Is Self-Tanner safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about Self-Tanner during pregnancy?

1. Self-tanning lotion and mousse work on the outer layer of skin: most over-the-counter formulas use about 3 to 5% DHA, and less than 1% of that makes it into your bloodstream, so only a very small amount, if any, would reach your baby. 1
2. Spray tan booths are the bigger caution point during pregnancy: breathing in the fine mist lets more DHA into your body than a lotion ever would, and the FDA has not approved DHA for that kind of inhaled, salon-booth use. 1
3. No one has actually studied whether sunless tanners change the chance of miscarriage, birth defects, or other pregnancy complications, so the reassuring absorption numbers still come with a real blind spot. 1
4. Lab studies on DHA show that even low, non-irritating concentrations can change how skin cells and the cells lining human airways behave, which is one more reason to stay out of the spray mist rather than worry about lotion on skin. 2
5. DHA can also cause skin irritation or allergic contact reactions in some people, so patch-test a new self-tanner first and keep any formula away from your eyes, lips, nose, and other mucous membranes. 2

Is Self-Tanner safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Nausea and a stronger sense of smell can make salon fumes hard to take early on, and skin can be more reactive to new products in general, so this is a good trimester to stick with lotion or mousse and skip the spray booth.
• Second trimester. There's no research showing absorption changes by trimester, so the same guidance holds throughout pregnancy: a lotion or mousse you control at home is the lower-exposure choice over a salon spray session.
• Third trimester. A larger belly can make even application trickier and more prone to streaking, and standing in an enclosed booth breathing DHA mist gets less comfortable as you get bigger, so many people switch to a gradual self-tanning lotion applied at home instead.