Serena Williams Shares Her Belly Routine For Avoiding Stretch-Marks With Baby No. 2

Serena Williams is prepping for the arrival of her second baby with a healthy dose of self-care. On 15 July, the retired tennis legend shared her belly routine for avoiding stretch-marks in a video on YouTube. Along for the ride was her expert cameraperson and helper, daughter Olympia Ohanian.

Williams kicked off her video by sharing that she didn't put many products on her stomach when she was pregnant with Olympia. Instead, she just rubbed on some lotion and called it today. This time around, she's taking belly care to a whole new level with a mix of cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E oil, as well as the occasional belly mask.

"When I had Olympia in my belly, I didn't really put a lot of things on, I just put like lotions and stuff, and this time around I don't want to get any stretch marks," she explained, before pulling out her raw cocoa butter and slathering it on her baby bump. She added, "Every morning I wake up, and I just rub it on. The lower area is also super important to me, so I get it on the lower area, as well.

She continued, "With me being an extremist, if you know anything about me, you know I'm like the most extreme person. Like, I don't do extreme sports or anything, but everything else I'm pretty extreme in, so cocoa butter's not enough, obviously."

After the cocoa butter, Williams rubbed her stomach with shea butter (both of which she purchased off Amazon). She paused to explain her routine usually includes doing her chest, too, but for obvious reasons, she wouldn't be sharing that part on camera. "Normally, I rub my boobies too, but that's for a different platform," she joked. Olympia helpfully chimed in, "Next time!" much to her mum's dismay.

Williams went on to share that she then waits 10 minutes before rubbing vitamin E oil on her stomach. She noted she once heard Mariah Carey added the oil to her baths, but she's been banned from following in Carey's footsteps ever since she accidentally damaged the hair on Olympia's Barbie dolls. "I messed the dolls' hair up, so I can't do that," she said, as Olympia admonished her off-camera.

In addition to her daytime routine, Williams also has a nighttime routine which involves pure coconut oil she purchased while she was on holiday, and belly masks. She added, "When this journey is over, which will be in a few months, we'll see if I got stretch-marks or not."