I’m not sure if this comes across to you or not, but I’m actually pretty crunchy. Sure, I’ll get botox (pre-pregnancy) but I also try to live as clean as possible when it comes to my food, medicines and especially my skincare. I tend to be flexible in my approach and definitely believe in a healthy mix of modern/western approaches mixed with tried-and true-timeless natural remedies. But while pregnant, and when baby comes, living clean is even more important to me.
I’d say my pre-pregnancy skincare care routine was relatively clean to begin with (this info is saved under my “skincare” highlight on IG, so I was shocked to find out that I still needed to revamp my skincare routine for a safe pregnancy. Even in “clean” skincare there can still be so many ingredients that can be harmful to baby. I found that most of my products were laced with licorice root (affects baby’s IQ) or Salicylate (causes birth defects), so I had to overall almost all of my products.
Honestly, trying to overhaul your skincare lineup can be so overwhelming when it comes to finding pregnancy-safe items – especially when most “clean” items will advertise as “pregnancy safe”. You really have to dig in to the ingredients list and do your own research to establish what you are comfortable using. And since your skin is your largest organ and absorbs 60-70% of what we put on it, I decided to err on the side of caution. Luckily, I found this blog that has done an INCREDIBLE job of researching the ingredients in many common skincare and beauty items and lists out what is or isn’t considered pregnancy safe. I established much of my pregnancy safe skincare routine off of the information she provided combined with my own research and fact checking.
Disclaimer: I’m obviously not a doctor or expert in the field. Just sharing what I am doing based off of my own research. As always, do your own research or talk to your healthcare provider.
My Pregnancy Safe Skincare Routine
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm – This has been a tried and true of mine for makeup removal for a long time, so I was glad to learn I could keep it in my pregnancy skincare routine.
Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream – Also no stranger to my regular routine, I was glad to see I could keep using this eye cream is considered pregnancy safe.
Farmacy Filling Good Hyaluronic Acid Plumping Serum – My skin has been so dry with the changing weather so I’m super glad this pregnancy safe Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a product I could keep using.
Skinceuticals C E Ferulic – I’ve heard RAVE reviews about this Vitamin C serum for like forever, but I could never quite allow myself to dive in and try it given the cost. (I typically use Drunk Elephant’s Vitamin C Serum, but due to it having licorice root, it’s really not pregnancy safe – despite their website claiming that it is. Honestly, that’s the most frustrating thing about trying to find pregnancy safe products. So many claim that they are, but when you start to dig deeper, you can find ingredients that are not.) I decided to take the plunge and try Skinceuticals CE Ferulic – which is considered pregnancy safe. I do really like it, but not any more than the DE Vitamin C Serum, so I’ll probably go back to that when I’m done breastfeeding, considering the cost difference.
Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Toner – I LOVE this pregnancy safe toner because it gets your skin prepped for proper absorption of product, without drying it out.
Beautycounter Counterstart Moisturizer – Another product I was surprised to have to trade out from Drunk Elephant was their Peptide Moisturizer that I love. Unfortunately, it too has licorice root – which is linked to reducing your baby’s IQ when used by mama. Luckily, this Beautycounter Moisturizer is pregnancy safe and is a great, non-greasy fill in.
Beautycounter Countersun Daily Sheer Defense for Face SPF 25 – Finding a pregnancy safe sunscreen for my face was actually pretty hard for me. I settled with this option from Beautycounter, which has a great application. Only downside for me is that it’s only SPF 25. I do use It Cosmetics CC Cream for my foundation though, and that has SPF, so it picks up what this one lacks.
Beautycounter Face Oil #2 – I have used Beautycounter Face Oil #3 for forever, but it has salicylate which is not pregnancy friendly. I switched out to their #2 and I love it just as much. Having a face oil has been a godsend for combating dry skin!
Necessaire Body Lotion, Serum and Body Wash – You’ve probably heard me talk about Necessaire products on Insta and that’s because they are so dang good. I’m so glad I am able to keep using their clean ingredients throughout pregnancy. At this point, I’ll do anything to add a little extra spa-like vibe to my day.
Acure Face Wash – This is a fave of mine from Target so I’m glad it’s on the pregnancy safe list.
