Can I use skin care products during pregnancy? What cosmetics and skin care products can I not use?

The period of preparation for pregnancy is the time of preparing to have a baby. This is extremely important and women need to take good care of themselves. Can skin care products be used during the period of preparation for pregnancy? What makeup and skin care products should not be used during pregnancy?

Can I use skin care products during pregnancy?

Normally speaking, you can use cosmetics during pregnancy preparation. But there is one thing we need to know: not everyone can know whether they are pregnant at the first sight. In most cases, we don’t know until it’s been a long time since we got pregnant. Therefore, for the sake of the fetus in the belly, we should try not to use cosmetics, but we can still use our usual skin care products.

There was a media report that a pregnant woman who had to wear makeup every day due to her job had a miscarriage in her first pregnancy and a threatened miscarriage in her second pregnancy when she was three months pregnant. Although the fetus was saved after preserving treatment, the baby was found to have a microcephaly and poor intelligence when he was six months old. Chromosome and urine mercury tests revealed that the baby's chromosomes were abnormal and that the urine of both mother and child contained high concentrations of mercury.

The reason was that the mother contained excessive mercury in her body, which led to threatened miscarriage, stillbirth and chromosomal abnormalities. The excessive mercury content in this mother's body is inseparable from the heavy makeup she wears all day long.

Many cosmetics contain carcinogenic or pathogenic chemicals for certain effects. When choosing cosmetics, you should check whether there are any harmful chemical ingredients, such as avobenzone (the main ingredient in sunscreen), glycol ether (the main ingredient in lotion), isopropyl methylphenol (ingredient in anti-acne products), mercury (ingredient in whitening and freckle removal products)... If these accumulate in the body of a pregnant woman, they will enter the placenta through the blood and affect the fetus.

What cosmetics and skin care products should not be used during pregnancy

1. Whitening products

Whitening products generally have excessive amounts of heavy metals such as lead and mercury. The more obvious the whitening effect, the higher the heavy metal content. It can cause disorders of organ systems, especially the blood and nervous systems, and may also cause irritant dermatitis.

2. Anti-acne and anti-aging products

Most acne-removing and anti-aging products contain substances such as retinol, salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide. When these substances accumulate in women's bodies, they can affect the health of the fetus and cause abnormal miscarriages.

3. Makeup products

Especially lipstick and nail polish, which can come into direct contact with food and have a higher chance of ingestion, so it is recommended that you should not do manicures. You must choose lipstick from regular and healthy brands, and it is best to remove it before eating to avoid accidental ingestion.

4. Hair dyeing and perming

Fashion changes too fast, and the hairstyle and hair color of fashionable girls must also keep up with the fashion. However, once you have confirmed your pregnancy plan, it is better not to perm or dye your hair. Because this type of medicine contains aniline substances, which can enter the body through the respiratory tract and digestive tract and can also be absorbed by the skin, it may affect the oxygen supply to tissue cells and cause suffocation, and there is also a risk of cancer.

You can use skin care products and cosmetics during the pregnancy preparation period, but you should choose those specifically for pregnant women. Not all cosmetics and skin care products can be used.