Pregnancy-safe beauty

Your skincare regime may make you feel great, but beauty products often hide a large amount of harmful chemicals. Natural beauty columnist Ema Taylor shares her guide to the ingredients you should avoid while you’re expecting.

- EMA TAYLOR

Pregnancy is a time of momentous change, and with change comes learning. One of the first things women learn when pregnant is what foods to avoid in order to minimise any risk of bacteria or other toxins, such as mercury, coming in contact with their growing baby. What can often be overlooked are other harmful substances found in our everyday environment, some of which reside in personal care products. Several of these substances have the potential to impact the health of a mother and baby.

Surveys have found that some women use between 12 and 15 personal care products a day, with a typical teenager using between 17 and 20. Many of the ingredients in beauty products are known allergens and irritants. Some ingredients are known endocrine disruptors and have the ability to impact the way hormones communicate in the body. Others are neurotoxins, which impact the health of the central and peripheral nervous system or are classed as mutagenics, which are substances that can change the genetic makeup (DNA) of an organism.

If a mother is exposed to these substances, so is her baby through the umbilical cord. While reading this may be confronting at first, it is not meant to instil fear, but rather empower you to become clear about what personal products are safe for you and your baby. Being conscious of what you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body.

Getting ingredient-conscious