After wrapping up her career as one of the world’s most iconic tennis players, Serena Williams has been enjoying some "me" time. Sure, she’s still landing amazing brand deals and running her own performance-care brand, Will Perform, but as her new Youtube page shows, Williams has been focusing most of her attention on her family and pregnancy. In a video posted to the platform, Williams revealed the go-to oil concoction that she uses on her growing belly.
Williams and her child, Olympia, open the video in Williams’s bathroom. The tennis star wears black biker shorts, a black sports bra, and a flowing silk kimono with a black, cream, and green pattern throughout. “I thought it would be really good to show you what I use on my belly,” says the athlete. “I love beauty products—I love my makeup, all that stuff. But when I had Olympia in my belly, I didn’t really put a lot of [products] on [my belly]—I just put lotions. This time around, I don’t want to get any stretch marks.”
During this pregnancy, however, Williams has a fully-fledged routine. To start, Williams explains that raw cocoa butter is one of the best products to use for a growing belly. Naturally, she procured a bag of it from Amazon. “I just rub it on my belly in the morning,” Williams says as she melts a block of raw cocoa butter along her belly and back.
“If you know anything about me, I am the most extreme person—so, cocoa butter is not enough, obviously,” Williams says. She then reveals that she uses raw shea butter—also ordered from Amazon—as the second step in her morning body care routine. After melting the shea butter in between her hands, Williams applies it, saying, “It’s important to get the back, the middle, and the top [of the belly]. I normally put it on my chest, as well.” Williams then lets the oils rest for about ten minutes, rubbing any excess product on her hands.
Following that, Williams then applies pure vitamin E oil. “I saw that Mariah Carey said she used to take baths with vitamin E oil every single day,” says Williams. “Now, I can’t do that because Olympia doesn’t like when I put vitamin E oil in the bathtub because I mess her dolls’ hair up.” (#MomLife.) Instead, she rubs a half-dollar-sized amount on her belly, revealing that this ingredient, specifically, helps her minimize scarring and increase skin elasticity.
“In addition to the products I already used on my belly, I usually like to switch—so, at night, I’ll change up my routine a bit, or during the day if I feel like my tummy is a little dry, I add on pure coconut oil.” She then reveals that she got her coconut oil on a trip—but if you’re not jet-setting to a tropical destination any time soon, you can use virgin coconut oil instead.
Another product that she adds to her daytime routine is Bio-Oil Skincare Oil. “It’s natural, and it’s for stretch marks, and people love it.” Finally, Williams reveals on the days when she “wants the day just for [me], just to relax,” she taps into the Hatch Mama Belly Mask.