Celebrity News

Serena Williams Uses These Natural Remedies To Prevent Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Tennis legend and entrepreneur Serena Williams is generously sharing her secrets on how she prevents the appearance of stretch marks during her pregnancy.

Williams is married to Reddit co-founder and businessman Alexis Ohanian. The couple share a 5-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., who goes by Olympia. Williams and Ohanian are currently expecting a second child, which has since been confirmed to be another girl following a recent gender reveal celebration.

Although Williams didn't disclose any information about her pregnancy routine in the past, the 41-year-old changed her mind this time around because she developed a step-by-step regimen that has proven to be effective so far in her goal to reduce stretch marks. In the YouTube video "My Belly Routine featuring Olympia," shared last month, Williams opens up about the particular products she uses regularly and some she applies on multiple occasions.

Serena Williams' Belly Routine

Serena Williams YouTube

At the start of the clip, Williams revealed another factor contributing to the release of the belly routine video: her determination not to get stretch marks.

"I thought it would be really good for me to show you what I use on my belly because I love beauty products. I love my makeup. I love all that stuff," she said while mentioning the products she used when she was pregnant with her first child. "But when I had Olympia in my belly, I didn't really put a lot of things on. I just put like, lotion and stuff. This time around, I'm like, I don't want to get any stretch marks."

Williams added that when she was pregnant with Olympia, she got little stretch marks and was willing to do anything to not have any for her second pregnancy.

Raw Cocoa Butter And Raw Shea Butter

Serena Williams YouTube

Further into the video, Williams shares that she begins her daily routine by rubbing raw cocoa butter on her belly, which reportedly improves blood circulation and prevents UV rays damage.

"I'll show you what I do. I have my own concoction... The best thing to do, I heard, was cocoa butter. So I order cocoa butter," she explained. “So I got raw cocoa butter, and I just rub it on my belly in the morning. Every morning I wake up, I just rub it on. The lower area is also super important for me. So I get a little bit on the lower area as well."

In addition to rubbing the cocoa butter on her belly regularly, Williams would apply it to her breasts and back. The next step is raw shea butter. Williams claims she usually combines both butters and rubs them on her belly, back, and chest, but she placed them one at a time for video purposes.

The main benefit of using raw shea butter on one's skin is retaining moisture.

Pure Vitamin E Oil

Serena Williams YouTube

After lathering herself up with cocoa butter and shea butter and the products set in, Williams applied pure vitamin E oil to improve her skin's elasticity.

"Say ten minutes has passed, I'm like, okay, that's all set and feels good. I get pure vitamin E oil," she stated. "Vitamin E oil is good for storing, and I'm just trying to make my skin more elastic, so I rub all that vitamin E oil on there...Again I get the lower part because that's where most of the stretch marks occur. So I get all that area, and then anything extra, I put on my back."

Pure Coconut Oil And Bio-Oil

Serena Williams YouTube

In the latter half of the clip, Williams disclosed the items she uses on different occasions, including pure coconut oil, especially if she notices that her belly feels dry after applying her go-to products.

"In addition to the products that I've already used on my belly, I usually like to switch it up. So at night, I'll change up my routine a little bit or during the day if I feel like my tummy's a little dry. I add on this pure coconut oil," she said.

Following that step, Williams explained that she started incorporating bio-oil into her routine because of the rave reviews she received from friends and family.

"Another one that I use, people swear by it, I started using is Bio-Oil," she stated while listing one of the oil's benefits. "It is natural, and it's for stretch marks."

Belly Masks

Serena Williams YouTube

Williams wrapped up the video by suggesting that individuals currently expecting, like herself, invest in belly masks because they were created to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.

In addition to that statement, Williams also shared the best times to use the masks.

"Another thing I've been trying are these little [belly] masks.

So it's really cool. They're like stretch mark targeted sheet masks. You put the whole mask on your belly. Super fun if you want to have like a day just for you to just relax and rewind. Take a deep breath and spend time for you," she stated.

For Williams' full video on how to reduce stretch marks during pregnancy, click the video below.

My Belly Routine featuring Olympia

youtu.be

My Belly Routine featuring Olympia

Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.

Feature image by Serena Williams YouTube