Is it safe to dye your hair when pregnant or breastfeeding?

Table Of Content

• Can You Highlight or Balayage Your Hair During Pregnancy?
• Ways to minimize chemical exposure from hair dyeing during pregnancy
• Is it safe to dye hair while breastfeeding?
• How Often You Can Color Your Hair While Pregnant
• Can you dye your hair while breastfeeding?
• How to dye your hair safely during pregnancy: Do a patch test

There aren't any conclusive studies about how safe the chemicals used in perms are during pregnancy, but the body absorbs very little of those chemicals. A person should perform a patch test every time they dye their hair. A patch test involves applying a small amount of dye to a person’s skin before dyeing their hair. However, researchers do not mention how frequently people dyed their hair before becoming pregnant. Additionally, they did not collect data regarding hair dye use during pregnancy.

Can You Highlight or Balayage Your Hair During Pregnancy?

There’s little research on the effects of perms and relaxers on fetal development, but recent analysis has found a significant correlation between the use of hair straightening products and uterine cancer. Save yourself some nausea or headaches by coloring your hair in a well-ventilated area. “Proper ventilation is also a good way to lower your exposure to chemicals in the air,” she adds. There’s a wide range of different hair dyes out there, composed of a wide variety of ingredients. That’s great, as it gives you the option to choose the dye that makes the most sense for you.

Ways to minimize chemical exposure from hair dyeing during pregnancy

What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy. Ask your stylist about gentler options, like color with an ammonia-free base. Here are five tips to ensure you get the hair color you want while protecting your baby-to-be.

Katherine Ryan shares postpartum hair regrowth: What to do about pregnancy hair loss - Yahoo Lifestyle UK

Katherine Ryan shares postpartum hair regrowth: What to do about pregnancy hair loss.

Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Is it safe to dye hair while breastfeeding?

Additionally, a person should follow certain precautions to limit their exposure to hair dye chemicals. However, if used correctly, the quantity of chemicals absorbed during the hair dyeing process should not be harmful to a fetus. During pregnancy, a person may worry that the chemicals in hair dye could harm their fetus.

What About Other Hair Treatments?

The dye should sit for 48 hours to see if itchiness or irritation occurs. If you’re using box dye at home, wear gloves and don’t exceed the recommended wait time. When finished, rinse your scalp thoroughly with water and wipe away any excess dye.

Uncertainty about the effects of chemicals used in hair dyes has led to debates and conflicting advice. You want to be a radiant mom during your pregnancy, but you're afraid that dyeing your hair might pose a risk to your baby. If you work in a salon and you’re pregnant, you may want to take extra precautions to keep you and baby safe, since you’re exposed to hair dye and chemicals in the air for long periods of time. Studies have shown no increased risk for miscarriage, preterm birth, or birth defects among pregnant women who work in hair salons. (Any chemicals absorbed into your system when you dye your hair would go through your skin, not through your hair.) You can ask your hair stylist about the best options for you.

For a safer alternative, try techniques where color is painted directly on to the hair shaft — highlights, lowlights, frosting and streaking, for example. Pulling hair through a cap and then applying color is a less common method but equally as safe, since the cap covers the scalp. You may not always feel good about yourself as your body goes through these changes. You won’t have control over all of the physical changes taking place. I asked the moms on my Facebook page if (and how) they dyed their hair during pregnancy. After using hair dye, make sure to rinse your strands and scalp thoroughly to avoid any residue being left behind.

"Chemicals in hair dye are generally not thought to be harmful, and evidence suggests that systemic absorption of hair products is minimal," she tells Allure. "Reaching the placenta in substantial amounts to cause harm to the fetus is unlikely." According to both Ross and Reavey, previous research has shown that it’s unlikely dyeing hair while breastfeeding poses any increased risk to baby. “As long as you follow the same guidelines recommended during pregnancy, there should be no harm done to your breastfed baby,” Ross reassures. That said, Reavey emphasizes the importance of using safer dyes that are ammonia- and peroxide-free. Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear answer here, as each person’s circumstances will vary.

Are there any hair-coloring alternatives that may be safer than traditional dye and bleach?

A professional salon might be better ventilated, and they might be more careful about not getting dye onto your scalp, but there’s no guarantee that it’s definitely safer,” Sterling says. Dyeing your hair is one of the most common forms of self-expression. Whether you love your highlights, covering grays or you’re rocking a vivid hue, you might be wondering if you should give up your color once you get pregnant. However, there are some precautions you should take for your own comfort and peace of mind.

Research on this subject is limited, but many experts advise mothers-to-be to wait until around the beginning of the second trimester. Read the instructions carefully, and don’t leave chemicals on your hair for longer than necessary. After completing a hair treatment, rinse your scalp and forehead to remove any traces of the dye from your skin. A 1994 National Cancer Institute report found that women who used dark hair dyes for 20 years or more were at higher risk of cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. It’s important to follow the directions in your hair color kit whenever you decide to color your hair at home, but even more so when pregnant.

Many experts believe the chemicals in semipermanent and permanent dyes are not highly toxic and are safe during pregnancy. The fumes can be incredibly irritating for pregnant women or people with breathing sensitivities like asthma. When it comes to safety during pregnancy, there's no difference between bleach, hair dye, relaxers, or curling solutions.

They don't pose additional risks as long as you follow the precautions below. There's no single cause of cancer, so using hair dye doesn't pose a dire risk. Pregnant women might be at particular risk, though, because of their bodies' significant changes. For women with a history of breast cancer, avoiding hair dye could lower your risk of developing breast cancer down the road. If you want to be cautious (and rest easier at night), wait until this critical period is over before reaching for the hair dye.