Can You Dye Your Hair While Pregnant?
What we’ll cover in this post:
Can I color my hair while pregnant?
Can’t eat sushi, no lunch meat, no roller coasters, and no alcohol.
Your belly is growing, your boobs are huge, your feet are swelling, and the stretch marks are starting to form on your hips.
As if there aren't enough restrictions and bodily changes that happen while pregnant, now you’re not sure if you can pamper yourself!
So, can you dye your hair while pregnant?
I’m sure you’re not the only one whose search history looks something like:
“Can I dye my hair while pregnant?”
“Can pregnant women dye their hair?”
“Is it safe to dye your hair while pregnant?”
You’re not alone! Finding this kind of information from a trustworthy source can be difficult.
We have all of the information you need right here!
At Motherboard, we use the most up-to-date evidence to guide you in the right direction throughout your pregnancy, birth and postpartum period.
Spoiler alert: You CAN get your hair dyed while pregnant!
There is limited research on the safety of coloring hair while pregnant, but the research that we do have shows that hair dye does not have negative effects on a fetus when used appropriately.
You should avoid using hair dye frequently and avoid unnecessarily long applications of hair dye.
Although hair coloring contains chemicals and should be avoided if possible, we have enough evidence to prove that getting your hair dyed while pregnant is not going to cause any issues with you or your unborn baby.
If you do choose to dye your hair while pregnant, there are a few things you can do to make the process safer.
How to make the process safer
1.Wait until second or third trimester
You may be wondering, “When can I dye my hair while pregnant?”
While there isn’t any solid evidence that dyeing your hair in the first trimester is unsafe, it’s best to err on the side of caution.
During the first trimester of pregnancy, your baby is literally building their body from scratch. There is a lot of cell division happening to build structures and systems in your baby’s body. Plus, your body is still adjusting to the pregnancy and increase of hormones. The first trimester are the weeks where the risk of developing birth defects are the highest.
Once you’re past that first trimester, all of the baby's vital organs are formed and the risk of developing birth defects decreases significantly.
Even if your roots are starting to look crazy, it’s best to wait until after that first twelve weeks.
2. Ensure you are in a well-ventilated area
More ventilation in the room will ensure more air circulation and, therefore, you will be breathing cleaner air.
Have you ever been in a nail salon and that strong smell of acetone just makes you feel weird and woozy? That’s what we want to avoid.
It’s always a good idea to let your stylist know that you’re pregnant so they can accommodate you properly by putting you in a well ventilated area.
If the salon you usually go to is a pretty small space with no windows, maybe consider trying a new salon.
If you are coloring your hair while pregnant at home, it’s best to open a window and put a fan on in the room.
Breathing in any potent fumes while pregnant is not a good idea.
3. Avoid roots if possible
Fun fact: Our skin is our largest organ!
Everything that touches your skin can directly enter your bloodstream by absorption.
By avoiding the roots, you are avoiding that direct absorption of the hair dye into your skin and bloodstream.
Although anything that touches your scalp will be absorbed into your bloodstream, it’s also important to remember that such a minuscule amount of the chemicals would actually make it to your baby.
As always, let your hair stylist know that you are pregnant. They will try their best to avoid letting the hair dye touch your roots.
4. Protect your skin
Are you coloring your hair by yourself? If so, be sure to follow the instructions on the package, do not leave the dye on any longer than the instructions say, and be sure to wear gloves!
Try your best to use small amounts of hair dye rather than lathering it on and try to avoid contact with your scalp if you can.
When your hair is done processing, be sure to rinse your scalp thoroughly.
In addition to wearing gloves, be sure you wrap a hand towel around your neck to decrease the amount of hair dye that will touch your skin.
5. Aim for getting highlights rather than full color
Highlighting your hair will still give you some change that you’re looking for without putting chemicals on your entire head.
Highlights are strategically placed on random strands of hair throughout your head. They make a big difference and add some dimension to your hair.
If you are used to coloring your whole head, but you want to avoid using all of the chemicals, try getting your hair highlighted instead!
Having highlights also requires less maintenance than having your hair completely dyed one color. Less maintenance means less exposure to hair dye throughout your pregnancy and less trips to the salon once you have that sweet baby at home!
6. Safer hair dyes
You may be wondering if the type of hair dye you use matters. The answer is: yes and no.
Types of hair color:
Semi permanent
Permanent
Temporary hair dyes only last a few washes, semi permanent dyes will last about 5-10 washes, and permanent dyes will last until new growth appears to replace the dyed hair.
Permanent and semi permanent hair dyes penetrate through the hair shaft while temporary dye just sits on the surface of the hair.
Temporary dyes may have a smaller amount of chemicals in them, but you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of using this type of hair dye.
Would you rather use temporary dye and get your hair done more often or use semi permanent or permanent dye and only have to get your hair done once or twice throughout your pregnancy?
If you are someone who likes to change your hair often and/or use fun colors, you may opt for the temporary dyes.
7. Can you bleach your hair while pregnant?
Bleaching your hair is not much different than using regular hair dye. If you are planning to bleach your hair, you should use the same safety precautions as you would with regular hair dyes.
Bleach is typically used for highlights, changing your hair to a lighter color, or getting a light base color before adding fun bright colors like pink and purple.
If your hair is a very dark color and you want to be platinum blonde, you may want to consider waiting until your baby is born. A process like that takes hours, multiple dye sessions and more-than-average exposure to chemicals.
8. Consider using henna dyes
Some people opt for safe-to-use hair dye such as henna dyes or vegetable dyes. Henna dyes and vegetable dyes are not highly toxic like the typical hair dye used in salons.
Not only can henna dye be used to change the color of your hair, it’s also great for strengthening and nourishing your hair (which you might appreciate after the baby is born...postpartum hair loss is a real thing!).
Vegetable dyes may only offer natural hair colors and to help with covering grey roots.
You can mix vegetable dyes and henna dyes if you’re looking for a specific color!
The good news is, you can experiment with colors as much as you want because they are totally nontoxic! However, as with all “safe” substances, sometimes people may have an allergic reaction, so it’s always best to do a spot test and see how your body reacts.
Henna dyes and vegetable dyes are similar to semi permanent hair dyes. You can expect them to last about 5-10 washes.
Henna paste:
Will give your hair a reddish colored “glaze” on top of your natural hair color. For example, if your hair is blonde, it will be very bright auburn, but if your hair is dark brown it will turn out a deep red.
Will permanently stain any skin that comes into contact with it until that skin exfoliates.
May react poorly to other types of hair color after use, for example bleach may not work until the henna grows out. Also, some henna hair colors add metallic salts to their formula that can react with other types of hair color, perhaps even causing a chemical reaction and making your hair smoke!
Always consult a professional colorist before trying new types of dyes, even if they are natural and organic.
9. Try a patch test on one strand of hair before dyeing your whole head
Sometimes, the fluctuations of hormones can cause hair dye to react differently to your hair while pregnant.
Pregnant or not, it’s never a bad idea to do a strand test before dyeing your entire head.
Not only may the dye turn out to be a different color than expected, but sometimes you can have a reaction to the dye that you may not have had before you were pregnant.
The Takeaway
Can you dye your hair while pregnant? The answer is yes!
Here are the tips:
Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area; open up some windows!
Avoid your roots if possible.
Highlights are a great option to avoid putting the dye all over your hair.
Opt for non-toxic dyes like henna or vegetable dyes for a chemical-free hair dye.
Remember to ask your stylist to do a strand test prior to dyeing your whole head.
Most importantly, enjoy pampering yourself! Your salon days may not be as frequent once you have a little munchkin!
🤍 The [M]otherboard Team