How to Choose Pregnancy Safe Makeup (Full Ingredient Watch-Out List)

Choosing pregnancy safe makeup is crucial during your pregnancy. Sharing the ultimate guide to pregnancy safe makeup brands, pregnancy safe skincare brands, as well as advice from the experts about what to look out for when choosing these pregnancy safe beauty products during these important nine months.

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When you’re pregnant, everything from your morning smoothie to your skincare routine suddenly falls under scrutiny—and makeup is no exception. Choosing pregnancy safe makeup isn’t about tossing your entire beauty bag, but rather being more mindful of what’s in the products you use daily. During pregnancy, your skin can become more sensitive due to hormonal changes, and some ingredients that are perfectly fine under normal circumstances may pose risks to your developing baby. Ingredients like retinoids, salicylic acid in high concentrations, parabens, phthalates, and certain synthetic fragrances should be avoided.

Instead, look for brands that are transparent about their ingredients and offer non-toxic, dermatologist-tested, and OBGYN-approved formulations. Mineral makeup is often a great go-to for pregnant moms because it typically contains fewer irritants and more natural ingredients. Bonus: it’s also gentle on sensitive or acne-prone pregnancy skin. Brands like Beautycounter, ILIA, and RMS Beauty are known for prioritizing clean ingredients without compromising performance. And don’t forget to check your labels—just because a product says “natural” doesn’t mean it’s pregnancy safe makeup. Do your research, lean on trusted resources like the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and when in doubt, consult your healthcare provider. Your makeup routine can still be part of your daily self-care—it just might need a little tweaking to keep you and baby safe.

How to Actually Choose Pregnancy Safe Makeup

A few years ago, I rounded up a list featuring my absolute favorite 7 beauty products to use during pregnancy, making them pregnancy safe makeup. Since then, we’ve explored the best pregnancy safe skincare as well as my absolute favorite product to use to help prevent stretch marks during pregnancy. These are all winners in my eyes and things that I felt safe using while I was growing my babies inside me, and I wanted to make those recommendations to you all, too. But I realized that everyone has their favorite pregnancy-safe makeup brands, so I thought it was really important to take the discussion one step further and share how to choose these pregnancy safe beauty products and hone in on ingredients to look for so that you’re educated to make the best decisions for you. After all, our skin is our biggest organ and everything we use will be absorbed and transferred to the baby – it’s a lot to think about!

Ingredients to look for when choosing pregnancy safe beauty products

Whenever you find out you’re pregnant, you must become the ultimate label reader – for everything, not just food. Knowing which ingredients to look for when choosing pregnancy safe beauty products will leave you will peace of mind whenever choosing products that you’ll most likely be applying every single day.

Fragrance-Free: Choosing pregnancy safe makeup brands starts with making sure your products are fragrance-free. Why? Because typically the chemicals used to make those glorious smells are the bad chemicals that you don’t want seeping into your pores. Try this: SheaMoisture Marula Oil & Shea Butter Body Lotion Fragrance-Free

All Natural: I think of “all natural” products as one step down from organic. At the bare minimum, you want to make sure that the pregnancy safe beauty products you’re choosing are labeled with all natural ingredients. This means that nothing in that specific product have been chemically produced – which is always a win in my book. Try this: Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation

Organic: I know that organic products can be a little bit on the pricier side, but they are completely worth it! Organic means that no harmful chemicals were used to make whatever pregnancy safe makeup brands you’re choosing and I say go for it. Try this: Ilia Multi-Stick

Ingredients to avoid when choosing pregnancy safe makeup

Sadly, the list of ingredients to avoid when choosing pregnancy safe makeup is way longer. I don’t know what it is about chemicals whenever it comes to making beauty products in general, but it could do all us some good to avoid these nasty chemicals year round. I don’t want you to go crazy, stressing yourself out about it. These are the main chemicals to avoid so that you can choose pregnancy safe makeup that you know is safe.

Beta hydroxy acids: these are typically found in products that exfoliate or peel your skin. Instead, try this pregnancy safe skincare brand: Belli Fresh Start Pre-Treatment Scrub

Diethanolamine (DEA): this is a compound typically found in cosmetics to make them creamy. Try this instead: 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Water Foundation

Dihydroxyacetone (DHA): this one is found in all your favorite sunless tanning products. Try this instead: COOLA Organic Sunless Tan Dry Oil Mist

Formaldehyde: this colorless, strong-smelling gas that is typically found in household products is also found in things like soaps, shampoo, nail polish and more – and it’s definitely toxic and shouldn’t be anywhere near your growing belly. Try this instead: Zoya Nail Lacquer

Hydroquinone: another gross chemical often found in creams and soaps. Try this instead: TANGENT GC Burnet Organic Soap

Parabens: these are the most widely used preservatives found in personal care products. They were first introduced in the 1950s and now we know that even thought they do stop things like fungus growth, they are known to cause cancer, so keep them away from yourself and your loved one. Try this instead: Matrix Biolage Advanced Fiberstrong Shampoo for Fragile Hair

Phthalates: known to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, you want to avoid these. Typically they are found in everyday products like nail polish, hair care and lotions. Try this instead: Josie Maran Argan Lip Sting Plumping Butter

Thioglycolic acid: this one is found in a lot of hair coloring products. Try this instead: Clairol Natural Instincts Crema Keratina Hair Color

Toluene: this harmful chemical is typically found in nail polish, but was removed from most brands because of how harmful it was found to be. Try this instead: TenOverTen Nail Polish

Looking for more pregnancy related articles? I’ve got you covered!

But first! Make sure you subscribe to our Project Motherhood newsletter here for your weekly dose of honest motherhood, wellness, and more!

• 7 FAB Beauty Products For Pregnant Women
• How to Prepare For a Baby in a Small Apartment
• Pregnancy Safe Skincare: Belli Skincare Line Review
• How to Prevent Stretch Marks During Pregnancy
• Second Trimester Must-Haves
• What You Don’t Need in Your Hospital Delivery Bag
• How to Build The Ultimate Maternity Capsule Wardrobe
• Life-changing Products For When You Get Home From The Hospital
• How Being Pregnant is Finally Teaching Me to Love My Body

Pregnancy Safe Skincare

When it comes to pregnancy safe skincare, I swear by the Belli Skincare Line.  The whole team here reviewed the lines a few years ago, which has a little bit of everything that is specifically made for pregnant women. They feature scrubs, face wash – and even a pregnancy safe acne treatment. It’s perfect for all skin types and I can’t recommend switching to it at least while your pregnant and nursing. Read all about it here.

I promise – it is possible to choose pregnancy safe beauty products. More and more companies are realizing the importance of making products that are rid of these ingredients in general, because it’s important for us all, pregnant or not, to choose cosmetics that are safe for our skin. With having a little girl who is already at the toddler age, very into my cosmetic bag, I make sure to make these choices every time I shop for makeup. I only want the safest products around our family and it starts with educating yourself. I hope my research helps you all make the best choices when choosing pregnancy safe makeup brands and beyond!

Fashionably Yours,

Allison