We often receive questions as to whether our soaps, shampoos, and other natural products are safe to use during pregnancy.
We recommend that expectant and nursing mothers check with their midwife or physician before changing a skincare routine with our organic products, or any other line of products.
Read the label on a bar of commercial soap. Read the label on your jar of moisturizer.
Now read the ingredients in a Chagrin Valley product.
We use quality natural and USDA Certified Organic ingredients. No synthetic additives, colorants, fragrances, preservatives, or chemical derivatives are used.
There is nothing in our all-natural basic soap or other products that could cause a problem in pregnancy.
Topically applying the herbs present in many of our soaps is also not a problem. Your skin will absorb much less herb from the soap than if you would sprinkle them on your food.
Essential Oils
The issue that seems to be of most concern is the use of essential oils during pregnancy.
There is a lot of confusing, ambiguous, and inaccurate information concerning the use of essential oils in pregnancy.
The question of safety and safety testing has a lot to do with several factors.
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The type and composition of the specific essential oil. Essential oils differ greatly in strength and composition.
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The quality of the essential oil. Many "cheap essential oils" are not pure and maybe cut with synthetic chemicals.
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The actual “dose” of herb/essential oils. Most of the clinical research on essential oil safety is based on information for internal (actually ingesting) large doses of herbs, essential oils, or herbal "medicines." Obviously there have been no tests done on pregnant women.
- How the essential oil is being used. The concentration of essential oils that are absorbed through inhalation, as in aromatherapy, and massage is much lower than if you were actually ingesting the oil.
But also, aromatherapy and massage therapy use much higher concentrations of essential oils than you find in soap or even in eating the herb. With aromatherapy, you are inhaling the high concentrations which get absorbed via the lungs and in massage therapy, the essential oils remain on your skin and are absorbed.
Our scented soaps are gently scented with essential oils, but the choice is between you and your health care professional. The most critical time is the first trimester.
Just about every one of our products, like lip balms, whipped butters, soaps, shampoos, and deodorants has a "no added scent" version.
When there is a growing baby to consider, if you are at all uncertain as to the safety of an essential-oil containing product, or any ingredient, please consult your doctor, midwife, or health care professional!
When it comes to safety during pregnancy it is understandable that many massage therapists and aromatherapists decide to err on the side of caution in recommending the avoidance of certain essential oils.
Some Herbalists and Aromatherapist believe that essential oils that are normally safe to use, are safe during pregnancy, while others will recommend avoiding all essential oils during pregnancy.
Some essential oils that are normally quite safe have hormone-like effects and some even stimulate uterine muscles, both of which would be contraindicated during pregnancy.
Please do not ask us if one of our products is safe to use during pregnancy--we will simply refer you to this page.
We do not provide a list of essential oils considered safe during pregnancy because the information available is very contradictory. One aromatherapy source will list an essential oil as problematic while another one states it is fine.
The information is also changing constantly. Please do your own research and consult your doctor, midwife, or health care professional for the most up-to-date information.
Sensitive Skin Can Strike During Pregnancy
Even if you have never had sensitive skin in the past, you may notice that a product you have been using for several years now irritates your skin.
The stretching belly is often the most sensitive spot. Other potential problem areas include the hips, thighs, and bottom where the skin may become dry and flaky.
Although the exact cause is not known, raging hormones do make you more sensitive to a wide range of things, and also your skin is thinning and stretching as you, and your baby, grow.
These changes can behave in unpredictable ways. For example, if you have eczema you may suffer from major flare-ups or complete remission during pregnancy.
Keep your body well moisturized and avoid products that contain synthetic additives, colorants, fragrances, or preservatives. Any of these can exacerbate sensitive skin problems.
Before trying a new product, you can always do a patch test to test for sensitivity.
And again, we recommend that expectant and nursing mothers check with their midwife or physician before changing a skincare routine with our products, or any other line of products.
Pregnancy & Children: We do not provide information on the safety of essential oils during Pregnancy or for use in Children because the available information is very ambiguous and often contradictory. If you’re interested in using essential oils during pregnancy or with young children please do your own research and consult your doctor, midwife, or health care professional before use.
