0:07
The dermatologist who wants to liberate you from your 12-step routine (especially during pregnancy)
If you’ve spent any time trying to navigate skincare during pregnancy or postpartum, you know the feeling. You pick up a product you’ve used for years, flip it over, and suddenly you’re in a spiral. Is this safe? Should I switch? What does “clean” even mean and why does everything I own apparently not qualify?
Dr. Aegean Chan, a board-certified dermatologist and mother of three, has a lot to say about that spiral. Most of it is reassuring and frankly, super refreshing. She’s spent years watching the fear-mongering machine work on her own patients, her friends at the playground, and herself, during a decade of cycling through pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding. Her conclusion: the skincare industry has been profiting off maternal anxiety, the “clean beauty” movement is largely unscientific, and most of us are doing significantly more to our skin than we need to.
She’s also, for what it’s worth, done something about it. More Than Nine, her new minimalist skincare line built specifically for the motherhood arc, launches this month. But that’s almost beside the point. What Dr. Chan really wants to talk about is why your bathroom cabinet got so complicated in the first place — and why the solution is probably simpler and cheaper than anything currently in it.
I’ll be transparent. I’ve been a skincare obsessive for most of my adult life. I’ve cycled through serums and acids and elaborate routines with the dedication of someone training for a sport. Then came a bout of eczema, a couple of genuinely alarming eyelid situations, and a slow reckoning with the fact that I had been doing too much. My skin was not grateful for my effort. It was inflamed by it.
So when Dr. Chan and I sat down to talk, I was already receptive to her argument. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was how sharp her critique of the broader industry would be.
Skincare, she says, has become homework. “I have multiple friends, multiple moms at the playground, who tell me they’ve had ‘fix my routine’ on their to-do list for six months because it feels like too much to even dive into.” The irony is that most of what’s been added to that list wasn’t necessary to begin with.
Dr. Chan is particularly pointed about the fear-mongering that has come to define the beauty and skincare industry, and especially how it plays out for pregnant and postpartum women, who are already primed for anxiety about what they’re putting on and in their bodies.
“Fear-mongering in skincare has become standard,” she says. “Scaring your consumer has become a kind of gold standard. And the ‘clean beauty’ label — it literally means nothing. There’s no data to suggest that clean or natural products are safer than well-formulated conventional ones. The dose is what matters. But brands have figured out that fear sells.”
She’s particularly pointed about parabens, which have been so thoroughly demonized that “paraben-free” has become a selling point across the industry. The science, she says, doesn’t support the fear. The family of parabens commonly used in formulation are among the safest preservatives available, with low allergy rates and a long track record. “They’ve won the non-contact allergen of the year award from dermatologists multiple times,” she says. “As in — this is a great preservative, stop swapping it out.”
When brands reformulated to remove parabens, many replaced them with alternatives that have significantly higher reaction rates. Dr. Chan says she sees more contact dermatitis in her practice from natural and clean products than from conventional ones — natural deodorants especially, where unstable essential oils convert over time into highly allergenic molecules. “I tell people: just switch to the Dove sensitive. It’s fine.”
The same cycle plays out around chemical sunscreens during pregnancy, where fear has outrun the evidence in ways that have real consequences. “There’s been a lot of messaging that you can’t use chemical sunscreens while pregnant, and there’s literally no good data to support that,” she says. The problem is that mineral sunscreens simply don’t work on all skin tones. For women with deeper complexions, “paraben-free” or mineral-only recommendations aren’t just unhelpful — they effectively tell those women not to wear sunscreen at all. “You’re actually doing people a disservice,” she says. “They feel like there are no options, and then they just don’t wear it.”
The ecosystem sustaining all of this, she says, is a closed loop. Brands blame consumer demand. Consumers say they were told this is what they should want. Retailers enforce clean ingredient lists as a condition of shelf space, which shapes what brands formulate, which shapes what consumers believe they need. “I don’t know how to break that cycle,” she says. “My part is just to be transparent, give people the information, and trust them to think for themselves.”
Some ingredients do warrant real caution during pregnancy: retinoids and hydroquinone are legit off the table. But Dr.
3:30
How to create a seasonal nature table
We start with a simple box of seasonal staples—conkers, acorns, pine cones, seed pods, and a few craft bits like egg‑carton mushrooms or jar lanterns. Each season you pull a few items from that box, then add fresh finds from a walk: autumn leaves, spring petals, summer feathers.
Lay everything on a low table, a sideboard, or even a mantle, keeping it out of reach of toddlers but easy for older kids to explore. A beeswax candle adds a gentle scent and a visual cue to the season.
The idea isn’t about perfection; it’s about giving children a tangible reminder of the world changing outside.
If you want more specific suggestions, the new book “At Home in Every Season” offers ready‑made lists and photos to spark your own nature table.
4:04
A Genius Hack That Makes Entertaining Easier
Welcome to Happy on Purpose, a bestselling newsletter about happiness, habits, and midlife. Tap the ❤️ button to spread the joy!
I love hosting people in my home, but I’m a house-proud, part-time perfectionist who suffers from “party panic” (the technical term).
Which, unfortunately, makes me an expert at talking myself out of inviting people over.
When I contemplate entertaining, two personas battle inside my mind: the carefree me who loves getting up to mischief and laughing about it with friends for years afterward, versus the self-conscious, rule-follower who worries about being judged for
4:31
Prime Day Picks, Day Two 🛒
Today's all about making the most of the weather — kitchen kit for long lunches and iced drinks, the garden bits that'll come into their own this week, and stuff to keep the kids busy.
Deals end Friday.
Kitchen
Huge bargains to be had here this week.
Air fryers, coffee machines, pans and the bits you'll actually use every day.
Shop Kitchen Deals
Garden
For making the most of it while the sun’s out.
BBQs, parasols, hot tubs, more paddling pools and the bits that bring the garden to life.
Shop Garden Deals
Kids
For keeping them busy as the holidays creep in.
Toys, games, garden activities, creat
4:58
Vienna
Sharp, sleek, and totally stylish, Vienna has been catching parents’ attention in recent years, entering the US Top 1000 in 2015, and more recently, appearing at #434. Also popular in England and Wales — where it ranks at #241 — and The Netherlands — where it features as Viënna and Vienna — it could make an interesting alternative to Sienna or Vivienne, a route to nicknames Vivi and Vinnie, or represent a love of travel.
Vienna is brought to you today by Nameberry Guest Writer, Vienna!
It’s my name, so I’m definitely biased, but I love how it’s somewhat rare but still common enough to not be difficult to pronounce. The downsides of the name only come with what it’s associated with. While the city itself is beautiful, and the song by Billy Joel is iconic, I will admit, to save time during introductions I will often just say my name is “Vienna, like the sausage”. It’s not as glamorous, but it does make me more memorable and leads to a good icebreaker!
Do you have a favorite place name that you’d love to see featured on Nameberry of The Day? Do you want us to showcase your own name? If so, share it with us at [email redacted] — and don’t forget to let us know why you love it!!
5:48
My Husband's Non Tox Lawn Care He Swears By
We recently asked our landscapers to completely stop spraying and treating our grass with fertilizers, weed killers (hello, Roundup), and other chemicals.
My husband has taken over treating weeds himself, so I wanted to share his exact process and more on why we’re making this switch.
Fertilizer is used on grass, in gardens, and on plants to help them grow faster. The problem is that fertilizer is made of really harsh, toxic chemicals and can pose serious risk to our health. Here are just a few concerns:
Environmental Concerns: Includes water pollution, air pollution, and ecosystem disruption (ie. changes in soil).
High in Heavy Metals: Most fertilizers contain high amounts of lead, mercury, and cadmium, all of which we know can build up in the body and lead to serious health issues.
Dangerous (often deadly) to Pets: Chemical fertilizers (similar to pesticides and herbicides) can be deadly to pets if ingested or even just inhaled.
Chemical Exposure: For humans, repeat exposure to these harsh chemicals poses a serious health risk. Long-term repeat exposure is associated with really serious health issues like Parkinson’s and cancer.
With an active toddler running around, I absolutely don’t want to take the risk of exposing him to these harsh chemicals at such a young age. We should be able to play outside and not worry about what’s in the grass. Same goes for my husband and I—we want to do everything we can to minimize toxin exposure in our lives.
It’s already well-established that many of the most popular weed killers on the market, like Roundup, are incredibly harmful to human health. While effective, the risk outweighs the reward.
I did a full deep dive on the dangers of glyphosate here:
Here’s what we’ve switched to.
Now that landscapers are no longer spraying for weeds, my husband is going in regularly with this easy, DIY non-toxic weed killer spray he makes.
Ingredients:
1-gallon distilled vinegar
A few tablespoons of dish soap
Instructions:
You’ll add the vinegar along with the dish soap to a pump sprayer like this. Some people also add salt to the mixture (supposed to make it more effective!) but we haven’t tried that yet. Comment & let us know if you’ve had success with that!
Then, he just mixes the everything up and sprays. Apply the mixture sparingly to weeds directly. The pump sprayer helps to avoid accidentally spraying other plants.
This combination of soap & vinegar works as a natural weed killer, so you can say goodbye for good to all of the really toxic weed killers in your yard.
7:32
Pocket Money: What the research has taught me
I grew up without any pocket money—my parents thought it was unnecessary and a bit risky. As a kid that felt fine, but once I hit secondary school the reality of missing out started to sink in. The school tuck shop was full of sweets, fizzy drinks and junk food, the kind of treats you’d expect from the 90s, and my friends could just buy them whenever they wanted. Because I never had cash of my own, I could only snag a treat when a friend was generous enough to share, usually something like a sour, sticky “lasagna” sweet that I’d never seen before.
That occasional generosity made the gap feel bigger. Watching others spend freely while I could’t reminded me that not having pocket money wasn’t just about money—it was about a sense of independence and the simple pleasure of choosing a treat for yourself. As I got older and earned a little more freedom, the feeling of “missing out” grew louder, shaping how I think about money and autonomy now.
8:14
5 Items Worth Buying On Sale Right Now
There are some pretty great sales happening right now and I picked out the 5 items that I know are 100% worth it.
I absolutely love their line of sweatpants denim. These are so incredibly comfortable and I always receive compliments when I wear them! They run TTS.
Item #2: Dyson Airwrap - $150 off
I hate to say this but we absolutely love ours. The airwrap is very easy to use and since we have three daughters with long hair, it’s worth the price and then some.
Item #3: Nike Vaporfly Sneakers
These are currently 50% off (!!) and I have never worn a more comfortable running shoe. It feels like you are running on a trampoline and it’s definitely increased my speed.
This rug comes in a few different print colors and it’s stunning. It’s beautiful as a runner or a rug.
Item #5: The Perfect Sweatshirt
This sweatshirt is perfectly lived in right from day one and it’s something you will pull for every day!
Noteworthy Mentions: Rag & Bone Slides, my favorite athleisure tank, Le Bop sweater (I cannot believe the price of this - I’ve had it hearted forever and good things come to those that wait!), 50% off swimwear at J.Crew, Ergobaby Carrier, 20% off at Ulta, 40% off this Target dress I love
Do you have any sales that you have stumbled across that are worth it? Let me knoow below!
9:09
Three Favorite Egg Recipes
Last month, we kicked off a new food series: one ingredient, three ways. Our first post featured three chickpea recipes, and this week, we’re turning to eggs.… Read more
The post Three Favorite Egg Recipes appeared first on Cup of Jo.
9:21
Grace Farris’s Austin Home Is Full of Books, Games, and Family Paintings
Grace Farris, our favorite illustrator and physician, lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Arthur, and their sons, 14-year-old George and 10-year-old Russ. “My husband started measuring the boys’ heights when we first moved in and seeing the difference between the marks is shocking,” says Grace.… Read more
The post Grace Farris’s Austin Home Is Full of Books, Games, and Family Paintings appeared first on Cup of Jo.
