For those gals that are pregnant or nursing, it can feel like the end of your skincare game since there are many common ingredients and treatments that have been deemed not safe; but there is plenty you can do in the meantime to maintain and even improve your skin.
Obviously the routine Botox has to go onhold, but what about your routine products in your medicine cabinet? The first ingredient to avoid would be Retin-A and any derivative. It is a very common ingredient used to treat acne, age spots, wrinkles, and general skin texture; therefore, it can be difficult to avoid especially for products that work. Second ingredient to avoid would be Salicylic Acid. Again, generally a very common and safe ingredient but it is not recommended when you have a bun in the oven. It is often found in exfoliating products (not our Exfoliant 07 :) ) because it helps keep pores clear and reduces sebum production. Glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acids are better alternatives when you still want that fresh, exfoliated glow during pregnancy. Lastly, and I don’t recommend this in general for it’s toxicity, but hydroquinone is a big no no. It can be very powerful in lightening sun spots and, some believe, melasma (which is debatable given melasma is hormonal). But this can be tempting because women often get melasma on their face due to an increase in melanin production during pregnancy. Try and just wait it out, you can work on aggressively treating melasma after you have your baby or it may just organically fade after the fact.
For the best option, look to clean beauty (at all times but especially when pregnant). Perhaps this is the time to make the switch. Maybe, up until now, you haven’t been able to part with that Le Mer serum that you have sworn by since college. However, it is filled with “junk” and filler that does nothing for you except strip your wallet of funds. Don’t listen to the “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it” because there are plenty of safe ingredients that are derivatives of something safe. However, you should be able to identify many of the ingredients and the product itself should be deemed “clean.” There are still plenty of ingredients you can use such as vitamin C and other acids such as the ones mentioned above that have proven effectiveness and are safe for pregnancy. Do your research to find products that will be most effective for you and what’s going on with your skin but will also keep your baby safe.