9 Easy Beauty Routine Swaps You MUST Make Once You're Pregnant

Swap out: products with retinyl palmitate and retinol (vitamin A)

Retinoids are a type of vitamin A that prevent skin collagen from breaking down, making them a popular antiaging tool. But consuming high doses of vitamin A during pregnancy has been shown to possibly cause birth defects. Doctors recommend that women avoid these products during pregnancy. Some oral retinoids, like the prescription acne medication Accutane, are known to be very dangerous for the fetus and should only be taken when you're not pregnant or planning to be.

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: products with ethanolamines (MEA/DEA/TEA), parabens, BHA, and BHT

Hormone disruptors may be hiding in your makeup bag — potentially interfering with your baby's healthy development. Parabens, for example, can mimic estrogen, a hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system. As for DEA, the EU bans it in cosmetics and one study suggests that exposure could permanently impact an offspring's memory function.

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: hairsprays and styling products with phthalates, fragrance, ethanolamines (MEA/DEA/TEA), or 1,4-dioxane (PEG or sodium laureth sulfate)

Hair that stays in place isn't worth the trade-off associated with these potentially harmful chemicals. One animal study showed that exposure to phthalates, a popular ingredient in hair products, can alter sex hormones and increase the likelihood of losing a fetus.

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: anything with octinoxate, oxybenzone, or fragrance

Pregnancy is an important time to wear sunscreen, since your skin may be more prone to melasma, a condition in which brown patches appear on your face. But while sunscreen protects us from harmful UV rays, it's often packed with problematic chemicals. Oxybenzone, for example, can act like estrogen in the body, and it's been shown to alter sperm production in animals. It is also associated with endometriosis and allergic reactions.

Other troubling studies have found traces commonly present in mothers' breast milk. Gregg Renfrew, who founded the safe cosmetic line Beautycounter, warned me: "Just because a sunscreen is marketed towards children doesn't necessarily mean that it's safer."

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: products with undisclosed "fragrance" or "parfum"

"A scented product is not necessarily problematic," Nneka Leiba, director for Healthy Living Science at EWG, told me. "However, it becomes a problem when a manufacturer uses the term 'fragrance' rather than disclose the ingredients." Leiba said that "fragrance" is a largely unknown mixture of any number of the fragrance industry's 3,000 ingredients. "Some of these ingredients have been linked to hormone disruption, which should be particularly worrisome for pregnant women," she warned. So better to avoid the vague ingredient!

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: products with fragrance, oxybenzone, BHA and BHT, retinyl palmitate, retinol (vitamin A), hydroquinone, or glutathione

Many moisturizers contain chemicals that can act as "endocrine disruptors," which interfere with the body's normal hormone functions. There's evidence that BHA and BHT, for example, could lead to developmental problems, making pregnant women and infants especially vulnerable.

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: products with phthalates or "fragrance"

Nail polishes often include phthalates, which can interfere with our normal hormone functions.

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: body wash, shaving cream, shampoo, and conditioner that might contain fragrance, ethanolamines, parabens, diazolidinyl urea, triclosan, or 1,4-dioxane (PEG or sodium laureth sulfate)

You're not truly clean if you use potentially harmful chemicals in your shower routine. "1,4-dioxane is classified as a probable human carcinogen according to the International Agency on Research for Cancer," Tata Harper, who founded her own product line, told me. "But you won't find it on any ingredient list because this chemical is the byproduct of the process that is used to make certain types of surfactants, such as sodium laureth sulfate, and is considered an incidental ingredient not requiring ingredient disclosure."

As for triclosan, Harper said, "There is strong evidence that this chemical is an endocrine disruptor that can cause hormonal imbalances resulting in everything from birth defects to cancer."

Swap in these safe options instead:

Swap out: anything with retinyl palmitate, fragrance, hydroquinone, or glutathione

The idea of pregnancy stretch marks may cause you anxiety (I know it did for me). So now is the time to moisturize. According to Dr. Alyssa R. Golas, a plastic surgeon at NYU's Langone Health, "there is some evidence that keeping the skin well-moisturized and supple can help." Just make sure these moisturizing products don't contain ingredients that can interfere with your hormones.

Swap in these safe options instead: