Pretty In Pregnancy
What to Know About Skin When You Are Expecting
Pregnancy is an exciting time filled with anticipation, joy and wonder. It is also, I am learning, filled with mysterious new sensations, aches and pains that come and go, bouts of crying over tv commercials, frantic 2am Google searches, and Spandex. Lots and lots of Spandex.
It’s also rife with advice. Some of that advice comes from best-selling books, trusted websites or experts like your OBGYN. Some comes from friends and family, advice that is maybe more anecdotal than scientific, but valuable because of its basis in their experience. However, I’m finding that a lot of advice is coming from questionable sources like Instagram and TikTok. Announced with conviction, these decrees may seem to make sense, until you head to the comment section, where all hell breaks loose. It’s enough to make your head spin.
Being that skincare is both my area of expertise and my passion, this was the one topic I felt totally confident about when I got that big fat positive. I’m here to help you cut through the noise and focus in on what skincare and treatments are Pregnancy Safe and what to avoid.
Now, an important disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, this is not intended to be medical advice, and if you have any questions at all, please consult your obstetrician. Pregnancy is a time of very personal decision making, and you should feel totally confident in anything you choose to do or not to do.
Raquel x
At-Home Products
Let’s start with the products you might be using at home. Your skincare routine doesn’t need to change much, if at all.
DO
- Exfoliants are safe to continue – this includes AHAs, BHAs and PHAs. That means all your lactic acid, glycolic acid, mandelic acid, etc (AHAs), your salicylic acid (BHAs) and your gluconolactone and lactobionic acid (PHAs) are all OK TO USE. You may see advice to stop using salicylic acid, and the reason for this is that it is derived from willow bark, as is asprin. Asprin is not recommended to take in pregnancy (although baby asprin is often recommended for expectant women over 35). However, the oral drug (asprin) is completely different from the low dose topical (salicylic acid). You’ll see this sort of logic a lot in pregnancy recommendations, but rest assured the salicylic acid you love to keep your blackheads at bay is still safe to use.
- SOME retinoids are safe to continue – this does NOT include any prescription retinoids. If you’re using Retin-A, Tazorac, Differin, or any other Vitamin A product that your dermatologist has prescribed to you, stop. If you are using a retinoid with Retinyl Palmitate, Retinyl Acetate, or Retinyl Propionate, you are in the clear. That’s because topical Vitamin A in these safe derivatives is trapped in the skin and stored as Retinyl Palmitate. When the skin cells run out of Vitamin A and need more, they call upon what’s stored in the skin and it goes through a 1:1 enzymatic conversion to Retinoic Acid. If you were to apply Retinoic Acid or Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (aka HPR aka Granactive Retinol), it would not be stored as RP, the enzymatic conversion would not occur, and any excess not immediately used by the skin could enter the bloodstream. Now, just because it’s in the bloodstream doesn’t mean it’s causing harm. The advice to stop retinoid use comes from, once again, comparison to oral medication. Accutane (high dose oral retinoid) is a Class X drug, meaning it is unsafe to take during pregnancy. You may notice that your prenatal vitamin contains Vitamin A, likely as Beta Carotne or Retinyl Palmitate. That’s because Vitamin A is not inherently unsafe during pregnancy, just in extremely high systemic doses. All this to say, using your Retinyl Palmitate serum on your face is going to be just fine.
- Vitamin C is safe to continue – and it can be very helpful in managing melasma, that common and pesky side effect of pregnancy. It’s a tyrosinase inhibitor, meaning it can help reduce the enzymatic reaction causing your skin to produce excess pigment. There’s no caveat here, unless you feel your skin becoming more sensitive, as happens in some pregnancies. If you’re using a Vitamin C product with L-Ascorbic Acid and you feel irritated, switch to a product with a salt or ester form like Magnesium/Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate or Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate.
DON’T
- Oral RX for skin MAY NOT be safe to continue – this is a question for your dermatologist. Accutane, Spironolactone and Tranexamic Acid are all oral medications that improve common skin conditions and are NOT safe for pregnancy. How far in advance you need to cease these medications depends on what you’re taking. If you’re taking any of these and considering getting pregnant, talk to your doctor.
- Prescription retinoids are NOT safe – If you’re using Retin-A, Tazorac, Differin, or any other Vitamin A product that your dermatologist has prescribed to you, stop.
At-Home Devices
Devices have become exceedingly popular and are a great way to boost your results. Some are ok and some must be stored until the baby arrives.
DO
- LED is safe to continue – keep on using your LED mask. Blue LED may be of particular help if you struggle with acne and have had to stop taking RX medications like Spironolactone, or if the hormonal changes you’re going through caused your chin to erupt in cystic spots like mine did in the first trimester. Red LED is beneficial for everyone, including acne-prone individuals, as it reduces inflammation, boosts collagen production, and increases cellular energy (ATP). If any aches and pains start coming up, you can use NIR and Red LED for pain management, just avoid placing the light near your belly.
DON’T
- Microcurrent is NOT safe to continue – sorry, it’s time to put the NuFace away. While there’s no data supporting any detriment to microcurrent, it has never been tested during pregnancy and would be unethical to do so. What we know about microcurrent is that it is a cyclical current, meaning it requires a positive and negative polarity that essentially circulate through the tissue. We also know it stimulates the nerves in the area being treated, which is why you experience muscle twitches and other unusual sensations during its use. The greater effects of this electrical current are safe for use in a healthy adult, but are unknown in regards to their potential effect on a developing fetus. All that said, if you used it before discovering you were pregnant, don’t stress. Just stop using it now and try your hand at facial massage or gua sha to get that lifting effect.
At-Home Devices
Devices have become exceedingly popular and are a great way to boost your results. Some are ok and some must be stored until the baby arrives.
DO
- LED is safe to continue – keep on using your LED mask. Blue LED may be of particular help if you struggle with acne and have had to stop taking RX medications like Spironolactone, or if the hormonal changes you’re going through caused your chin to erupt in cystic spots like mine did in the first trimester. Red LED is beneficial for everyone, including acne-prone individuals, as it reduces inflammation, boosts collagen production, and increases cellular energy (ATP). If any aches and pains start coming up, you can use NIR and Red LED for pain management, just avoid placing the light near your belly.
DON’T
- Microcurrent is NOT safe to continue – sorry, it’s time to put the NuFace away. While there’s no data supporting any detriment to microcurrent, it has never been tested during pregnancy and would be unethical to do so. What we know about microcurrent is that it is a cyclical current, meaning it requires a positive and negative polarity that essentially circulate through the tissue. We also know it stimulates the nerves in the area being treated, which is why you experience muscle twitches and other unusual sensations during its use. The greater effects of this electrical current are safe for use in a healthy adult, but are unknown in regards to their potential effect on a developing fetus. All that said, if you used it before discovering you were pregnant, don’t stress. Just stop using it now and try your hand at facial massage or gua sha to get that lifting effect.
- High Frequency is NOT safe to continue – if you have one of those handy glass electrode zit zappers, I regret to inform you that you should cease use during pregnancy. Again, this is due to the electrical current. What I found helpful instead of High Frequency were pimple patches and Environ Sebu-Masque.
Professional Treatments
The good news here is that you DO NOT have to give up your monthly facial treatments! I see many clients through every step of their journey to parenthood and can help with all the ways your path may affect your skin. From fertility drugs causing wild breakouts, to mid-pregnancy
hyperpigmentation and sensitivity to heat, to postpartum redness and dermatographism, I’ve seen a lot (I’ll never say I’ve seen it all, lol).
DO
- LED is safe to continue – Just like your home devices, professional LED is a fantastic modality to promote skin health and correct a variety of concerns.
- Facial massage is safe to continue – facial massage works GREAT to lift, sculpt and depuff, and it has the added benefit of being incredibly relaxing. We can even work intraorally (buccal massage) if you’re holding a lot of tension, or we can enlist the help of Manual Lymphatic Drainage if your third trimester fluid retention has you feeling like a puffer fish.
- Peels are safe to continue – We exclusively use the Environ Cool Peel technology, which is gentle, effective, has no downtime, and is safe for pregnancy. It’s a rare facial that I don’t utilize one of the many Cool Peel options, and that includes my moms to be.
- Ultrasound is safe to continue – unlike your sonographer, I’m not using a frequency of ultrasound that will give me any imaging capabilities. What this ultrasound is doing is creating cavitations (tiny channels) in the lipid bilayer of the skin, which allows products to pass through more easily. It’s a focused ultrasound that only affects the area to which it is applied. This is a great way to infuse soothing and hydrating ingredients into the skin.
DON’T
- High Frequency is NOT safe to continue – but that’s ok, we’ll take care of your zits a different way.
- Microcurrent is NOT safe to continue – You won’t be using it at home, and I won’t be using it on you in treatment.
- Lasers and Microneedling are NOT safe to continue – although widely contraindicated for pregnancy, the jury is out on the official prenatal safety profile of lasers and microneedling. You may be able to find practitioners who will perform either of these modalities on pregnant clients, however I don’t recommend it, and this is why. Lasers and microneedling are intentionally causing controlled injury to the skin. The body responds by sending energy to that tissue to repair it. During pregnancy, much of your energy is directed to the developing fetus. Heck, in the first trimester you’re even building a whole new organ! Even though these modalities may not have any direct effects on the fetus, your body would have to split its limited supply of energy between nourishing the baby and repairing your skin. I believe that skincare treatments during pregnancy should be additive, helping your skin engage in its natural repair processes, not taking energy away. Lasers and microneedling will still be there after the baby is born.
It’s Written In The Stars
Monica David, our fabulous esthetician and resident Astrologer gives us a peek at July’s astrological highlights:
We are entering cancer season, and July has a few things in store for us. Firstly, Neptune will be going retrograde until December, and since Neptune rules our dreams, illusions, and fantasies, a retrograde Neptune will actually take off the rose colored glasses and help us see more clearly. It’s time to step out of the fog, and come face to face with reality!
On August 1st, Mercury will officially station retrograde, and typically two weeks before that we are already in its shadow, so we will start to feel the mercurial malfunctions mid July.
On July 5th we have a new moon in sensitive Cancer, allowing us to really feel connected with our intuition and emotions. July 21st we will have a full moon in practical Capricorn, so get organized and write down your goals for the summer, since Capricorn is all about achievements.