Check out this guide for pregnancy and nursing safe skincare options that you can find at Ulta! Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

Adapting your skincare regimen for pregnancy isn’t always easy. If you’re like me, you might also be dealing with cystic acne and fine lines during pregnancy. Where’s the pregnancy glow??

I originally wrote a post for pregnancy and nursing safe skincare at Sephora, and it was super popular! So I thought I’d do everyone a favor and go through my pregnancy skincare routine again with Ulta products. Ready? Here we go!

Skincare Ingredients to Avoid in Pregnancy

So, first and foremost, I am not a dermatologist or OB/GYN. I saw a dermatologist during both pregnancies to discuss my concerns regarding cystic acne, melasma, dark spots, and fine lines. So while the skincare products I mention here were okayed by my doctors for me, the same might not be said for you. Always check with your doctors and don’t blindly take advice from random people on the internet, like me.

BUT, in general, my dermatologist told me to generally avoid two main skincare ingredients: retinol and salicylic acid. Both were shown in research to cause birth defects when taken in other forms (e.g. orally or in higher doses). These ingredients were not specifically tested on pregnant women in doses and products that you typically can get in skincare because that would be unethical. So really, everyone is just doing their best guess and playing it safe by saying to avoid these ingredients. I know my OB said that using a 2% salicylic acid treatment during pregnancy, PROBABLY wouldn’t do anything, her advice was better to be safe than sorry. My dermatologist’s general rule of thumb was LESS IS MORE when it comes to pregnancy. We simply don’t know enough about how skincare can affect a growing baby.

All that to say, for my own pregnancy, I chose to avoid skincare with retinol and salicyclic acid AND ALL ITS DERIVATIVES. There are “retinol alternatives” such as bakuchiol in popular anti aging skincare products today. But given its close relation to retinol, I avoided those as well. Same goes for willow bark extract, which is a kind of BHA related to salicylic acid. The following products I mention avoid those ingredients to the best of my knowledge. Alright, let’s get started!

Pregnancy Safe Cleansers

In terms of cleansers, unfortunately my favorite low pH (also sometimes marketed as acne clearing) cleansers didn’t make the cut with pregnancy safe ingredients. However, oil cleansers typically seem to be okay! I personally enjoy using the Banila Co. Clean it Zero cleansing balm or the DHC oil cleanser to take off makeup. I actually would recommend the DHC one first, since it has fewer ingredients and less chance for something to go wrong, but I know some people are really attached to their cleansing balms. For more standard cleansers, I know it’s not sexy, but Cetaphil is pretty safe and well loved by dermatologists.

Pregnancy Safe Hydrating Toners and Serums

If you can get away with just moisturizing, and not so much treating spots or wrinkles, that’s the safest bet for your pregnancy skincare. The CosRX snail mucin line is really great for this. It’s super hydrating and has relatively few ingredients.

If you’re looking for a hydrating toner with a little more oomph to tackle more skincare concerns, I absolutely LOVE the Dear Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner. I also highly recommend the Peach & Lily Glass Skin Serum. It’s got hyaluronic acid for hydration, niacinamide for dark spots, and peptides for fine lines. Although to be perfectly honest, I mostly get just the hydration benefits from this serum. In any case, it’s formulated for sensitive skin, which was great for my agitated skin in pregnancy.

Pregnancy Safe Chemical Exfoliators

My dermatologist approved my use of lactic acid serums to try and tackle my acne issues during pregnancy. I recommend the Ordinary’s Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% exfoliating serum. Like some of my other recommendations, it’s got relatively few ingredients and gets right down to business. Plus, it’s super affordable!

If you want to avoid chemical exfoliants altogether, try the Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off! It’s one of the OG viral Kbeauty products that I started using back in high school!

Treating Cystic Acne During Pregnancy

You’ve seen me mention several times by now that instead of that nice pregnancy glow, I was blessed with pregnancy cystic acne. Yup, it’s a thing. My dermatologist told me that the changes in hormones can sometimes make your skin go nuts. For a while, I went in to get steroid shots for each pimple, but I was really hoping to find something that can treat it at home.

I now SWEAR by this cystic acne routine! At first notice of a cystic pimple, I would spot treat with this Sunday Riley Saturn Sulfur Spot Treatment Mask. I would also take time to do a warm compress on it. Last step, slap a CosRX pimple patch on it overnight. I sometimes had to repeat the warm compress part a few times over a couple days, but it REALLY helped me a lot. Other changes that helped with my cystic acne during pregnancy: cutting out all coffee and reducing my dairy consumption.

Treating Dark Spots During Pregnancy

Along with pregnancy cystic acne, I was also blessed with pregnancy melasma. Sigh. My doctor said it was okay for me to use products with niacinamide and vitamin C, but if I’m going to be super honest with you, nothing worked. The only solution for me was to get the spots lasered off after I was done having kids.

HOWEVER, if you would like to try some products anyway, I have used the Ordinary’s Niacinamide serum and Klairs’s Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum. They were both nice and very affordable, even if not super effective.

Treating Fine Lines and Wrinkles During Pregnancy

Similar to treating acne, treating fine lines during pregnancy was somewhat difficult due to avoiding retinol. Peptides and collagen, however, were okay for me to use. Again, full disclosure, I didn’t see huge gains on my fine lines until after I stopped being pregnant/nursing and started using a retinol serum. However, I was glad to at least use something! I enjoyed the Good Molecules Super Peptide Serum, which is also very affordable. If you’re looking for something more luxurious, the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream is an absolute dream. Even though I’m not longer pregnant or nursing, I am currently using Boscia’s Vegan Collagen Booster Serum, which has peptides and collagen, and I’m really enjoying it!

Pregnancy Safe Moisturizers

When I was nursing, my normally oily skin got super dry, so finding a good moisturizer was absolutely essential. I really loved Klairs’s Midnight Blue Calming Cream, which is especially formulated to soothe irritated skin. I’ve used three bottles of it! I also have enjoyed multiple jars of Peach & Lily’s Matcha Pudding Antioxidant Cream, although those of you with super sensitive skin may need to watch out for the plant oils in the ingredient list.

And that’s that for my pregnancy safe skincare guide at Ulta! As with all things, please consult your doctor about any skincare questions you have during pregnancy and know that your mileage may vary on the effectiveness of each product. But I hope that this little guide helps you build a pregnancy skincare routine you can feel comfortable with!

More Skincare and Beauty Posts

If you liked this guide, definitely check out my Pregnancy Safe Skincare at Sephora and Best Kbeauty at Ulta posts!