For all the Mama’s to be out there - Pregnancy and Product Safety

Pregnancy Safe Skincare

Many women dedicate a significant portion of their lives to pregnancy. Changes in the skin are common during this time. Acne breakouts, melasma, and other changes in the skin are frequently experienced. This brings the skincare regimen into sharp focus, and questions arise regarding what skincare products are safe to use.

iS Clinical Products Are Safe to Use During Pregnancy

iS Clinical products are non-systemic, meaning they are not absorbed into the blood stream. This deems iS Clinical cosmeceuticals safe to use during pregnancy with the exception of the Prodigy Peels. The Prodigy Peels are administered only by certified partners as a professional service, and they should not be applied during pregnancy.

What about Retinol?

It is usually advised to discontinue any form of retinol use while pregnant. During pregnancy, excessive amounts of Vitamin A or derivatives taken internally, could be teratogenic. Some iS Clinical products contain Vitamin A or retinyl esters, such as retinyl palmitate. However, with the exception of the Prodigy Peels, iS Clinical products containing Vitamin A or its derivatives are not systemically absorbed and are safe during pregnancy.

Factors Used to Determine Product Safety

Manufacturing Process

Most companies outsource production to third party facilities over which they have minimal, if any, oversight. iS Clinical maintains full control of the manufacturing process for their products. This is almost unheard of in the cosmetics industry.

All iS Clinical products are under tight company supervision from the beginning of the process at ingredient selection to the final process of sending the product shipment out the door. All tasks included within ingredient selection, product design, quality control, compounding, laboratory functions, packaging, and shipping must meet strict company standards and are never compromised.

Quality of Products

Product quality and ingredient quality are of the highest order at iS Clinical. Ingredients chosen for iS Clinical products are the very best available and are sourced from all over the world. Many of these are specialty ingredients known in traditional medicine; many are new high-tech scientific discoveries. All are pure and free of toxins and impurities.

Pharmaceutical vs. Cosmetic Grade

Pharmaceutical grade ingredients are used in iS Clinical products and are subject to the same standards and quality controls used for medicines. With pharmaceutical ingredients, a certificate of analysis documenting purity and consistency is provided by the supplier. This certificate lists the results obtained when that ingredient was placed in a scientific instrument called a mass spectrometer and it verifies that the contents are at least 99.5% pure and free of toxins.

Most companies do not select from the highest ingredient quality but choose “cosmetic grade” ingredients. Cosmetic grade ingredients come with no such assurance and, consequently, may contain anything. They are not examined, and their exact contents are unknown. No guarantees are provided with purchase.

It is easy to see that products containing verifiable ingredients of the highest quality would be best during pregnancy. Otherwise, the user really does not know what is being placed on the skin and cannot know if a potential problem would be anticipated.

Although changes to the skin during pregnancy are inevitable, it is reassuring to know that there are safe products to effectively treat these various skin concerns.

Always Follow Doctor Recommendations

When choosing a skincare regimen to use while pregnant or nursing, we recommend following the advice of your obstetrician. This physician, whose responsibility is to bring the mother and baby through the pregnancy and delivery with the best possible outcome, is familiar with the patient’s unique health care history and therefore can make the best recommendation. Occasionally, the obstetrician’s advice may vary from the company’s general recommendations. The information in this article is intended to supplement, but not overrule, advice given by your physician.