Is retinol safe while breastfeeding?

What do health bodies say about retinol while breastfeeding?

The InfantRisk Center at Texas Tech University says cosmetic retinol is unlikely to affect human milk or a breastfed baby. Cleveland Clinic says healthcare providers believe the risk to breastfed babies is low.

Retinol is a retinoid. The AAD, the American dermatologists’ academy, names it among the retinoids in over the counter skin care. You can buy it without a prescription.

InfantRisk’s view rests on blood levels. It says repeated use of retinol products, even at high doses, does not change blood levels of retinol in women of childbearing age. A substance can only reach milk from the blood, it says. It also says there are no studies on how cosmetic retinol affects milk levels.

Cleveland Clinic says little of a retinoid cream gets into your bloodstream, and providers believe the risk is low. It then adds advice: talk about every medicine with your provider while you are nursing, even ones you put on skin.

Both give the same advice on where it goes. InfantRisk says to avoid the chest, especially the nipple and areola. Cleveland Clinic says not on your breasts, and to keep it from rubbing onto your baby’s skin.

InfantRisk adds one warning about cosmetics. They are not regulated like drugs, it says, so what is in them is always somewhat in question.

Does it matter if your retinoid is a prescription?

InfantRisk says retinoids you put on skin, bought or prescribed, are generally considered safe while breastfeeding. The label for one prescription tretinoin cream asks for more caution, and retinoid pills are a separate case.

It still ranks them. It calls retinal and adapalene 0.1%, both sold over the counter, the lowest risk. Prescription tretinoin and adapalene 0.3% are still acceptable, it says.

Tazarotene, another prescription retinoid, is stronger and more of it is absorbed: 6%, against 1 to 2%. So it should be used with more caution, the same source says.

MotherToBaby says tretinoin use while breastfeeding has not been studied. Very little passes into your body from skin, it says, so the amount in milk would probably be small.

The FDA approved label for Retin-A, a tretinoin cream and gel, says it is not known whether the drug passes into human milk. So it says caution should be exercised when a nursing woman uses it. That is the label for one product, not a rule on retinol.

Retinoid pills, taken by mouth, are different. InfantRisk says they are not compatible with breastfeeding. For isotretinoin, an acne pill, MotherToBaby says the product label recommends not using it while breastfeeding.

What does the Truva app say about retinol while breastfeeding?

The Truva app marks retinol Not Recommended while breastfeeding, and labels the evidence behind it limited data. That flag is Truva’s call, not a published rule.

In the app’s data from 15 September 2026, tretinoin is Not Recommended, retinal is Not Recommended and adapalene is Not Recommended while breastfeeding. Retinyl palmitate is a separate ingredient with its own page, marked Caution Advised.

InfantRisk and Cleveland Clinic lean the other way. InfantRisk says cosmetic retinol is unlikely to affect human milk. Cleveland Clinic says providers believe the risk is low.

The app and these two sources do not agree. The figure below sets each one out in a line, in its own strength.

Is retinol safe in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, postpartum, trying to conceive, or with PCOS?

Pregnancy is the stage with the firmest published advice, which is to avoid retinoids.

The chip on each row is what the Truva app shows for retinol at that stage.

Pregnancy

AVOID ACOG, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says avoiding retinoid creams is generally recommended, though little is absorbed. The AAD says retinoids should not be used. The UK’s medicines in pregnancy service says the same of retinoid creams and gels. More in our retinyl palmitate pregnancy post.

Breastfeeding

AVOID InfantRisk calls retinoid creams generally considered safe and says to keep them off the chest. Cleveland Clinic says providers believe the risk is low. The Retin-A label asks for caution. See the app’s breastfeeding ingredient list.

Postpartum, not breastfeeding

SAFE The sources cited here give no rule on retinol at this stage. Their pregnancy and breastfeeding advice does not cover this stage.

Trying to conceive

AVOID The published waiting times we found before conceiving are for two retinoid pills taken by mouth, not creams. The app’s flag here is its own call about the weeks before a pregnancy is known.

PCOS

SAFE The sources cited here give no rule on retinol for PCOS. Our PCOS skincare guide covers other skin questions people with PCOS ask.

Not pregnant or breastfeeding

SAFE InfantRisk notes that cosmetics are not regulated like drugs, so what is in the bottle is always somewhat in question.

Who should I ask about retinol while breastfeeding?

Cleveland Clinic says to discuss every medicine, even one you put on skin, with your healthcare provider while you are nursing.

The AAD says to tell your doctors if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. They can help update your treatment plan if needed.

Our own suggestion, not a published rule: bring the product, or its name and strength. InfantRisk treats retinal, adapalene, tretinoin and tazarotene differently, and pills as a separate case.

Where this came from

Every health claim on this page links to the body that published it. Nothing here comes from another blog.

Every link above was fetched and confirmed to resolve on 6 September 2026.

Truva summarises published guidance from bodies including ACOG, the FDA, the EU SCCS and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review. It has no access to your medical history and it is not a substitute for your doctor, dermatologist or midwife. This post was written by the Truva team from the sources listed above. It has not been reviewed by a clinician, and nothing in it is a diagnosis or a prescription. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or being treated for PCOS, take the ingredient list to the person looking after you.