Your skin goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy-some may receive the pregnancy glow. However, some may see the effects of the hormones and change in skincare (ie no more retinol or spironolactone) and experience breakouts. You may also notice dry skin as your body shifts your fluids to that precious baby.
So, what CAN you use?
Dull, uneven skin tone:
Vitamin C&E: not every serum is pregnancy safe, however CE Ferrulic by Skin Ceuticals is! This will help keep your complexion even while protecting the skin. Microneedling is also a pregnancy safe treatment to stimulate collagen and elastin! This helps with pores, fine lines, and texture.
Moisturizer:
In general, most moisturizers (unless they have active ingredients) are safe. However, some of my favorites would be:
HA Intensifier by Skin Ceuticals or HA5 by Skin Medica. These will bring moisture to the surface of the skin and smooth fine lines and provide hydration
Replenish Hydrating cream by Skin Medica-general moisturizer for mild to moderate dry skin.
Triple Lipid Restore by Skin Ceuticals- this product is for very dry skin, and helps repair the moisture barrier. It’s a miracle product!
Breakouts:
This is where things can be challenging. In general, you don’t have to give up all of the ingredients that are great acne fighters-but you do need to be careful about percentage of these ingredients. For instance, you CAN use glycolic acid however it needs to be below 10%. Salicylic acid is an even lower percentage at around 2%-an example would be the Lytic Tx lotion by Epionce. Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Gentle Daily Peel contains both Salicylic and Glycolic Acid-which is great for breakouts, but can be a bit drying. Lastly, lactic acid and Azelaic acid are pregnancy friendly ingredients. These all help with breakouts, however the shift in hormones can be difficult to compete with. Don’t add all of these at once-if you dry your skin you can overproduce oil and create breakouts. Pick one product to add at a time and let your skin acclimate, and always clear these with your obgyn.
Oh the joy of melasma, or the pregnancy mask:
Although we cannot control the hormones that contribute to melasma, we can take every step to try to prevent/reduce it. The number one thing you can do is sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! If you have followed me for a time, you know that I preach physical sunscreen, aka titanium and zinc. This is even more important during pregnancy as heat can make melasma worse, and chemical sunscreen turns UV rays into...you guessed it, heat. My favorite sunscreen line is Elta MD, and I keep Colorescience Powdered sunscreen in my purse to reapply throughout the day (doesn’t mess up your makeup-instead is almost a little touch up!).
As I mentioned heat before, you will want to limit your time in excessive heat. Now if you are like me and live in the south, that may be laughable if you are pregnant during June-August. But try to limit as much as you can, and when outside keep your face covered with a good hat!
Lastly, this may sound silly but avoid food with a large soy content. This has been found to potentially contribute to Melasma.
Most importantly, always check with your obgyn before adding a new product. Although we love a good glow, our number one is that little precious life!
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