17 Again

And not because I look young and fabulous. Nope, it's because my nose has a nice impression of Mt. Vesuvius circa 79 CE growing on the right side. My last pregnancy saw the return of such horrible skin that I still have scars on my back and nightmares about my face. So I'm expecting much the same this time around (although I will add, my skin in between pregnancies has never looked better, even without any sleep). The biggest problem is that the most common treatments for acne are strictly verboten during pregnancy: retinol and salicylic acid. Retinol causes such horrific birth defects that women on Accutane must pledge to abstain from having sex while during their course of treatment. Salicylic acid is not much better. Studies have mainly been done on the consumption of the above (salicylic acid is also in asprin). I will note that the evidence is not in as to how much can safely be used on the skin during pregnancy, so it's best just to avoid it. Babycenter.com actually has a decent article about what is and isn't safe to use on your skin during pregnancy.

So what can you use? Your best bet is glycolic acid (AHA). Bonus, it helps with signs of aging, too! My favorite product with it is MD Formulations Continuous Renewal Serum. At $54 a pop it's not cheap, but I am still using the dregs of the bottle I bought during my last pregnancy. And if it's your budget, try getting a facial or two, if just for the pampering, relaxing portion of it. Just make sure to let your aestitician know not to use any product was salicylic acid or any retinol.

Oh, and one more thing, tea tree oil is safe, too (as far as I can tell). You can buy it straight from places like Whole Foods. Or the Body Shop has it's Tea Tree oil line, although I haven't checked out the ingredients on any of those products. I just use it straight as a spot treatment. Off to go stock up now!