Advice pls on fertility friendly cosmetics

[Eggfreezer2015]

Hi looking for some advice on products to use that are fertility friendly from body and face creams to shower gels. What are people using, as a lot of cosmetics have chemicals any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[RedA28]

I just try to avoid the things I would avoid if I was pregnant, e.g. retinoids, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide. Beyond that I try not to worry too much. I love weleda skin food which to my knowledge has fairly safe ingredients. I use the light one on my face as I find the original a bit heavy. I also use a mineral sunscreen, I've used a few different ones over the years but ultrasun are pretty good.

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to RedA28]

Thank you I will definitely check the range out. I went k to whole foods yesterday and Holland & Barrett and even the staff could not advise me

[Eloquentia]

Hi! I am using Neal's Yard creams and Greenyard Naturals shampoo and hair products (I get them from ebay). I got some fragrance and perfume-free soaps from Amazon and have switched to Ecover for house cleaning products. Good luck!

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Eloquentia]

Thank you, are there a particular Neal’s yard creams that you could recommend please? And thanks for the tip on cleaning product too!

[Eloquentia in reply to Eggfreezer2015]

I use their rose and geranium range

[Koala365]

Phthalates (as they are endocrine disrupting chemicals) and parabens are key chemicals to avoid as I understand it and the former can be hidden in fragrance or parfum. I tried to stick to organic products from Neals Yard and cosmetics and shower gels and sunscreens off MyPure, Big Green Smile and Ethical Superstore. The latter has tags on the products to specifically state things like "no Phthalates" if it doesn't have any in and places like MyPure I believe state that nothing on their website has Phthalates in.

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Koala365]

Thank you that’s really helpful I will check them out.

[Hidden]

Probably going to be an unpopular answer, but I think IVF is hard enough without having to change your whole skin care routine and spend a fortune on free from everything products. I have kept my make up the same (but did check it was retinol free), body wash wise I use Faith in Nature or REN as I try to use natural ingredients, but I also try not to over obsess about it all as there is so much other pressure on us and I still use my bubble bath that isn't free from anything but sometimes I just need that treat! The main thing is not to do anything you won't regret, but try not to put too much pressure on yourself as you have to live too.

Good luck x

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Hidden]

I do feel really stressed out, trying to think of all the things that need to be done as part of the process vitamins, diet, no plastic and then changing skin routines etc. so I understand where you are coming from with your comment. I think I would regret not making some of the changes but thanks for the reminder. X

[StarsAllAround]

I just moved to the Simple range for shower gel, face creams, cleansers etc. As they have nothing dangerous in them aren't too expensive and if you do become pregnant Simple is the recommended band as pregnancy can make your skin more sensitive. Good luck x

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to StarsAllAround]

Thanks for sharing, as was not aware of this. X

[Ganges]

I use Tropic skincare and make up. Have for years, as I wanted to cook out chemicals before I knew fertility was an issue. Also worth looking at cleaning products too. I used method but then found out they had been bought by a big company. I now use Miniml 😁

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Ganges]

Is all of tropics range chemical free then?

[Ganges in reply to Eggfreezer2015]

Yes and mainly all certified organic now. Worth a look, all lasts a long time too. My skin looks great now too x

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Ganges]

I looked on the site and got some good options there. Are there specific products that you can recommend please? Do you also use their makeup?

[Ganges in reply to Eggfreezer2015]

I use it all I’m addicted 😂. The abc, cleanse tone and moisturise. Make is good too. Satay with skincare, you can get mini sets too, good way to try it x

[butterfliez]

I also just changed to simple body wash/ shampoo or sanex zero during my ivf cycles. never changed anything else x

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to butterfliez]

Thank you for sharing x

[Cahoots]

Wow. I hadn't even thought about this! Thanks for posting this as a topic for discussion. I wouldn't have even considered my skincare routine otherwise!

I guess as someone said above, it would be a good idea to stick to things that you would use if you were pregnant. At least then if your fertility treatment is successful you won't have to change again! I've just found this article, which seems quite helpful...

womenshealthmag.com/uk/beau...

[Eggfreezer2015 in reply to Cahoots]

Thanks for sharing the link!

[Babushka_82]

I've found this 15minutebeauty.com/pregnanc... very useful for checking which products are safe to use.

[Eggfreezer2015]

Thanks for sharing! It’s helpful with lots of brands listed.

[Hidden]

Late to the post but this is the web page recommended in it starts with the egg. I've used this to swap out products I use but don't love, keep the stuff I love because I see it as reducing exposure not eliminating for your own sanity. It's US focused but we have so many of the same products over here, the formulas could be a bit different but as UK usually has higher standards, if it's 'safe' in US I'd expect it to be safe in the UK. Good Luck!

ewg.org/skindeep/