Pregnancy safe skincare can be super difficult and confusing. I have an entire guide devoted to what products are safe to use while pregnant including information on what ingredients to avoid while pregnant and a huge list of pregnancy safe skincare products. The list has gotten so large that I’ve decided to start listing brands in their own individual posts.
Here you’ll find every pregnancy safe skincare product from SkinCeuticals as of 4/7/2019. If it is not safe, I’ll tell you why. All of the products meet my pregnancy safe criteria. If they release a new product that is not listed here, please comment below and I will add it. Note I will link to every product directly to avoid confusion. You’ll know exactly which product I mean.
Please note, it can take up to an hour to review the ingredient lists of each product. I review with my own list of pregnancy safe criteria. I obtain my ingredient lists from the brands and major retailers (typically Nordstrom and Sephora), and I review the US versions. Please do not ask me to re-review the same products over and over, I do not have the time to do so, and many people have been rude about this. For more brands, please head over to the list of pregnancy safe products.
Pregnancy Safe Products from SkinCeuticals
• A.G.E. Eye Complex
• Antioxidant Lip Repair
• AOX+ Eye Gel
• Biocellulose Restorative Masque
• Body Retexturing Treatment
• C E Ferulic
• Clarifying Clay Masque
• Daily Moisture
• Epidermal Repair
• Equalizing Toner
• Eye Cream
• Hydra Balm
• Hydrating B5 Gel
• Hydrating B5 Masque
• Metacell Renewal B3
• Micro-Exfoliating Scrub
• Phloretin CF
• Phloretin CF Gel
• Physical Eye UV Defense SPF 50
• Physical Matte UV Defense SPF 50
• Phyto Corrective Gel
• Phyto Corrective Masque
• Redness Neutralizer
• Renew Overnight Dry
• Renew Overnight Oily
• Replenishing Cleanser
• Resveratrol B E
• Serum 10 AOX+
• Serum 15 AOX+
• Serum 20 AOX+
• Simply Clean
• Soothing Cleanser
• Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2
Not Safe for Pregnancy, Ok for Nursing
• Advanced Pigment Corrector: Salicylic Acid
• A.G.E. Interrupter: Salicylic Acid
• Blemish + Age Defense: Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid
• Body Tightening Concentrate: Salicylic Acid
• C + AHA: Glycolic Acid
• Clarifying Exfoliating Cleanser: Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid
• Conditioning Toner: Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid
• Face Cream: Salicylate
• Gentle Cleanser: Glycolic Acid
• Glycolic 10 Renew Overnight: Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid
• Hyaluronic Acid Intensifier: Licorice Root, Salicylic Acid
• LHA Cleanser Gel: Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid
• LHA Toner: Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid
• Light Moisture UV Defense SPF 50: Salicylate, Chemical Sunscreens
• Neck, Chest & Hand Repair: Salicylic Acid
• Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50: Salicylate
• Purifying Cleanser: Glycolic Acid
• Retexturing Activator: Glycolic Acid
• Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50: Salicylate
• Sport UV Defense SPF 50: Salicylate, Chemical Sunscreen
• Ultimate UV Defense SPF 30: Chemical Sunscreen
Not Safe for Pregnancy or Nursing
Note I’m including products with retinoids here, as those are a bit iffy. It depends on how conservative you want to be while nursing (still absolutely contraindicated while pregnant). Refer to my post on ingredients to avoid while nursing for more discussion.
• Discoloration Defense: Kojic Acid
• Emollience: Retinoid
• Eye Balm: Retinoid
• Phyto Plus: Kojic Acid
• Retinol 0.3: Retinoid
• Retinol 0.5 Refining Night Cream: Retinoid
• Retinol 1.0 Maximum Strength Refining Night Cream: Retinoid
lpg says
April 30, 2019 at 3:56 pmSkinCeuticals
Renew Overnight Oily (2 fl oz.)
Is this ok…even though the key ingredients below say glycolic acid?
Thank you!!!
Key Ingredient(s): Herbal Extracts, Malic Acid, Squalane Oil, Essential Oils, Vitamin E, Dimethicone, Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid
Ingredients
aqua / Water / Eau, Propylene Glycol, Caprylic/capric Triglyceride, Vaccinium Myrtillus Extract, Stearic Acid, Squalene, Saccharum Officinarum Extract / Sugar Cane Extract / Extrait De Canne A Sucre, Peg-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Extract / Orange Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract / Lemon Peel Extract, Xanthan Gum, Acer Saccharinum Extract / Sugar Maple Extract, Methylparaben, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (orange) Oil, Ci 17200 / Red 33, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben
15mins says
May 1, 2019 at 10:21 amThis was one of the products I had trouble with because it sure does say glycolic acid and malic acid in the key ingredients (I was looking on Derm store too) and neither are listed in the full ingredient list. I believe they’re referring to natural sources in the extracts, which isn’t regarded as enough to be unsafe and we ignore them. So I put it under safe 🙂
Robyn Leigh says
May 31, 2019 at 11:00 pmI was told glycolic acid is safe during pregnancy by a derm and ob
15mins says
June 1, 2019 at 7:50 amAll of the OBs I’ve talked to consider it something to avoid as it is highly absorbed (28% of topical glycolic acid in studies is absorbed systemically). There more discussion in my post on ingredients to avoid during pregnancy. As there isn’t hard data on safety the recommendation to avoid is made based on the absorption and some are more conservative than others. Note, I do list it in each product that has it, so if you feel comfortable with the ingredient that’s a decision you can make on your own.
JoJo says
July 18, 2019 at 1:50 amI was told Kojic Acid is safe to use during pregnancy and it can replace retinol products in brightening complexion.
15mins says
July 18, 2019 at 5:44 pmKojic acid can brighten the skin, but it is considered like hydroquinone and to be avoided during both pregnancy and nursing.
Natalie says
July 22, 2019 at 4:08 amHello,
I was just wonder why the equalizing toner from skinceuticles is on your safe list when it contains glycolic acid?
Is glycolic safe?
15mins says
July 22, 2019 at 11:31 amThat’s one of the instances in which the key ingredients listed aren’t correct, and likely refer to the acid being in one of the extracts. If you look at the complete list of ingredients you’ll see glycolic acid isn’t listed as an ingredient. There’s more about this in my pregnancy beauty FAQ.
Samantha says
July 29, 2019 at 7:26 amFirst, really appreciate what you have done here. I use the daily moisturizer and it is on your list of OK to use, however I was looking at the ingredients and retinyl palmitate is listed as an ingredient. From what I can tell based on limited research this is a form of Vitamin A (Retinol). What are your thoughts?
Thanks,
Samantha
15mins says
July 29, 2019 at 12:53 pmAre you looking on the packaging? I’ve only seen the list of ingredients here, which is the product I’ve screened. It doesn’t have a retinoid. Note products sometimes change formulations or may vary by country. There are also sometimes very similar products with different names.
Liz says
August 1, 2019 at 12:07 amHi, i was wondering about the Clarifying Clay Masque which is on your safe list. It is marketed as a purifying mask with 5% hydroxy acid blend, noting key ingredients as Dimethicone, Titanium Dioxide, Lactic Acid, Essential Oils, Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Aloe Vera, Herbal Extracts, Glycolic Acid, Malic Acid. They appear to be listed as extracts rather than stand alone acids so am confused why it’s on the safe list if Glycolic etc are considered unsafe. Ingredients list is below:
aqua / Water / Eau, Kaolin, Bentonite, Aloe Barbadensis / Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Ci 77891 / Titanium Dioxide, Caprylic/capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Lithium Magnesium Sodium Silicate, Phenoxyethanol Ceteareth-20, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil / Sunflower Seed Oil, Saccharum Officinarum Extract / Sugar Cane Extract / Extrait De Canne A Sucre, Sodium Hydroxide, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water / Orange Fruit Water, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract / Lemon Fruit Extract, Acer Saccharinum Extract / Sugar Maple Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Extract / Matricaria Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil / Rosemary Leaf Oil, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract / Cucumber Fruit Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Curcuma Longa Extract / Turmeric Root Extract, Sclareolide, Rosa Spp / Rose Flower Oil, Jasminum Officinale Extract / Jasmine Extract
15mins says
August 1, 2019 at 4:23 pmThey aren’t listed in the actual ingredient list, they call them out as “key” ingredients as if they are there in large amounts. But they’re so little in extracts that we ignore them in there. Glycolic and Malic acid, if in high enough amounts and added on their own and therefore in the ingredient list, are ones I do recommend avoiding. But in extracts like this they’re not of concern.
Liz says
August 2, 2019 at 9:25 amThanks very much for the detailed explanation, your website is so helpful.
Annie says
September 3, 2019 at 4:36 pmCan you let me know if this product safe to use: Zn20 + SPF40 Light Moisturizer
Ingrediants:
Active Ingredients: 20% Zinc Oxide. Inactive Ingredients: C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Methicone, Microcrystalline Wax, PEG-10 Dimethicone, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Chloride, Stearyl Dimethicone, Tetrahexadecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethanolamine, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Water
15mins says
September 3, 2019 at 5:04 pmLooks ok to me