Becoming pregnant doesn’t just mean making changes to your sleep schedule, how you spend your time, and what you do with your spare bedroom — it also means you may have to change other routines too, such as your diet and skincare routine.
Although certain ingredients may be perfectly safe for use normally, they’re not necessarily safe for your baby.
Skincare ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid are praised for being gentle – but is HA gentle enough for expecting mothers?
What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a molecule that’s naturally found in your body. It’s a key component of your skin’s natural hydration system, and it can help your skin retain its youthful-looking fullness and firmness. As we age, our bodies retain less Hyaluronic Acid, which is part of why visible signs of aging start to creep up on us.
Hyaluronic Acid is also known as a humectant, a type of molecule that attracts and holds onto water. Hyaluronic Acid molecules are so powerful that they account for up to 50% of your skin’s hydration. One Hyaluronic Acid molecule can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water!
Humectants are one side of the hydration ingredient triangle that includes occlusives, which create a seal against your skin, and emollients, which help fill in cracks left in dry skin. If you want all-around glowing and hydrated skin, making sure you’re hitting all three sides of this triangle is crucial!
Hyaluronic Acid is such an important part of the hydration equation that we’ve made it the foundation of our Hyaluronic Hydration Heaven Set. This three-item set features our Resurrection Radiance Eye Cream, Chebula Extreme Cream, and Moisture Lock Glossy Lip Balm — all with major hydrating benefits.
All of our Hyaluronic Acid formulations include an optimal concentration of low and high-weighted Hyaluronic Acid molecules. The smaller molecules help minimize the look of wrinkles, while larger sizes help smooth and soften skin.
What Does Hyaluronic Acid Do for Your Skin?
As you might have guessed, Hyaluronic Acid is great for keeping your skin hydrated. It draws moisture into your skin from the environment around it, and works best in humid environments where it can draw water from the air.
But if you live somewhere dry, no worries — Hyaluronic Acid can soak up all the moisture it needs from a good moisturizer. We recommend layering your Hyaluronic Acid with moisturizing skincare products or using a moisturizer formulated with Hyaluronic Acid to make sure your skin is getting everything it needs.
Hyaluronic Acid’s hydrating properties make it an ideal ingredient for our Renew Repair Nightly Treatment.
This award-winning, anti-aging formulation includes Hyaluronic Acid and a blend of Omega Fatty Acids, Ceramides, and other ingredients derived from sustainably-sourced Seaweed. These hypoallergenic ingredients work together to address signs of aging skin like dryness and the appearance of wrinkles.
This one-of-a-kind product gives you the glowing results you want without the toxic
preservatives, fillers, and sensitizing ingredients found in many other anti-aging products.
Hyaluronic Acid decreases with age, so using Hyaluronic Acid as part of your skincare routine has shown promising results for rejuvenating aging skin.
Basically, no anti-aging skincare routine is complete without Hyaluronic Acid.
Hyaluronic Acid is also suitable for most skin types — whether your skin is dry, combination, or oily — and is super gentle on your skin. It also works well as a companion to other skincare ingredients, and shouldn’t be reactive with any other product in your lineup.
This makes it ideal for addressing dryness related to over-the-counter breakout treatments and mitigating the potentially drying effects of other active ingredients, from AHAs to Retinol.
(Note that not all of those ingredients are safe for pregnancy. Please always consult a medical professional to determine what is right for you.)
Can You Use Hyaluronic Acid During Pregnancy?
Absolutely. Because Hyaluronic Acid is so gentle on your skin, it should be no surprise that it’s safe to use during pregnancy. It’s a totally natural and safe molecule that your body should already be familiar with because you actually produce Hyaluronic Acid on your own.
In fact, Hyaluronic Acid isn’t just pregnancy-safe — it’s an ideal ingredient to work into your skincare routine, specifically while pregnant. Your hormones and body are likely to change quite a bit during this time, and Hyaluronic Acid can help address certain issues that can come up because of this.
For instance, Hyaluronic Acid is great for your skin barrier and can be very soothing to your skin. Pregnancy hormones can cause your skin to become dry even if it was oily before, so working Hyaluronic Acid into your routine can help soothe some of that itching and irritation. It’s also good for promoting some of what your skin needs to fight visible signs of aging.
Pregnancy hormones can also trigger breakouts due to fluctuation in hormones during the first trimester. Hyaluronic Acid is a wonderful catch-all to keep your skin balanced while you banish blemishes and breakouts.
Hyaluronic Acid has even been shown to have positive effects on minimizing the appearance of stretch marks when used throughout pregnancy!
What’s a Pregnancy-Safe Skincare Routine That Uses Hyaluronic Acid?
Since Hyaluronic Acid works well with many other ingredients and offers many benefits, it stands to reason that it’s used in the formulations of a wide range of skincare products.
Although you can find Hyaluronic Acid-centric serums, we like using Hyaluronic Acid as part of other steps in our skincare routine.
Cleanser
The first and most important step in your skincare routine is always cleansing so that you can start off with a clean slate that’s receptive to the products you apply afterward.
Our Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm is safe for pregnant women, and because it’s made with nourishing ingredients rather than harsh surfactants, synthetic fragrances and fillers, it’s gentle on sensitized skin that occurs during pregnancy.
While Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm is tough enough to remove waterproof mascara, it’s formulated with skin-soothing Turmeric and Ginger Root Oil and hydrating Mango and Avocado Butters that leave your skin pillow-soft and glowy.
Brightening dark spots might be a concern for you during pregnancy since many women experience discoloration with a bun in the oven. If you’ve had to discontinue the use of ingredients like hydroquinone, our Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm provides the same benefits without any of the harsh side effects. It’s formulated with exfoliating Azelaic Acid and Lactic Acid, which can help address uneven skin tone.
Don’t worry — while other Alpha Hydroxy Acids like Glycolic Acid or a BHA like Salicylic Acid may not be safe for pregnancy, Lactic Acid and Azelaic Acid is safe for use.
(And all of this is accomplished with just the first step of your routine!)
Serum
Instead of using a serum that is strictly Hyaluronic Acid-focused, our Chebula Active Serum is the ideal combination of hydrating Hyaluronic Acid and a wide variety of plant-based ingredients chosen to help nourish your skin and promote a healthy skin barrier.
After sunscreen, the best line of defense your skin has against sun damage is antioxidants — and Chebula is a special antioxidant that can fight many free radicals, helping to combat stressors that can age your skin prematurely.
Speaking of anti-aging benefits, Chebula Active Serum is so effective that 100% of women experienced softer and smoother skin in just one week — and 97% of women experienced a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles after four weeks.*
These anti-aging benefits are especially exciting because typical anti-aging measures like Retinoids are generally not considered safe for use by pregnant or breastfeeding women by dermatology experts.
Moisturizer
Our Chebula Extreme Cream is formulated with Hyaluronic Acid to help deliver hydration, antioxidant benefits, and skin barrier support. In addition to the breakthrough, cascading antioxidant Chebula itself, this cream features potent plant actives like Acerola Cherry, Calendula Oil, and Wild Pansy Extract to soothe skin and significantly improve moisture levels.
Chebula Extreme Cream also contains zero pore-clogging waxes — so if you’ve had to stop using breakout-busting ingredients like Benzoyl Peroxide or Beta Hydroxy Acids, you won’t have to worry about this super hydrating moisturizer getting in the way of your pregnancy glow.
And while some Vitamin A products like Synthetic Retinol may be off-limits, you can safely add our Vitamin C Booster to your cream moisturizer to give your skin a burst of brightening and fortifying antioxidants.
If you’re used to using liquid Vitamin C serums, our booster may come as a shock to you. Our Vitamin C formula comes as a powder because liquid forms of Vitamin C tend to lose potency over time – and we can’t have that!
This booster combines Vitamin C and Ferulic Acid to protect overall skin integrity and reveal smoother, brighter-looking skin — and you can even mix it with your favorite water-based serum or moisturizer.
Ever heard of melasma or the “mask of pregnancy”? Well, now you have the tools to do something about it.
Extras
In addition to your usual skincare routine, you can add some extra steps when your skin could use some extra love, or you feel like you need some self-care in your routine.
Our Moisture Lock Overnight Mask is pregnancy-safe and uses Hyaluronic Acid to give your skin the blast of hydration it needs to feel softer than you ever thought possible.
While many other hydrating masks on the market are wasteful sheet masks or packed with pore-clogging waxes and harsh preservatives, our Moisture Lock Overnight Mask is made only with biocompatible ingredients.
This lightweight, clinically proven mask uses Hyaluronic Acid, Mango Butter, and Squalane to nourish and moisturize your skin.
Simply apply your mask, get some well-deserved sleep, and wake up to the glowing skin of your dreams.
As always, don’t forget to finish your routine with a high SPF sunscreen! Chemical sunscreens are not always safe for pregnancy, so stick to mineral options that use ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to protect your skin.
In Conclusion
Choosing which products and ingredients can help your skin can be a challenge even when you don’t have the additional concern of your growing baby to consider!
Luckily, when it comes to pregnancy-safe skincare, there’s a wide variety of options available to you that are both safe and effective.
Hyaluronic Acid is not only safe for pregnancy, but it can also help support your pregnancy glow.
Check out our selection of gentle, pregnancy-safe natural skincare products designed just for your skin’s changing needs.
*Clinical Data Disclaimer: Based on a 6-week single-blind comparative clinical study of 30 women aged 35-65 with twice-daily use.
Sources:
Hyaluronic Acid: A Key Molecule in Skin Aging | National Library of Medicine