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Congratulations! You are about to start the family of your dreams.

Between eco tests, mommy courses and shopping for baby clothes, you might have noticed that something feels different about your body. During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes, especially when it comes to the hormonal makeup.

To adapt to the new situation, during pregnancy, the women’s estrogen and progesterone production capacities start working overtime. As a result, the body might develop stretch marks, pimples, skin abrasions, and other physical signs.

But there is no need to be alarmed. While you can’t apply the same skincare routine when you are pregnant, there are many choices on the market specifically designed to accommodate the needs of women who are with child.

In the hopes of simplifying the process, I have comprised a short list of tips and advice that will help you make the best possible choice. If you want to delve deeper into the subject, you can check Beauty Essential, a makeup and beauty blog that covers good, comprehensive guides and tutorials.

Avoid

Retinyl palmitate and Retinol (vitamin A)
Phthalates
Parabens
Dibutyl phthalate
Triclosan
BP-3
Bisphenol A (BPA)
BHA and BHT
Dioxin
Oxybenzone
Ethanolamines (MEA/DEA/TEA)
Diazolidinyl urea
Phenylmercuric salts, acetate, nitrate
Hydroquinone or glutathione
Fragrance/parfum

Look For

Fragrance-free
BPA-free
No parabens
No phthalates
No DEA

Words like “organic,” “natural,” and “pure” mean absolutely nothing legally.

Safe Brands

General Physical Changes During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, your body will go through a few changes, some of which you will not find pleasant at all. The first noticeable signs are the stretch marks, which will appear because the baby inside your body is moving and making room for itself. Unfortunately, these stretch marks might persist even after giving birth, with newer ones possibly appearing due to the fact that the body is reacting to the sudden weight shift.

Your skin pigmentation also changes during pregnancy. A few months into the pregnancy, you might notice in various spaces that the skin is darker than usual. This happens due to hormonal changes and because the skin increased the melanin production.

Now that we have covered the changes that your body goes through while you are carrying your child, it is time to see which beauty products are safe to use.

Be Careful About Chemically Heavy Nail Care Products

The first thing you should do is determine whether or not your beauty products have a higher than average chemical level. Mainstream nail polishes and nail polish removers, for example, can contain harmful (during pregnancy) chemicals such as toluene and formaldehyde. This does not mean you should totally avoid painting your nails – just make sure your nail care products do not contain any formaldehyde.

For example, one good nail polish product for pregnant women is Nicole by OPI. It costs about $7 and goes as smoothly as any typical nail polish. The only downside is that it takes longer than normal to dry, but other than that, you can expect the same quality that you have been used to.

Skin Care Treatments

Moving on to skin products, acne cream, and acne medication can prove quite tricky. Some of them contain tretinoin (Retin-A), Accutane (isotretinoin and tetracyclines that could potentially prove harmful to your baby. Some creams used to treat wrinkles can also contain the same ingredients (including Retinol), so you should be cautious about them.

The FDA includes tretinoin (another common ingredient found in acne cream) in the category C medication, which basically means that it has not been tested on human fetuses; however, they have discovered they have some negative effects on animals. Another substance which is best to avoid during pregnancy is benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and hydroquinone (the compound used to treat dark spots).

With the list of prohibited substances so long, one would think you would have to just give up on skin care products altogether until the baby is born. But do not worry: there are many skin care products specifically catered towards women who are with child. Here are some potent beauty products you can safely use:

Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 8 % AHA Lotion – with a concentration of alpha-hydroxy acids below 10 %, this is one of the safest acne products to use for pregnant women. The glycolic acid concentration is weak enough as to not affect the baby but powerful enough to treat your acne issue in a timely fashion.
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Correcting Cream – for soothing the effects of redness and rosacea, two common effects of pregnancy.
Skinceuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 – A gentle anti-aging containing a potent mixture of three essential components, such as fatty acids, cholesterol, and
Tata Harper Restorative Eye Crème – an organic restorative eye care product meant to eliminate any visible signs of fatigue.

Conclusion

Personal care, whether we are talking about makeup or otherwise, can be a tad tricky during pregnancy, as many mainstream beauty products might contain ingredients that could affect your developing baby. But it does not have to be that hard – all you have to do is avoid, as much as possible, the harmful ingredients that we have covered in the article and look for the products specifically targeted towards pregnant women. And since there are a lot of choices on the market, as long as you know where to look, finding the ones that would suit your needs is not very hard.