Diana Zubiri to moms: Don’t rush the postpartum ‘snapback’
As if the physical, mental, and emotional strain that usually comes with pregnancy wasn’t enough, many women these days face the unreasonable pressure of regaining their pre-baby bodies so soon after giving birth.
“Snapback culture,” they call it—a social media-fueled phenomenon that seemingly celebrates or prioritizes a mother’s appearance over wellness.
Shedding baby weight in a short time is somehow deemed aspirational. Never mind that you’re starving or exercising yourself to the bone—at least you don’t look like you have just carried a whole human being for nine months!
And this is something even celebrities who fit prevailing beauty standards can struggle with, too.
Diana Zubiri has never been particularly fussy about her looks. But that changed after becoming a mother. And the aftermath of her third pregnancy in 2020, she said, was a particularly difficult period.
“I fell into postpartum depression. I would just find myself randomly crying for no reason. And the changes in your physical appearance—all the weight gain, the bloating, ‘yung manas (edema)—you won’t accept readily,” Zubiri told Lifestyle at her recent launch as the first celebrity endorser of the beauty and wellness clinic Cara Aesthetics in Pasig City.
After welcoming her third baby, Amira, the 39-year-old actress and her Australian businessman husband, Andrew Smith, brought their family of five to Adelaide, Australia, where they’re now permanent residents.
Caring for an infant and watching over two older children was a challenge, especially during the first year of the pandemic in a foreign land. The days were hot and seemingly passed much slower. And once in a while, she couldn’t help but think: “Ang pangit-pangit ko!” she said, laughing.
“We didn’t exactly go there to have a good time. And when you’re already tired from doing so much stuff during the day, you have to set aside things you usually do for yourself, like working out, sleeping on time, caring about your looks,” she said.
Take your time
But her kids always came first, she stressed. How she looked didn’t really matter—at least not during that time when acting and show biz were the least of her concerns.
“I’m proud that I was able to pull it off. I was even able to breastfeed for 14 months. As a mom, that’s a big achievement,” said Zubiri, who also has an 8-year-old daughter, Aliyah, with Smith, and a 15-year-old son, King, with her late ex-husband, Alex Lopez.
“Okay lang na ’di ako maganda,” joked Zubiri, who’s best known for her portrayal of the character Sang’gre Danaya in the iconic fantasy series “Encantadia” in 2005. “There was no reason to be anyway!”
If she were to give new mothers or pregnant women a piece of advice, it would be this: Don’t be too harsh on yourselves. “You have to take your time. You have to go with the realities of life,” she pointed out.
And true enough, Zubiri didn’t start working out until a couple of months after childbirth. Even then, she made sure to take things easy. “Now, I go to the gym as often as I can. I watch what I eat and I lessen my sugar consumption. But of course, I still need carbs and sweets, especially when I’m feeling tired,” she said.
Though she’s back to where she wants to be, more or less, she knows that there will still be days—many of them, truth be told—when she won’t feel her best. And that’s completely okay.
“You won’t wake up every single morning feeling confident or beautiful. During times like that, you just have to go through it,” she said.
Proper skincare
Zubiri didn’t really have a proper skincare routine, especially during her younger days, because she “used to be confident” that her face didn’t need products or treatments. That’s changed. It can be scorching hot in Australia, and most of the products readily available there, she observed, aren’t formulated for Asian skin.
“The weather is very different. I would get freckles or get easily sunburned. And they take a really long time before they fade,” she said.
Now, Zubiri follows a skincare routine composed mostly of Cara Aesthetics’ offerings, which include night creams, anti-aging and eye-firming serums, acne-care bar soaps, sunscreen, and brightening lotions. But nothing too complicated; her night and days regimens, in fact, are pretty much identical.
“I make sure to cleanse my face—more thoroughly if I have makeup on—before going to bed. And then I apply night cream. It’s the same in the morning. I wash my face, moisturize, and make sure to put on sunscreen,” she related.
Zubiri has also become more open to machine treatments, like diode laser hair removal for her underarms. “That’s actually my favorite,” said Zubiri, who’s in the country to shoot the action soap opera on GMA 7, “Mga Batang Riles.”
“I don’t get dolled up when I don’t have work and have to face the cameras. But now that I have a beauty endorsement and am back to acting, I have to put in more effort,” she said.
Zubiri is still wary of surgical cosmetic procedures. But botox injections? She’s not totally averse to the idea.
“If I do end up needing it in the future, then okay. I have seen some friends do it, and they’re fine,” she said. “Of course, it’s something I wouldn’t want to go overboard with.”
