner. You don't have to do anything to remedy it. If your hair isn't back to normal fullness after a year, the academy suggests seeing a dermatologist.
Do stretch marks go away after pregnancy?
Not entirely. The American Academy of Dermatology calls a stretch mark a type of scar and says that, like any scar, it's permanent, though treatment may make it less noticeable. Over time, early red or purple marks turn paler and sink beneath the skin. Treatment does more for early marks than for mature ones, so if you want it, ask a dermatologist early.
Can I put tallow on a C-section scar?
Not on the incision until your OB or midwife says it's fully closed. Until then, follow your discharge plan. Once the skin's intact and your provider has cleared it, a balm can go on for comfort and for the look of the scar. Recovery Balm is our jar for the look of scars, and Bare Silk Unscented is the plainer pick.
Why is my skin so dry after having a baby?
Hormones may play a part. Estrogen and progesterone peak in pregnancy and drop back to pre-pregnancy levels within 24 hours of birth, the Office on Women's Health says. The sink is part of it too, and the American Academy of Dermatology advises moisturizer after every hand wash. If dryness comes with deep fatigue or a low mood, tell your OB, since the American Thyroid Association lists dry skin among the symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis.
Go deeper
For the months before the baby, read tallow skincare during pregnancy. Our post on stretch marks and marked skin goes further on marks, and what is a barrier cream explains the seal a balm makes. If you're new to tallow, start with the beef tallow for skin guide. Drier skin in perimenopause and menopause covers the next hormonal turn, and friction and chafing the rub that comes with carrying a baby all day.
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology (n.d.). Stretch marks: why they appear and how to get rid of them. aad.org.
- Loren Bullock, American Academy of Dermatology (2025). Hair loss in new moms: dermatologist tips, last updated October 2, 2025. aad.org.
- Paula Ludmann MS, American Academy of Dermatology (2022). Melasma: overview. aad.org.
- Paula Ludmann MS, American Academy of Dermatology (2026). Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin. aad.org.
- Office on Women's Health, US Department of Health and Human Services (2023). Postpartum depression, last updated October 17, 2023. womenshealth.gov.
- American Thyroid Association, no author listed (n.d.). Postpartum thyroiditis. thyroid.org.
- Sethi A, Kaur T, Malhotra SK, Gambhir ML (2016). Moisturizers: the slippery road. Indian Journal of Dermatology, volume 61, pages 279 to 287.
- Motosko CC and colleagues (2017). Physiologic changes of pregnancy: a review of the literature. International Journal of Women's Dermatology.
Aspen is the co-founder of Craft Tallow and runs the wear tests: every recipe goes on her skin and the family's for weeks before it gets a label. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with one of us.