Can You Color Your Hair While Pregnant?
Experts aren't sure hair coloring is completely safe during pregnancy, and the answer to this question may vary depending on whom you ask. The general consensus seems to be that it likely is safe, but you should wait until after your first trimester, and to be even safer, get highlights rather than all-over color.
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Expert Insight
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According to certified nurse-midwife Ann Linden, "the limited evidence that's available suggests that it's probably safe to dye your hair during pregnancy." Colette Bouchez, author of Your Perfectly Pampered Pregnancy and a medical journalist, agrees, writing that while research is limited, many experts say dyes are "most likely safe" and women shouldn't be afraid they'll harm their babies by coloring their hair.
Warning
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However, since the verdict is still out, you may feel better taking some precautions. Ask your doctor what she recommends. "Because the dye is absorbed through the scalp and into the body (it can be identified in urine) some medical experts are hesitant to give carte blanche to hair coloring during all three trimesters," Bouchez writes.
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Considerations
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The first trimester is when babies are most vulnerable. To be extra safe, you may want to wait (or your doctor may even advise you to wait) until you are in your second or third trimester to color your hair. Highlights, streaking and other such means are an alternative option to all-over coloring; since the color is applied away from the roots, it doesn't touch your scalp and can't get in your bloodstream, Bouchez writes.
Potential
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There are other options as well. You can have your hair colored less frequently while pregnant, then go to the salon as a well-deserved reward once you deliver your baby. Bouchez also suggests using semi-permanent dyes containing little or no ammonia and peroxide, or "hair mascaras," which coat hair without getting near the scalp.
Natural Remedy
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If you ever sprayed lemon juice on your hair and sat in the sun as a teenager, consider revisiting this idea to get blonder locks. (If it's the middle of February in the Midwest, that's probably not an option.)
Bouchez suggests coating hair with coffee for a brunette color or carrot and beet juices for red highlights.
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