Skin care products aimed at pregnant people are legion, but not all of them offer what I, halfway through my first pregnancy, want, which is simple: No parabens (which can mimic estrogen and settle in breast tissue). No retinol or retinoids (teratogenic). No phthalates (hormone disruptors). No methylisothiazolinone or methylchloroisothiazolinone (potential allergens whose use is already limited in EU countries). And definitely no harsh perfumes. In fact, the shorter the ingredient list, the better. And since I’m about to add another person to the Earth, arguably the least sustainable thing one can do, I’m also trying to eschew plastics and packaging wherever I can.
And in addition to everything I’m trying to avoid during this tender time, there’s also all the good stuff I want to amply luxuriate in because it’s actively helpful — hydrating, soothing, and acne-deterring (somehow being at baby-ready age doesn’t go hand-in-hand with outgrowing zits, which is terribly unfair). On top of that, there are the skincare issues I specifically need to address now or never — for example, thanks to putting on the freshman fifteen while simultaneously still going through puberty back in college, I’m well aware I’m very prone to stretch marks. Not a huge deal, and the tendency is mostly genetic, but if I can help my boobs and belly out by keeping them extra-supple as they grow yet again, why wouldn’t I? Hello, special omega-3-filled skincare specifically for pregnancy.
It may seem like a lot, but these 10 products have become my go-tos over the past 20 weeks, and I expect them to keep going strong, seeing me through the next 20 in fine fettle.
Mustela Maternity Stretch Marks Oil
$19.99
I think the very first thing I Googled after finding out I was pregnant was “oil to prevent stretch marks.” I’m using this lovely French-made anti-stretch mark oil on my boobs, for the most part, and so far, I’m extremely happy with how my skin feels. Mustela’s oil checks all my boxes: its unscented, preservative-free, contains a total of four ingredients, and it sinks in super fast and feels richer than its lightweight consistency would otherwise indicate. I keep it handy to apply at bedtime, and so far, everything’s feeling good.
Mama Mio Tummy Rub Butter
Mama Mio Tummy Rub Butter
$33.51
I actually don’t mind a touch of scent, but for my rapidly expanding abdomen, Mama Mio’s insanely, well, buttery Tummy Rub Butter is ideal: formulated with a mix of omega acids to help prevent stretch marks, it’s also totally unscented, which is useful if pregnancy has left you sensitive to smells (as pregnancy is wont to do). But most important, this cream leaves my skin feeling super smooth and so far completely stretch mark-free (I mean, besides the ones I brought with me into pregnancy).
Mama Mio Push Partner Perineum Oil
Mama Mio Push Partner Perineum Oil
mioskincare.com
$19.00
Will Mama Mio’s Push Partner Perineum Oil work, as in, prevent tearing during childbirth? Honestly, we won’t know until we get there. While pregnancy requires a certain level of zen and letting go about these things, I figure it can’t hurt to give every area whatever extra support I can. So, a nightly application of perineum oil it is. Not something I ever thought about before, but hey, isn’t getting used to new experiences just the nature of bringing a person into the world?
Weleda Skin Food
Skin Food Body Butter
$18.99
It’s not legally required that every product you slather on yourself over these nine months be specifically targeted for pregnancy, but it should be safe for this tender time, which Weleda’s products typically are. I’ve long been a fan of this old school natural German brand, and am happy to report that their cult favorite, the Skin Food moisturizer that comes in an easy to recycle glass jar, is rich as hell and great for my dry pregnancy skin.
Weleda Iris Hydrating Day Cream
Hydrating Day Cream – Iris
$23.99
Speaking of Weleda, they’ve also saved my face these past few months. Their Iris Hydrating Day Cream has kept all dryness at bay while not adding to my pregnancy facial breakout woes. By the way, I’m personally not a big believer in the notion that you need separate face creams for day and night, so I happily just use this excellent, very lightly scented hydrating product twice a day. (What you actually want, come daytime, is sunscreen.)
Maison/Made Lemon Balm Hydrosol
LEMON BALM Biodynamic® Hydrosol
maisonmade.co
$7.50
But before we even get to moisturizer, I have three essential steps, after cleansing (by the way, my feeling with cleanser during pregnancy is that since you rinse it right off anyway, as long as it’s not too harsh and doesn’t contain any teratogenic vitamin A derivatives, you should just keep using whatever’s been making your skin happy all along). I love the idea of toner — tightening and brightening, yes please! — but in reality, most toners leaving me feeling dried out, so I forgo them all together. But I still need something to prep my skin post-wash, and Maison/Made’s Lemon Balm Hydrosol is it. This stuff is also great for a post-work pick-me-up, leaving my face feeling refreshed and somehow magically plumper, without ever drying me out. Also, very little is glamorous about pregnancy, but a spritz of this (which smells deliciously like a cool drink of iced tea at sundown on a summer’s day) is genuinely decadent. Plus, like my stretch mark oil, it is made in France, and I am a sucker for all things made in France.
Peach and Lily’s Treatment Essence
Wild Dew Treatment Essence
peachandlily.com
$10.00
To be honest, I’ve never really understood what an essence does except it is clear that my skin looks much nicer when I use one than when I don’t. And given how badly pregnancy has messed with my sleep, I will take all the external help I can get, face-wise. Peach and Lily’s Treatment Essence has long been my single Korean skin care holy grail item, a gentle essence without any questionable acids, retinols, or so forth — just glycerin, niacinamide, some ferments, and panthenol leaving my face looking smoother and perhaps even more youthful than I could otherwise hope for.
The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10{5c5ba01e4f28b4dd64874166358f62106ea5bcda869a94e59d702fa1c9707720}Azelaic Acid Suspension 10{5c5ba01e4f28b4dd64874166358f62106ea5bcda869a94e59d702fa1c9707720}
$10.00
My facial care could have its own section at the UN. From Germany to France to Korea, we now end in Canada, with a trustworthy, reliable product everyone can agree on, The Ordinary’s Azelaic Acid. Most acne products are either total pregnancy no-nos or fall into a disputed gray area — retinol/retinoids, salicylic acid, and benzoyl peroxide are all best avoided. Honestly, dear reader, I thought for the sake of my baby I could just deal with nine months of a forehead full of zits. In reality, I made it about a week without my usual go-to, benzoyl peroxide at a 5{5c5ba01e4f28b4dd64874166358f62106ea5bcda869a94e59d702fa1c9707720} concentration. But there’s one acne product generally regarded as fine throughout pregnancy: azelaic acid, which in addition to helping keep most of my pregnancy acne at bay, may also assist in cutting down on the hyperpigmentation and dark spots this nine-month period leaves you weirdly prone to. Fingers crossed. And The Ordinary’s version is inexpensive, easy to find, and effective at a 10{5c5ba01e4f28b4dd64874166358f62106ea5bcda869a94e59d702fa1c9707720} concentration — you can go higher if you want, but you’ll need a doctor’s prescription.
Odacité Soap Free Shampoo Bar
Soap Free Shampoo Bar
Argan + Coconut
odacite.com
$18.00
Don’t forget the rest of you! It took getting pregnant for me to finally get on the shampoo bar trend, which I truly hope is here to stay, because this format works just as well or even better than liquid shampoo in a big old plastic bottle. I am particularly fond of Odacité’s sulfate-free, soap-free, methylisothiazolinone-free and methylchloroisothiazolinone-free shampoo bar, which lathers surprisingly well and leaves my annoying, tangly, breakage-prone hair feeling balanced and clean without being stripped. Also, I don’t know how they did it, but this bar somehow keeps my scalp feeling fresh and clean for days, seriously. I shampoo once every four days now and you really wouldn’t know the difference. This will be my go-to shampoo from pregnancy into eternity.
Plastic Free Deodorant
nativecos.com
$13.00
And finally! Some pregnant people report that this time in life leaves them extra stinky. I have been very lucky that that has not been the case so far for me — sans deodorant, I just smell my usual amount. I also haven’t used anti-perspirant for years, so suddenly needing to forgo clogging my pits with aluminum hasn’t been a pregnancy event I’ve had to deal with. But like most people, I do require a high-functioning daily swipe of body odor-masking deodorant. For me, it’s all about Native, which finally has a plastic-free packaging option and contains no aluminum and no phthalates from synthetic fragrances, and still actually works. My go-to scent is coconut and vanilla, but you can even go totally unscented if you’re trying to really keep things simple.
And that’s the skin care routine that’s working for me, from top to bottom. While you can’t go through pregnancy avoiding every chemical out there, the category of things you’re applying to your body is a good a place as any to start in terms of being mindful.
