Skin Care for Pregnant Women

I need some good advice on treating skin problems in pregnant women. I have a new client who is 14 week pregnant with bad acne. She wants me to treat it, and I told her I needed her Dr's OK before using the acne line products on her. Is there any research that suggests that salicylic acid, sulfur, clay and/or charcoal can be harmful to a fetus when absorbed through the skin? When she came to see me, I only used basic products on her, with no active ingredients, but she is really pushing me to clear her acne. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Eva Sandoval on March 28, 2011 at 12:48pm

I'm pretty sure school taught us not to do lymph drainage on pregnant women. Because it could cause them to lose the baby. Might want to double check on that. Wouldn't want to have that happen to a client.

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Permalink Reply by Joanna Sechuck-Tringali on April 2, 2011 at 11:31am

Not to worry, Eve. Manual lymph drainage of head, neck and face is safe for pregnant women.

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Permalink Reply by Eva Sandoval on April 15, 2011 at 10:38am

Oh really Joanna. Thanks for your feedback. ;0)

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Permalink Reply by Kris Craft on April 18, 2011 at 6:39pm

Hi. I just read your question. Yes, absolutely no vitamin A products or vitamin A derivative products on a pregnant woman. The doctor route is the best. Since she is pregnant, was her acne present before? If the answer is no, then it is hormonal and not much can be done topically. However, she may want to work with an RD and yourself to change/optimize her nutrient intake, while treating what she can. You can always do a Pubmed search to see if ingredients are contraindicated for pregnancy. Also, no essential oils as these are also absorbed into bloodstream through the skin.