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I can answer part of yoru question; hopefully someone else can answer the rest of it!

According to the Mayo Clinic, there is "unclear scientific evidence for this use [topical retinol for skin aging]". The topical Vitamin A (retinol is one type of Vitamin A) earned a "C" grade for the use of improving aging skin appearance and integrity.

The warnings regarding Vitamin A (Retinol) use that I found are related to one of the derivatives of Vitamin A, called retinoids, and are used to treat skin disorders such as acne. Specifically, the topical use of isotretinoin (Accutane®) can cause severe side effects and must not be used in women who are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or have a chance of being pregnant due to a risk of severe birth defects.

In fact, the risk is so high for severe birth defects while using isotretinoin-containing products that women must sign a pledge that they will not become pregnant, they must pass two pregnancy tests before using the product, and must pledge to use two forms of birth control...wow...I've never seen anything like this warning: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a681043.html

It does make you wonder how safe this product is for any woman, right? Does anyone else know?

And, I realize this does not fully answer your question regarding all retinol-containing beauty products (as the Mayo Clinic specifically stated isotretinoin as "high risk", and not retinol in general).

Thanks for your question, free2Bme!

Alison is right, this is not a medication to be used in pregnancy but so are many other 'ok' medications we often take like ibuprofen - something one should also never take in pregnancy.

A growing baby in your uterus has different needs and different ways of absorbing medications - and when brain and lung development is in full gear, medications can be dangerous, whereas they are not in a fully developed adult.

Accutane (the pill version) is quite dangerous to an unborn baby whereas the topical version of Retinol is considered less so, due to the minimal absorption. However, it is still not recommended as a chance of harm to the baby is always there, no matter how minimal. Breastfeeding mothers should also be very cautious of any medications they are taking.

retinol is vitamin A ,and it is highly fat soluble so it can reach the fetus quickly through the placenta causing dangerous tertogenic effects like: heart defectsoral cleft, small or absent eyes & limbs reduction
so it must be avoided during pregnancy espially with ( valproic a , warfarin, isotretnoin) but it hasproven to be safe for unpregnant women unless you suffer from allergie

dr. leena abd el wahab