Pregnancy Safe Skincare: How to Care for Your Skin During Pregnancy

Pregnancy brings with it a host of exciting firsts, your first food cravings, first ultrasound, and the first sign of baby’s kicks. While many of these experiences are welcomed, your skin may begin to behave differently due to the surge of hormones. Pregnancy can trigger a range of common skin concerns, including acne, melasma, dry skin, and stretch marks.

In order to treat these common skin concerns safely, you need to pay careful attention to the skincare products that you are using, as certain ingredients are not deemed as ‘pregnancy safe’. For example, ingredients such as salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and retinol may be absorbed into the bloodstream in small amounts, and can potentially have effects on your pregnancy. The good news is that there are plenty of alternative ingredients, such as peptide skincare products, which are pregnancy safe and promote healthy, glowing skin. 

It is always advisable to consult with your doctor before introducing any new skincare products into your routine during pregnancy. Every pregnancy is unique, so receiving personalised, tailored advice is essential.  

Ingredients to Avoid While Pregnant

As mentioned earlier, there are a few skincare ingredients that should be avoided during pregnancy, as their absorption could pose risks to you and your baby, including:

Salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are ingredients which are commonly found in acne treatments. These can easily be replaced with safer options like azelaic acid or niacinamide.

For exfoliation, skip harsh acids and instead opt for lactic acid or glycolic acid, which gently resurface the skin without compromising safety.

Retinol, known for targeting fine lines and uneven skin tone, is another no-go ingredient during pregnancy. The good news is that peptides, including anti-ageing peptides, are pregnancy safe and work to stimulate collagen production and improve skin elasticity.

Peptides are pregnancy safe, because they work to signal your skin to behave more ‘youthfully’ and work to improve your skin from a cellular level.

How to Look After Your Skin During Pregnancy

One of the main things to keep in mind when looking after your skin during pregnancy, is ensuring that you are using a gentle cleanser which doesn’t strip or over-dry the skin. Cashmere Cleanse is the perfect first step in your routine, as it is formulated with a milk-derived peptide and rose water which gently cleanse away oil and impurities whilst nourishing the skin barrier.  

Another product to add into your regimen to boost your hydration during pregnancy is the Moisture Reset Facial Oil. Twelve precious oils, including avocado and pumpkin oils work to lock in moisture and enhance the natural lipid barrier of your skin.

In addition to this, using a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day is crucial to a pregnancy safe skincare routine. Our Solar Dew Sheer Mineral Melt SPF 30 is a lightweight sun serum in a mineral formula, which hydrates and protects the skin without leaving a white cast. 

Pregnancy-Safe Ingredient Swaps

We’ve put together a quick cheat sheet to highlight which ingredients are pregnancy safe, which will also help you to improve your skin health and get the results you deserve.

Melasma & Hyperpigmentation: Vitamin C
Acne: Azelaic acid & niacinamide
Resurfacing: Lactic & glycolic acid
Dryness: Hyaluronic acid
Anti-Ageing: Peptides

How to Treat Stretch Marks 

Whilst stretch marks can't always be avoided, as they are often influenced by factors such as genetics, there are a few ingredients you can add into your routine which may help to fade the appearance of them over time, and ensuring that you are keeping the area well moisturised can help to improve the skin’s elasticity and appearance. 

Here are some of the key ingredients to look for:

 

Our LumiFirm body tightening lotion is enriched with firming peptides, brightening niacinamide and repairing ceramides which work to fade discolouration and stretch marks.

Pregnancy Safe Facial Treatments

Pregnancy is naturally a great time to start ramping up your self-care routine and treat yourself to extra relaxation, however there are some professional skin treatments which should be avoided during pregnancy, including:

 

Despite this, there are a number of other skin treatments which offer the perfect pregnancy-safe treatment and can actually help to improve the appearance of some pregnancy related skin concerns, including: 

How to Care for Your Skin During Pregnancy

As with any other treatments that you may be having during your pregnancy, it is important to let your aesthetician know that you are pregnant prior to beginning the treatment, as they may need to tailor certain elements of this to suit your needs better.