More: Can You Drink Coffee While Pregnant? With every decision that women make while pregnant, they now need to consider not only whether it is a good choice for themselves, but also if it is a healthy choice for their growing baby. One of these choices that may give many pregnant women reason to pause is whether or not to dye their hair while pregnant. Bleaching, dyeing, or highlighting their hair is a regular aspect of life for some women, but just like with many choices during pregnancy, it is important to research and understand the factors of how it may impact your pregnancy.
Can You Dye Your Hair While Pregnant?
Although it’s not a black and white answer, most experts say it is safe to color hair in pregnancy, but it is a conditional yes that comes along with specific recommendations. According to the American Pregnancy Association:>/p> The question “Is it safe to dye my hair in pregnancy?” is one of the most common questions OB-GYNs receive from pregnant women, but the good news is that there is no evidence of the small amount of dye that comes in contact with the skin causing birth defects or other health problems for developing fetuses.
Recommendations for Safely Dyeing Your Hair While Pregnant
1. Wait Until Second Trimester
Although it is safe to dye hair while pregnant since the dyes are not highly toxic, some experts recommend that pregnant women wait to dye their hair or use chemical hair treatments until the second or third trimester. The thought behind this is that it is best to avoid using chemical treatments on the hair during the first trimester of pregnancy to minimize any potential harm at all to the rapidly developing baby.
2. Check With Your Healthcare Provider First
Although it’s important to do your research, it is always most important to get the opinions of your OB-GYN, midwife, gynecologist, or trusted healthcare provider. They are the experts who will know the details of your personal healthcare situation the best, so you should defer to their opinions and recommendations.
3. Do a Patch Test First
Before you apply a treatment to your entire head of hair, be sure to do a patch test first. Pregnancy hormones can change women’s bodies in many ways. Make sure that you don’t have an allergic reaction by testing a small area first. This is also helpful because hair can change throughout pregnancy, including the way it takes and holds color.
4. Consider Different Options for the Kind of Hair Color Treatment You Might Use
If you are looking for the safest ways to dye your hair and minimize any potential risks to your pregnancy, consider all of the different options for coloring hair available to you. Instead of dyeing all of your hair, you might choose a treatment like highlights or balayage. These treatments generally keep the hair color off of your scalp and skin which are the places where chemicals can be absorbed into the body, even in very small doses. Another option is to choose an alternative to permanent hair dyes which can be more laden with chemicals. Semi-permanent, bleach-free, and ammonia-free options are gentler options. It can be helpful to avoid hydrogen peroxide. You can also choose a fully natural approach to hair color by using henna, more natural color options, or vegetable dyes. Many women decide to continue to use these gentler practices throughout their breastfeeding journeys as well to minimize any breast milk exposure to chemicals. Reducing the amount of chemicals in hair coloring is never a bad choice.
Best Practices for Coloring Hair While Pregnant
If you are coloring your own hair, make sure to wear gloves to minimize chemical exposure to your skin. Also, whether you are coloring your hair yourself or getting it done at a salon, be aware of the ventilation in the room. Keeping windows or doors open is helpful. Even if you are only visiting a salon for a hair cut or blow out, you might consider asking the colorist there to do what they can to ventilate the room well during their treatments of others in the same space. It can also be helpful for pregnant women to wear a face mask during color treatments. Also, be sure to wash any skin that may have been touched by color treatments well afterwards. In general, you do not need to lose sleep over the decision to color your hair in pregnancy. By making simple choices like waiting until after the first trimester, choosing gentler color treatment options, and minimizing the inhalation of color treatments, you are minimizing risk and can feel good about doing something to help you feel your best during this special time of your life.
