Is Beauty of Joseon pregnancy-safe? This is the perfect example of why "is this brand safe" is the wrong question — because with BOJ the honest answer is one yes and one no from the same shelf. The Glow Serum is one of the friendliest pregnancy picks in K-beauty. The Revive under-eye patches contain retinal, and retinoids sit firmly on the do-not-use list. Same brand, opposite answers.
General information, not medical advice. Run anything new past your GP or midwife — every pregnancy is different.
The yes: Glow Serum (Propolis + Niacinamide)
The BOJ Glow Serum pairs propolis — a honey-adjacent, nourishing ingredient — with niacinamide, which we have covered in depth in is niacinamide safe during pregnancy? (short version: yes, it is one of the best-regarded pregnancy ingredients there is). Neither raises pregnancy flags. One note: propolis is bee-derived, so skip it if you are sensitive to bee products — an allergy flag, not a pregnancy one.
The no: Revive Under-Eye Patches (Ginseng + Retinal)
The Revive eye patches are brilliant — for later. They contain retinal, a vitamin A derivative, and the standard guidance is to avoid all retinoids during pregnancy and breastfeeding, even in patch form. We say this plainly on the product page too, because we would rather lose a sale than have a mum guess. The full reasoning lives in our guide to retinoids while breastfeeding. Bench the patches now; they will be a lovely welcome-back when feeding is done. For 3am-feed eyes in the meantime, cooling hydrogel patches without retinoids do the de-puffing job.
Questions mums ask
Why is retinal in eye patches a problem if it is such a small amount? The guidance on retinoids in pregnancy is a blanket one — practitioners do not carve out exceptions by format or dose, and neither do we.
Can I use the Glow Serum morning and night? Yes. On damp, toned skin, before your moisturiser. Morning use pairs with SPF, always.
Is BOJ sunscreen pregnancy-safe? We do not stock it, but as a rule mineral (zinc-based) sunscreens are the most commonly recommended in pregnancy. Whatever you choose, daily SPF is the single best thing you can do for pregnancy pigmentation.
The ready-made route
The Glow Serum stars in the "I Look So Tired" Glow Reset — the tired-face rescue built around gentle radiance (just note the Glow Reset is the general version; the eye patches in it carry that same retinal flag, so pregnant mums should use the set minus the patches or choose the vetted box instead). For a routine where every single piece has been pregnancy-checked, that is exactly what the Pregnancy-Safe Routine is for. Or browse the pregnancy-safe edit.
Edwina x
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