Early in your pregnancy, a big hormonal acne bump might appear on your jawline (at least, it did for me). By the next trimester, your skin may swing the other way, and you’ll find yourself with dry patches (another hand raise over here). And so it goes. Dark skin spots. Itchy scalps. Aversions to fragrance. Little growths on the skin. Whatever you’re experiencing, the 2023 What to Expect Pregnancy-Safe Beauty Award winners are here to help.
“Things can happen during pregnancy that never happened before,” says Amy Wechsler, MD, NYC Dermatologist and Psychiatrist. “It’s hard to predict. You can get an itchy scalp all of a sudden, and you never had that before. You could be sensitive to certain fragrances which you never were before. You’re not definitely going to have acne, but it could happen.”
Unfortunately, you may not be able to use your go-to skincare, hair and makeup products, as they may contain ingredients that are considered unsafe during pregnancy. But before you replace every item in your bathroom, there is some good news: Not every product or category is an offender.
“It's mostly skin care products that have more ingredients that aren't [deemed] pregnancy-safe,” says Tiffany Clay, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is because skin care products have “active” ingredients, which means the chemicals actually do something to the skin. For instance, some active ingredients are super exfoliating, removing layers from the skin. These more active ingredients, such as derivates and retinoids, can sometimes pose risks for birth defects and are considered unsafe during pregnancy.
Dermatologists agree that more research is needed on many ingredients, since we can’t quantify or track how much of these ingredients the skin absorbs. “The skin is a good barrier for keeping the bad things out and letting the good things in,” Dr. Wechsler says. “It’s not like you’re eating it. But during pregnancy, we are very cautious.
So when in doubt, leave it out, even if it’s a prescription product. “Prescription-wise there are a lot of things you can't use,” notes Dr. Wechsler. “Definitely don’t use prescription retinoids or retinol. Probably don’t use any acids like glycolic acid or salicylic acid.” Robin Schaffran, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, notes that glycolic acids (AHA's) are considered safe to use in pregnancy with concentration up to 10 percent with pH more than 3.5. But if you're not a label sleuth, then it may be best to skip this ingredient entirely.
Here’s your bookmarkable list of ingredients to avoid during pregnancy, according to dermatologists:
- Retinoid/retinol products
- Hydroquinone
- 2% salicylic acid
- Arbutin
- Phthalates
- Phenols
- Triclosan
- Toluene
- Parabens
- BPA
- Oxybenzone, avobenzone and octinoxate
- Formaldehyde
- CBD
- Some essential oils
Wading through all of these facts and labels to determine which beauty products get the green light can be cumbersome. So we did the hard work for you. With help from our community of parents and expert guidance from dermatologists, we vetted and reviewed a comprehensive list of the best, safest beauty products — and we're recognizing them in the second What to Expect Pregnancy-Safe Beauty Awards.
How the What to Expect Pregnancy-Safe Beauty Awards Were Chosen
We surveyed thousands of parents in the What to Expect parent community on their product preferences for pregnancy. This included everything from the belly oil that actually lightens stretch marks, to one fragrance everyone seems to like during pregnancy, to a celebrity-backed foundation that conceals everything in its path. More than 24,000 total votes were cast for the best-of-the-best skincare, makeup, hair and body care products.
Every single winning product has been vetted by Dr. Schaffran, who reviewed each winner to make sure all of the ingredients are safe for prenatal use.
Here, we present the winners of the 2023 Pregnancy-Safe Beauty Awards.