My Skincare Product is Hurting My Unborn Child?!

Did you read that title, clicked it, and now expecting how your skincare product is hurting your unborn child? Well, you’ve come to the right place! 

Figure 1. Newborn baby¹

But first, I'll talk about salicylic acid. What is that?

2000 years ago, a man named Pliny was able to obtain a form of salicylic acid from a tree, a willow tree.⁵ This tree in Latin is called “salix.” The story of the willow tree is usually associated with salicylic acid, but actually, you can find salicylic acid naturally in many shrubs.² Now, salicylic acid can be made artificially in the lab using sodium phenoxide, CO₂, NaOH, and an acid.²

WAIT! Salicylic acid is an ACID!

Yes, yes. There are some effects of salicylic acid in humans, but only if it is absorbed through your skin, your eyes, inhaled, or ingested. If you do that then, it may cause eye injury, difficulty breathing, increase in body temperature, ringing in the ears, and headaches.³ It is also mutagenic, teratogenic, and can cause depression.³

What do those big words mean?

Mutagenic means that it can cause mutations at a high rate especially to DNA. Teratogenic means that it can cause deformations especially to a fetus. Yeup, salicylic acid can harm an unborn child if it is used in the wrong ways like if you eat it.

So, salicylic acid might harm my unborn child. But how is salicylic acid related to my skincare products?

Have you struggled from acne or oily skin?⁴ Well, salicylic acid is a remedy to those problems. Salicylic acid is a lipophilic, desmolytic agent which means it is a non-polar loving molecule that will breakdown your skin.⁵ This way your old skin can be exfoliated, oil is removed from your skin, and it allows cell turnover to occur.⁵ You will find only 0.5 to 2% of salicylic acid in your skincare products which is lower than other molecules like benzoyl peroxide, lactic acid, and glycolic acid.⁴

So, what have we learned today?

You have skincare problems? It’s fine to use salicylic acid in your skincare products. You don’t want to harm your unborn child? Then maybe don’t try eating salicylic acid.

Figure 2. Surprised newborn⁶

References

¹ Newborn baby; 2015.

² William, B. Salicylic Acid. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2011.

³ Material Safety Data Sheet Salicylic Acid MSDS; Science Lab: Texas, 2013; pp. 1-6.

⁴  Salicylic Acid and Acne: The Pro's and Con's https://www.facingacne.com/salicylic-acid-acne-pros-cons/ (accessed Feb 3, 2018).

⁵ Arif, T. Salicylic Acid As A Peeling Agent: A Comprehensive Review. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 2015, 8, 455-461.

⁶ Surprised newborn; 2015.