6 Treatments You Might Think Would Be Okay During Pregnancy—But Aren’t

There are a handful of treatments that one might think are okay to do while pregnant—but aren't. Experts explain why.

The list of things that are off-limits during pregnancy is a long one. When you start looking into cosmetic treatments or procedures, that list grows even longer. The hard truth of the matter is that aside from a basic facial, there’s really not much you can do while pregnant. “Sadly, pretty much everything is off the table during pregnancy,” says Dr. Janet Allenby, a board-certified dermatologist in Delray Beach, Florida. “The big issue is the lack of safety studies. There are inherent risks and potential complications that come with aesthetic procedures, regardless of pregnancy, that many are willing to take, but it’s ethically more of a challenge to justify during pregnancy, when the goal is to do no harm to mom or baby,” she explains. 

So yes, generally speaking, there simply isn’t enough data to back up the safety of performing most cosmetic treatments on pregnant women. But while some are more obvious no-nos than others (surgery, Botox), there are a handful of, seemingly more innocuous treatments that one might think are okay to do while pregnant. Spoiler alert: they’re still not. These experts explain why.

Hyaluronic acid fillers

It’s easy to understand why neurotoxin injections are dangerous for pregnant women; there’s a toxin involved, after all. But hyaluronic acid is a substance that’s produced naturally in our own bodies (not to mention, it’s safe to use topically during pregnancy), so what’s the issue with HA fillers? “They do have a very low risk of side effects, and theoretically, there should be a small risk to the fetus since the hyaluronic acid is something our skin already has,” says Dr. Allenby. “More commonly, the risk to the pregnant mother is the lidocaine that’s added to most HA fillers, to reduce the discomfort during the injection. Tiny doses of lidocaine are permissible in pregnancy for medically necessary procedures, but larger doses could cause fetal abnormalities,” she explains. (There are non-lidocaine fillers out there, but most doctors don’t keep them on hand.) And lidocaine aside, you should avoid any type of cosmetic injections during pregnancy; anxiety and discomfort during the procedure can cause a sudden spike in blood pressure or make you faint, says Dr. Jessie Cheung, a board-certified dermatologist in Willowbrook, Illinois. Plus given that it’s very common for faces and lips to swell during pregnancy, it makes sense just to wait it out, she adds.

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Dermaplaning

Of all the procedures on the list, this is arguably the safest option for pregnant women, since it removes only the top layer of dead skin, says Dr. Cheung. “In and of itself, dermaplaning is fine—the issue is the potential to accidentally cut the skin and [set the stage for] an infection,” adds Dr. Allenby. To that point, pregnant women’s skin is more vascular, so you’re more likely to bleed after an accidental nick; that risk of a cut and infection is why many aestheticians won’t perform dermaplaning on pregnant women, explains Dr. Cheung.

IPL

Less intense than many laser treatments and generally considered both very safe and effective, one might think that an IPL treatment is fine during pregnancy. It’s not. “Your skin is more reactive to heat and light energy when you’re pregnant. It’s full of dilated blood vessels, which can absorb too much heat from IPL,” says Dr. Cheung. The result? Unwanted hyperpigmentation. Not to mention that pregnant women are more susceptible to hormone-induced melasma, which IPL can potentially trigger or exacerbate, adds Dr. Kavita Mariwalla, a board-certified dermatologist in West Islip, New York.

PRP injections or facials

PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is taken from your own blood, so why are these types of treatments problematic? According to Dr. Mariwalla, there are several issues. First, “most of the use of PRP in dermatology is off-label and not FDA-approved, so you really are wading into murky waters if there’s a complication,” she says. Aside from that, there’s the fact that the quality of the PRP isn’t as good to begin with. This is because pregnant women tend to be anemic, due to an increased volume of circulating blood, Dr. Mariwalla explains. And as with hyaluronic acid fillers, if the PRP is being injected, you run the same risks of increased blood pressure/fainting from the procedure itself, notes Dr. Cheung. The other way it’s often used, in a Vampire Facial, is also off-limits because it involves microneedling—which, surprise, isn’t recommended during pregnancy. 

Professional teeth whitening 

This is a tricky one, as “there’s no evidence that it’s dangerous or must be avoided during pregnancy, but there’s also no definitive way to prove that it’s safe,” says Beverly Hills, California, cosmetic dentist Dr. Matthew Nejad. In theory, since teeth whitening uses a high percentage of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, it is possible that if ingested, the ingredient could impact the cells of the fetus, adds New York City cosmetic dentist Dr. Marc Lownberg. Bottom line? Both dentists we spoke with agree that it’s undoubtedly best to wait until you’ve had your baby to whiten your teeth.

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Retinoids

While technically not a treatment, per se, pregnant women should pass on this extremely popular class of topical ingredients. Unlike many of the others on this list, there is data backing up why: “There are four published studies showing that tretinoin can cause birth defects,” says Dr. Allenby. Because of that data, dermatologists recommend all retinoids be avoided during pregnancy. But if you were using your nightly retinol for a few weeks before you even knew you were pregnant, don’t freak out. “There are also two, more recent, studies that did not find an increased risk of major malformations due to application of tretinoin during the first trimester—which is reassuring for women who are inadvertently exposed early in their pregnancy,” Dr. Allenby says.