How to Find the Best Acne Treatment During Pregnancy

Acne treatment during pregnancy differs from acne treatment at other times in some ways. In my eHow article about hormonal acne, I discuss the fact that essentially all acne can be categorized as hormonal acne, so it naturally follows that the acne women develop when they are pregnant is also considered hormonal acne. When you are not pregnant or trying to get pregnant, you have a number of different acne remedies to consider.

But when you are pregnant (or trying to get pregnant), your top priority is the health of your developing baby, so you have fewer options, as some acne treatments are not appropriate for pregnant and/or lactating women to use. So, with that in mind, how can you find the best, safest, most appropriate acne treatment during pregnancy?

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A desire and willingness to make your developing baby your top priority throughout your pregnancy.
• Access to safe topical benzoyl peroxide acne treatments mentioned in this article.

1. Acne treatment during pregnancy is sometimes needed because the acne that women develop during pregnancy is due to a rather dramatic upsurge in female hormones.

2. Wash with a gentle cleanser, and if you like toning and exfoliating as well, you may continue to tone and exfoliate during pregnancy, but always use the gentlest and most natural toning and exfoliation formulas that you can find.

3. Something to consider when investigating acne treatment during pregnancy is the fact that Retin A should never be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women, as it is effective for the treatment of acne, but not for the development of growing babies.

4. Like Retin A, Accutane, a prescription acne medication, is also completely out of the question as an acne treatment during pregnancy (and also strongly discouraged during lactation), as it has been found to cause severe birth defects.

5. Tetracycline is an antibiotic sometimes prescribed for the treatment of acne. Again, pregnant and lactating women and women who are trying to get pregnant are strongly discouraged from using this particular acne treatment during pregnancy (or while breastfeeding).

6. A topical benzoyl peroxide cream (over the counter or prescription) is generally considered by the medical community to be a safe acne treatment during pregnancy, though it should be used in relatively small amounts if you want to be completely on the safe side. Also, you may want to use creams containing 2.5 percent benzoyl peroxide as opposed to those containing 5% or 10% benzoyle peroxide, once again “just to be on the safe side.” (You will be happy to hear that many benzoyl peroxide users report finding the creams containing 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to be just as effective as those containing higher amounts.)

Tips & Warnings

• It is worth noting that some women decide as a precautionary measure to completely avoid all forms of acne treatment during pregnancy.
• Once again, when it comes to acne treatment during pregnancy, stick to small amounts of creams containing the least amount of benzoyl peroxide (2,5%) and a gentle cleansing, toning and exfoliating routine, and steer completely clear of the more serious treatments because, as you know, the stakes are far too high.

[Working4Rachel]

on 1/16/2009 My mother had terrible acne up to and including the time when she was pregnant with me, so I know acne treatment in pregnancy can be a challenge. Great article!