How to Dye Your Hair While Pregnant

By eHow Fashion, Style & Personal Care Editor

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Pregnant women should take extra precautions before making a change in hair color.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Hair Accessories
Old Towels
Blow Dryers
Deep Conditioner
Hair-coloring Products
Hairbrush
Highlighting Kits
Hot Oil Treatments
Shampoos For Color-treated Hair

Step1

Talk to both your doctor and your stylist about hair coloring while pregnant before you touch your locks.

Step2

Consider whether the chemicals in the hair coloring product may be harmful to you or the baby, and how the pregnancy-caused changes in your hair may affect the coloring process.

Step3

Be sure to do a preliminary patch test to determine whether you will develop an allergic reaction to the hair coloring. This will also give you a chance to see how the color will look.

Step4

Follow the directions on the hair coloring package for best results, or have your stylist do the coloring.

Step5

Use a conditioner after coloring to keep your hair from drying out or breaking.

Tips & Warnings

If you have applied henna to your hair in the last year, remember that you cannot perm it or use a chemical color over it.
Avoid chlorine and saltwater for a few days after coloring your hair, as contact may cause adverse reactions. Remember that the sun's rays will cause your color to fade faster.
Avoid getting solution into your eyes at all cost. Rinse well with tepid water and consult a physician should this occur.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I work with high-end clientèle everyday and if I showed up with four inch roots of gray and mis-matched hair, I do not think it would be acceptable! It is perfectly fine to color your hair but it would be smart to avoid getting the product on your scalp. A good way to accomplish this is to ask your stylist to highlight your hair or to apply the color (whatever it may be) using foils which keeps it off your scalp. There are no significant studies that show any problems with hair color during pregnancy. See this article: http://www.otispregnancy.org/pdf/hair_treatments.pdf

May we all stay beautiful Moms (and I'll bet the Dads don't mind either)!

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Henna is a vegetable dye, so it is completely safe for use during a pregnancy. You can get various shades of red and black, and it works on your current tones, so it's unsuitable if you're dark brown wanting to go to blonde. Henna is great for conditioning your hair. You can get it in a non-coloring variety, too. Oh, good luck finding time to go to a spa once the baby arrives! :)

Anonymous said

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on 7/14/2006 Wait till you're out of the first trimester. If you go to the salon, ask for foils so the stuff won't touch your skin. If you dye your hair yourself, there are many highlighting caps you can use that keep the stuff off your scalp. If you want to dye all of your hair and not just strands, cut bigger holes in the highlighting cap and use large crochet hooks to pull all of your hair through the cap. Use gloves! Hair dye has lots of potential carcinogens in it, and fetuses are more susceptible to carcinogens.

Also, drink lots of antioxidants a couple of days before you dye your hair. The antioxidants should bond to any free radicals produced by chemicals. I suggest taking vitamin C pills and drinking a large glass of Spicy V8. Finally, dye your hair in a well ventilated area so you avoid breathing in fumes. Just remember, long term hair dye use is associated with an elevated risk of lymphoma and bladder cancer. The hair dye can be absorbed on your scalp with lots of blood flow, and then is filtered through your lymph nodes and bladder.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 While you are pregnant, concentrate on the baby! Why worry about the risks during your pregnancy? After your baby is born take a day off and go to a local spa and get the full treatment. After all, you deserve it!

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