Benefit or harm: yellow peeling procedures and pregnancy

Most medical experts agree: the combination of yellow peeling and pregnancy is undesirable. However, many women who undergo the procedure during planning and pregnancy give birth to healthy children.

The development of a child in the womb is a direct contraindication for the use of retinol on the skin. But not everything is so simple.

Is it worth doing while pregnant?

Yellow peeling is a method of rejuvenating and healing the skin. The procedure smoothes the surface of the skin, refreshes the tone, saturates the skin tissue with bioactive substances, and stimulates collagen synthesis. This effect explains the popularity of this type of peeling among women.

Two types of influence are used:

• retinol peeling, in which the active ingredient is retinol - vitamin A;
• retinoic - more intense, based on an active, potent substance of synthetic origin - retinoic acid.

The second procedure is exclusively salon. It is forbidden to carry out it yourself at home: this is fraught with negative consequences.

The name “yellow” peeling is given because the main active component of the composition (retinol or retinoic acid) is yellow in color.

The procedure has a superficial-medial effect on the skin. Recommended for the following problems:

• noticeable coarsening of the surface layer of the epidermis;
• dulling of skin color;
• the appearance of whiteheads;
• rapid aging of the skin;
• dry and dull skin;
• excess pigmentation.

Retinoic peeling itself is completely safe for the skin and the body as a whole, if the salon client is not pregnant. To obtain a positive result, one session is enough, but cosmetologists recommend taking a course of procedures to achieve maximum effect.

Indications and contraindications

You cannot do the procedure only at your own request. There must be reasons for this. But even if there are indications, Cimel peeling has its contraindications, listed in the table.

Negative effects on the fetus

The mass applied to the skin contains not only vitamin A, which can cause harm to both the mother and the fetus if it enters the female body in excess. It also contains other active substances that in excess negatively affect the development of the child in the womb:

• ascorbic acid;
• phytic;
• azelaic;
• koya.

It is difficult to imagine that the listed substances can negatively affect the intrauterine development of a child, because they are considered safe, even beneficial.

However, it must be taken into account that retinoic peeling is quite deep and affects not only the superficial, but also the middle layers of the skin. And the concentration of active components in the composition is quite high. That is, in terms of intensity of impact, yellow peeling is stronger than even salicylic peeling.

The active substances first penetrate deep into the skin tissue, from there they enter the bloodstream, spread with the blood throughout the female body, and reach the uterus.

There have been cases when, after a course of peeling carried out during pregnancy, women gave birth to a child with developmental anomalies. Retinol and other components contained in the peel penetrate into the embryonic tissues with maternal blood, where they provoke mutations in receptors and future organs.

However, the procedure is not as dangerous as they say. The intensity of the negative impact and, as a consequence, the likelihood of mutations in the fetus are determined by the frequency of peeling during pregnancy and the component composition used.

Expert opinion

Elena Apostolyuk

Cosmetologist

Retinoic peeling is carried out once or in two stages. The number of sessions is determined by the state of the skin. If the procedure is carried out once during the gestation period, then there is no need to worry.

The composition is removed from the face after a few hours; the aggressive components act superficially and do not have time to penetrate the bloodstream and harm the fetus in the womb.

It’s another matter when yellow peeling involves a 2-day course with the addition of salicylic acid. In this case, the effect on skin tissue is moderate; aggressive compounds have time to penetrate the blood, spread throughout the body, and reach the embryo developing in the uterus.

The combination of retinoic peeling and pregnancy in the early stages of gestation is especially dangerous, when the formation of the main organs and systems occurs in the embryonic body, and the placenta, which protects against negative factors, has not yet been formed.

Opinion of doctors and cosmetologists

What doctors and cosmetologists think about whether peeling is worth doing when planning a pregnancy or during pregnancy is of interest to many women who are about to undergo the yellow procedure. If you look at the reviews and recommendations of specialists, the conclusion is clear - it is better not to risk the baby’s health and wait until cleaning or use more gentle compounds.

Cosmetologists warn that the effects of retinoic acid have been studied for a long time, but it has not yet been proven with certainty that the composition is safe for the fetus. Scientists claim that the drug, which is on the face for two days, during this time actively supplies the woman’s body with aggressive components, including salicylic acid. The duration of the manipulations is sufficient for elements harmful to the fetus to penetrate into the embryo in large quantities. The consequences of such exposure are difficult to predict, but there are rumors that after cleaning, babies are born with serious pathologies that cannot be treated.

Peeling during pregnancy is dangerous not only for the baby, but also for the expectant mother. Doctors recommend refusing to cleanse due to allergic reactions that a woman may experience. During the period of bearing a baby, the female body is especially susceptible to irritation, and even eating a simple dish or using a safe hand cream is enough for an allergy to appear. It’s not worth talking about the effects of acid - the aggressive substance can cause prolonged dermatitis, rashes on the dermis, even extensive spots of redness.

During pregnancy, a pregnant woman's immunity is greatly weakened, which leads to a long recovery of the skin damaged during treatment. During this period, bacteria or infection can enter the wounds, which will end quite predictably - with serious diseases of the dermis. Treatment will make it difficult to bear a baby - not all types of therapy or the use of pharmaceutical drugs are allowed at this time.

How compatible retinoic peeling and planning are, the opinion of doctors is also clear - experts recommend not starting conception immediately after cleansing. It is better to ask your doctor about when you can do this; to do this, undergo a thorough examination, which will help determine whether the body has completely gotten rid of the negative effects of retinoic acid.

Often women are concerned about the question of why it is undesirable to combine planning for conception with the use of yellow peeling. It has been scientifically proven that during the procedure a large number of harmful elements penetrate into a woman’s blood, which are not eliminated for many months. They do not pose a danger to the female body, but they have a negative effect on the embryo and can cause miscarriage, cause a slowdown in fetal development, and even stimulate pathologies of important organs in the womb.

Cosmetologists and doctors recommend that every woman who is going to undergo a cleansing procedure and is planning to conceive a child soon weigh all possible risks in advance. First of all, you should not think about yourself, but about the health and development of the baby, so it is better not to resort to retinoic acid to cope with facial defects. There will be enough time for this after the birth of the baby and the lactation period.

Negative effects on the mother's body

Yellow peeling can cause harm not only to the body of the child developing in the womb, but also to the health of the expectant mother. The problem is that during pregnancy the female body becomes more susceptible to the effects of allergens and other irritating factors.

Aggressive components of the cleansing composition can cause irritation to sensitive facial skin. During the procedure, a pregnant patient may experience nausea or headache.

If a woman decides to undergo the procedure, despite her delicate situation, then before the main manipulations she should do an allergy test.

A small amount of peeling preparation is applied to the skin of the wrist, elbow or behind the ear. Next you need to wait 15 minutes. If an allergic reaction does not appear, the procedure can be continued.

Retinoic peeling is also dangerous because during pregnancy the work of the immune system is suppressed, which is why regenerative processes in skin tissues are inhibited, microcracks and wounds heal more slowly.

An infection can penetrate into the cracks that appear after peeling - a provocateur of inflammatory formations. After inflammation, which is difficult to cope with, ugly scars often remain.

What are the contraindications?

One of the main restrictions on retinoic peeling is pregnancy, but there are a number of other prohibitions that are best familiarized with in advance. It is not recommended to carry out the procedure in the following cases:

• pathologies of the liver, kidneys;
• individual reaction of the body to some components of the drug;
• treatment with pharmaceutical products based on retinoids;
• diseases of the dermis at the peak of exacerbation;
• external use of retinol derivatives - an excess of the substance can lead to a hyperreaction;
• skin sensitive to aggressive procedures;
• inflammatory processes on the face;
• hyperpigmentation.

The procedure is also subject to age restrictions. It is recommended to carry out manipulations with retinoic acid after 30 years - girls are better able to cope with skin defects with more gentle formulations.

Even if there are no restrictions or contraindications, including pregnancy or breastfeeding, manipulations with acid should not be taken lightly. Even successfully completed procedures often cause negative reactions of dermal tissues and side effects. Among the body's alarm signals for exposure to retinoic acid are prolonged swelling, skin irritation, and increased pigmentation.

Is it possible to carry out the procedure during pregnancy planning?

It is believed that retinoic peeling is not as dangerous at the planning stage as at the gestation stage. But you should remember: it is possible to 100% exclude the development of abnormalities in the fetus caused by the negative effects of retinol only if you refuse the procedure both during the planning period and during pregnancy.

Expert opinion

Elena Apostolyuk

Cosmetologist

Yellow peeling at the planning stage can cause various mutations and developmental defects in the unborn fetus. Often, after facial cleansing, pregnancy ends in miscarriage or the birth of a premature baby.

Other types of peeling are permitted when planning pregnancy. However, medical experts advise avoiding any aggressive chemical effects on the skin at the stage of preparation for motherhood.

Skin care after the procedure

The rules of the rehabilitation period are as follows:

• if the composition is removed at home, use sponges or cotton pads moistened with water and products with a neutral pH level;
• daily care is carried out for the treated area, using healing agents and creams (D-Panthenol, Bepanten);
• for several days, while peeling occurs, you should not forcibly tear off the scales and layers of the epidermis or scratch the skin;
• before going outside, the skin is covered with sunscreen lotions with SPF 30 or more;
• makeup and aggressive cosmetics (scrubs, exfoliating wipes, etc.) are temporarily excluded.

For several weeks it is prohibited to visit the solarium, bathhouse, sauna, or gym. You cannot perform other cosmetic procedures, consume spicy foods and alcoholic drinks, or use hormonal drugs. It is advisable to reduce or completely eliminate nicotine consumption.

If peeling with retinoic acid does not cause significant peeling of the skin, you should not panic. This can happen for a number of reasons:

• individual characteristics of the epidermis (the layer of dead cells is so dense that it could not be prepared for the procedure and provided the desired effect, or the skin has a strong resistance to damage);
• different effects of the drugs (some formulations cause exfoliation on 2-3 days, others – after 1-2 weeks);
• all keratinized cells came off immediately when the mask was washed off (this happens in people with delicate thin skin);
• the cosmetologist performed a gentle procedure (this is possible if chemical peeling is performed for the first time in life, and the specialist consciously makes it softer).

What should a woman do if she finds out she is pregnant after peeling?

It happens that a woman visited a beauty salon, successfully cleaned her face, and after some time found out that she had been pregnant for several weeks. Usually in such a situation, expectant mothers panic and don’t know whether to go for an abortion or leave the long-awaited baby.

Adding fuel to the fire are numerous forums where women tell how, after a course of peeling, they gave birth to a child with serious pathologies, hidden or obvious mutations. After reading such stories, expectant mothers themselves worsen their health with depression and nervous disorders.

Doctors rush to reassure women, citing the following arguments:

1. The negative effect of retinoic acid on the embryonic body has not been proven by scientific research. The experiments were carried out only on mice, and the results do not confirm harm to the embryo. Researchers say there is a possibility, but not 100 percent.
2. The drug used for facial cleansing is dangerous only if a woman visits a beauty salon regularly during pregnancy, ignoring warnings. If the procedure is performed once, then the chemical substance that penetrates the skin tissue is not enough to harm the fetus.
3. To calm down and find out for sure about the condition of the baby developing in the womb, you should visit a doctor and undergo all the prescribed tests and hardware tests. The abortion clinic is not going anywhere, and there is no need to run there in panic until the presence of pathologies in the fetus is confirmed by medical research. You need to undergo an ultrasound and take tests throughout pregnancy as prescribed by the observing gynecologist: this is important for the prevention and early detection of intrauterine pathologies.

The opinion of medical specialists on the issue described is most often positive: you can give birth without fear.

The teratogenic effect provoked by the influence of retinoic acid on the maternal body develops with a low probability, practically no different from the probability in cases where women do not come into contact with aggressive chemicals during the entire period of gestation.

Indeed, there are cases of pathologies being diagnosed in infants whose mothers risked peeling during pregnancy. But these cases are isolated, it is impossible to apply them for statistics. To take risks or not to take risks in this matter is the woman’s decision.