Retinol in pregnancy - freaking out! 😬

[Jg93x]

So I’ve never even considered this but saw an article today advising to avoid retinol during pregnancy including in makeup and skincare.

I thought I best check and my serum and body cream both contain retinol and I’ve been applying it religiously for weeks 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’m 29 weeks and I’m really freaking out, I darent even check my makeup because it’ll send me into a frenzy!

Has anyone else done the same? Help

You poor thing! Please don't worry. It is recommended that it is avoided in pregnancy but actually it is very unlikely that enough will have absorbed to be a problem.
What brand have you used?

There is so little information out there about skincare in pregnancy so it's easily done.

I watched a Caroline Hirons (skincare guru) video on this once. Sorry can’t find it now for reference.

She said that topical vitamin A - Retinol - isn’t going anywhere near your blood, and therefore will not have any effect on your baby. But of course like many drugs/skincare products, it’s really difficult to test anything on real pregnant women, so the manufacturers recourse is to the safety of ‘do not use in pregnancy’.

High dose Vitamin A tablets, Such as Roaccutane is Totally different, it IS going directly into your system and should never be taken by anyone hoping to be or actually pregnant. But these are prescription only and a Doctor would explicitly say so before prescribing.

I have used The Ordinary’s retinol occasionally, I’m 18 weeks into my second pregnancy, and not worried at all

I hope that helps x

The main risk to a baby is if your ingesting it, for example, taking roaccutane for acne. Topical salicylic acid is also meant to be avoided during pregnancy and i was inadvertently using a moisturiser with it in. Ive stopped now, and im not letting myself worry about it! Im sure lots of people use creams with these ingredients without realising it.

I'm a medical professional working in aesthetics. I read an article in an aesthetics journal recently about skincare in pregnancy written by some very highly regarded doctors in the field.
PPs are right about Retinol being applied to the skin not being a problem.
The article also stated that salicylic acid is not an issue.
It was quite an interesting read. I would never recommend products containing these ingredients to clients however if you have used them, it's not really an issue.

@Jg93x the last few posters have covered what you need for reassuence but just to add I assume this stuff is over the counter and not perscibed as well so will contain the tiniest amount. Probably too small to even do anything to your actual skin I'm afraid!

The only retinol that will do anything good to your skin and be able to penetrate it has to really be prescription only. I use a prescription one that is 1 whole percent, like your skin peels off when you first start using it. My dermatologist prescribes it.

Obviously I have stopped using that stuff while pregnant this time even though even that does not get into my blood stream, I've stopped due to skin sensitivity, to the sun ect as well as the product itself and I don't want any more hyperpigmentation.

So assuming your body cream ect is just off the shelf then it really won't do a thing to your baby. You should keep using it if you like it's moisturing properties. It'll be a retinoid rather then pure retinol I assume so is harmless