Skin Care Products Safe During Pregnancy

As many women know, when you first find out that you are pregnant the list of dos and don’ts becomes very long. Everyone has on opinion, and everything you read contradicts itself. You may find yourself exhausted and overwhelmed in the first trimester just from information alone. Can you have coffee? Can you eat cheese? Can you take a bath? Can you use essential oils? Can you sweat? Can you exercise? The list goes on and on. Fear can be your worst enemy, but if you’re a relatively moderate person about it all you’re probably doing ok. 

That being said, there is a positive to this heightened sense of awareness. Many women become aware (for the first time in their lives) about all the things they’re using on a regular basis that actually aren’t that healthy. When you start looking at labels more closely you begin to understand that the lack of ingredient transparency is really alarming, and that becoming an informed and aware consumer takes some work. 

Most women want to live their healthiest lives in pregnancy and that’s a very good thing! 

How do we know that’s true? Because we get a large amount of questions from women who are expecting and wanting to know as much as they can about skin care and pregnancy. Below are some of our most commonly asked questions on that subject to help you feel and be safer.

Are Nucifera skin care products safe during pregnancy?

The answer is - absolutely. I used The Balm throughout my own pregnancy. (We actually launched the brand during the same month I found out I was pregnant). Nucifera has grown along with my family and that feels very special to me. It is of the upmost importance for us to make products that are safe for the whole family in all stages of life! Why would you want to use something that isn’t safe during pregnancy? Or, for that matter, use something that isn’t safe during the times you aren’t pregnant? Pregnancy skin care products really shouldn’t need to have their own category. All products should be safe!

What is the best paraben free moisturizer to use during pregnancy? 

When you find out you’re pregnant, you might want to start looking for paraben free beauty products. Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products and the reproach behind how safe they are is conflicted at best. When looking for the best paraben free skincare we recommend looking for products that don’t contain water. This means oil based butters and balms. 

There are other ways to preserve without using parabens, but the reality is that when it comes to moisturizers, they simply aren’t necessary at all - especially if you are using high quality plant based butters and oils. And while the paraben free cosmetics list is growing it is still important to look for products that are minimally processed.

Essential oils also act to naturally preserve a products integrity. The best skin care without parabens in our opinion is a blend of high quality ingredients with a diluted dose of essential oils. This is our recipe for The Balm. 

Use tip: to get maximum efficacy out of any oil based moisturizer, we recommend applying to damp skin. 

Are essential oils safe to use in pregnancy? 

The case for essential oils during pregnancy is a bit complicated. Essential oils are very concentrated doses of plant extract. While they are extremely beneficial, they are also strong and can be irritating - especially to pregnant women. However, there seems to be no reason not to use properly diluted essential oils during pregnancy, and in fact, they can be very beneficial. Essential oils like ginger, peppermint or spearmint can help with nausea. While chamomile, lavender and ylang ylang are great for reducing stress. The further along in your pregnancy you are, the more variety of essential oils you can use. 

In all Nucifera products, our essential oil dilution is high, dermatologist tested, and generally non irritating for most all skin types. 

Use tip: never use full strength essential oils directly on skin. 

Are vegan cosmetic companies safe to use in pregnancy? 

When you start doing research about what to use and what not to use in pregnancy, you may be drawn to some of the best vegan skincare brands. Just because a company claims to be vegan doesn’t mean it isn’t using potentially harmful ingredients like parabens, phthalates, or other toxins. We would encourage you to focus on the integrity of the ingredients, rather than only focusing on them being vegan. Many mainstream brands are vegan, but many also don’t use high quality ingredients.  

What about baby safe products?

Of course after pregnancy comes baby. And while pregnant women might be hyper conscious of what they are using on their bodies during pregnancy, it heightens even further when focusing on their children. 

As we’ve mentioned, our belief is that skincare should be safe to use in all phases of life and that the best baby care products should also be safe to use in pregnancy. 

If you do a quick search for the top baby skin care products you’ll find most are typically not all natural products and use refined ingredients. We would recommend looking for products that are clean, and simple and use minimally processed anything. 

The best newborn baby skin care products do not need to contain fragrance or anything beyond mild plant based oils. Something even as simple as coconut oil or olive oil can work great on a newborn. 

Shameless plug: The Balm has worked great for many babies (including my own). Our formula is dermatologist tested and generally non irritating for all skin. Of course, every baby is different, so please patch test first on a small area first.

Should I consider cruelty free baby products? 

As with anything we use (and consume) - we believe that cruelty free is the way forward. We prefer companies that are concerned for the safety of people and animals alike. If you are using clean, plant based ingredients there is no need for animal testing at any point of production.

Many products will claim to be cruelty free, but our advice is to keep an eye out for products that are certified by animal safety initiatives such as Leaping Bunny or Choose Cruelty Free.

We think Nucifera makes some of the best cruelty free skin care products on the market. All of our products are made with certified organic and wild-harvested plant-based oils, butters, essential oils and botanicals. We are a vegan, cruelty free brand and use absolutely no animal derived ingredients.

We wouldn't be anywhere without the amazing support and feedback we get from our community. Here’s a few words from one of our most recent fans. Thank you! We appreciate and love you all!

“I can’t say enough good things about this product. It’s become a mainstay in my beauty regime (which is pretty minimal: focusing on quality over quantity). At first I thought it was just coconut oil, but it’s not. It also has ingredients like avocado oil and mango butter. Super yummy. The last thing I’ll say about this product is that it HEALED my daughters diaper rash. Like in a day. She has never suffered from it since then. If I see any redness or irritation coming on, I bust out the Nuci.”

- Hayley C