Common Misconceptions About Pregnancy and Hair Dye

Any woman who has ever been pregnant has heard about how bad it is to dye their hair. What is a girl supposed to believe?

As far as this subject is concerned, it should be entirely up to you what you want to believe.

Why?

There has never been an official study that has proved anything deeming it completely safe, nor unsafe to dye hair during any trimester of pregnancy.

Ultimately, speak to your doctor. Every woman is different, therefore every pregnancy is different, with unique levels of risks for their unborn child. Your doctor should always be the one you consult about the health and safety of your baby, so any questions you have, run through him/her first, not someone who is trying to give you advice.

Those that preach about not dying your hair are concerned because hair dye contains many chemicals. When you put these chemicals in your hair, and it is on your scalp/skin, there is a possibility of it entering your blood stream. Anything that enters your blood stream, you run the chance of it passing to your baby. The chemicals found in hair dye have never been confirmed to be responsible for any birth defects.

Another concern is breathing in the heavy fumes from the hair dye. These fumes contain chemicals as well. However, whether or not you are pregnant, you should never breath in fumes from hair dye. If you are dying your hair at home, make sure you have windows open and fans on, be sure to only be in well ventilated areas. If you want to go to a salon, speak to your hairdresser about your worries and see if she will create as well ventilated of an atmosphere for you possible.

Wear gloves when dying your hair at home, whether or not you are pregnant. Although the chemicals in hair dye are not highly toxic, it's best to wear gloves both for safety, and who wants to stain their skin with dye? A trick to keep dye from seeping into the skin around your hairline is to apply petroleum jelly. This will wash off your skin easy later, and protects your skin during the application and dying process.

If you are still cautious about dying your hair, go for the non/semi-permanent dyes. They usually have little/no ammonia or peroxide. Depending on the color you are accustomed to, the color may not be as vibrant, and it will not last as long -usually the box will tell you how many shampoos. But not only is there a chance it is safer for your baby, it is better for your hair and gives it a rest from over-processing.

If this is still too risky for you, check out alternative dyes. Henna is a semi-permanent dye very popular for many people who chose to not use chemicals. There are many other vegetable dyes that are alternatives to chemical dye. Some people create recipes for "natural" dyes with coffees, teas, and fruits. You may want to make sure to find out all about using alternative dyes though, they work differently than chemical dyes and may not be what you are used to.

One actual aspect of pregnancy and hair dying with proof is that your hair acts different while pregnant due to your hormones. Some women stop dying their hair, as well as perming/relaxing/other chemical treatments, mainly because of the possibility of not achieving the desired effect. Chemicals in dye may react differently to your hair when you are pregnant, therefore it may turn out different than expected. Therefore, be worried about the results, not the effect it has on your baby.

When it comes to the health of your child, it is ultimately you who makes the decision on what is safe or not safe. Always ask your doctor what kind of risks you have, because as mentioned earlier, all women are different. Just keep in mind the next time you are lectured by someone, that hair dye has never been proved to cause any harm to unborn children.