Skincare/Haircare Minefield

[Luckyelephant1]

Anyone else finding pregnancy skincare a bit of a minefield? I know the main things to avoid are retinoids and salicylic acid. However I just bought a new cerave facial moisturiser (the AM SPF 25 one), put it on, decided to double check its OK and to my horror apparently its not as it contains a chemical sunscreen so I've just washed it off. It was very hard to find this info though, I only found it on a beauty blog; how do I know how to trust this! Bit scared I've already caused some damage as I'm in my first trimester.

The annoying thing is the actual manufacturer sites never say whether or not they are suitable for pregnancy, they'll say something vague like 'our products are non toxic however we cannot advise pregnant and nursing mothers' (example directly from the Olaplex website). I know most shampoos are fine, skincare seems to be the hardest thing.

Any tips?

Hi OP. I understand your apprehension with it being your first trimester, but honestly you're fine. I put whatever I wanted on my skin and baby turned out fine!
Just a normal nivea or simple cream or whatever is fine. I used Aldi's Lacura and wash my hair with tre seme. I bought whatever body wash was on offer too.
I think there is a lot of stuff on the internet that terrifies us all!
You'd have to use something quite potent to cause some damage to baby!
You'll be fine 🥰🥰 all the best 🥰

I've just used all my normal skin care through my whole pregnancy. Not changed a thing.

Thanks. I probably need to stop being so cautious and googling everything.

Google is the devil @Luckyelephant1 but we are all guilty of googling! 😬😬
What did we do before the internet eh! 🤣

Any widely sold topical skincare is perfectly safe for use in pregnancy, even vit a derivatives such as retinol. Unlike the vit a in food, the actives aren’t getting into your bloodstream or system and so they don’t have the same adverse developmental effects on the foetus. The main issue with active skincare in pregnancy is the increased risk of irritation or reaction as your skin seems to get more sensitive.

Most manufacturers and beauty brands put the pregnancy and nursing on products as a caution partly because

a) pregnant women aren’t really a group commonly tested on in terms of product safety (for ethical reasons), so it can’t be said that it is unequivocally safe or unsafe. Though the actual science of how the products work and how deeply they penetrate strongly suggest that they are safe and cannot pose a developmental risk to foetus if used as directed.

b) to cover their arses in the event of the increased reactions and sensitivity.

I’m in more of the cautious category. I read two books by Rebecca fett and lily nichols which I’d recommend who give great guidance. I’d personally not take the risk but everyone’s different.

@Luckyelephant1 I use all natural stuff which I assume is better for pregnancy, but could be wrong. The brand I use is called Sukin. I did actually pop some tea tree on some spots the other day, did a quick google immediately after and found it’s not advised to use in the first trimester, so like you had a dash to the bathroom to wash it off!

@Luckyelephant1 for haircare I use Shea Moisture also, which is free from all the nasty chemicals. I have thick dry hair and it’s just as good as anything else x

@Joeyandpacey

I’m in more of the cautious category. I read two books by Rebecca fett and lily nichols which I’d recommend who give great guidance. I’d personally not take the risk but everyone’s different.

Yeah me too in terms of being cautious... I know we can't wrap ourselves in cotton wool for 9 months but if things are suggested to be avoided that easily can be avoided then I will do so tbh! Might check out those books you suggested, thanks

I'd recommend in general for pregnancy sticking to the nhs list for what to avoid only. You can find a website advising against literally anything in pregnancy. To my knowledge only retinols are on the "to avoid" list and even then that's caution not proven harm (there is proven harm from ingested retinoids acid/vitamin A)