Perms While Pregnant: Are They Safe?

Table Of Content

• Is It Safe to Get a Perm While Pregnant?
• How To Safely Bleach Your Body Hair During Pregnancy
• When Can I Bleach My Hair While Pregnant – A Trimester-Wise Look
• Popular Pregnancy Resources
• Alternative Methods To Lighten Hair Naturally During Pregnancy
• Find more top doctors on
• Are there any hair-coloring alternatives that may be safer than traditional dye and bleach?
• Benefits of Using Hair Toner During Pregnancy

Read on to learn more about the safety of using hair dye while pregnant, hair dye alternatives, and the safety of other hair treatments during pregnancy. Once you get the go-ahead from your doctor to book the salon appointment, you may want to reconsider which service you get. Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear answer here, as each person’s circumstances will vary.

Is It Safe to Get a Perm While Pregnant?

Join us as we set off on a journey through pregnancy and hair care, discussing what is okay and what is not and how to rock those fabulous locks without compromising the well-being of your unborn baby. A semi-permanent color may not last as long as a permanent hair color, but it can reduce your exposure to chemicals and toxins. Small amounts of hair dye can get on your skin during a treatment. Although dye may come into contact with your forehead or scalp, only a small amount of the chemical is actually absorbed into your skin. It’s a small amount, so the chemical is unlikely to have any harmful effect on your baby’s developing body.

How To Safely Bleach Your Body Hair During Pregnancy

How to Apply an At-Home Hair Gloss Kit, According to Professional Hair Colorists - Allure

How to Apply an At-Home Hair Gloss Kit, According to Professional Hair Colorists.

Posted: Sat, 10 Apr 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Plus, you’ll be using less of the product, so you might find highlights a better option than a full bleach. Ask your stylist about gentler options, like color with an ammonia-free base. Swollen ankles, stretch marks, an itchy belly...some things are inevitable when you’re pregnant. Nitha is a writer and a go-to source for the latest in beauty and fashion. An ardent advocate for inclusive beauty, she is continuously inspiring women to create an authentic self-image.

When Can I Bleach My Hair While Pregnant – A Trimester-Wise Look

"The research on hair dyes and treatment chemicals in pregnancy has always been quite limited but most indicates they are relatively safe to use during pregnancy," says Dr. Masterson. Be sure to consult with a healthcare provider about your circumstances if you have any questions about bleaching your hair while pregnant. Many experts consider hair straightening treatments, or relaxers, to be as safe as using perms, bleaches, or hair dyes while pregnant. “If a dye says that it’s ‘all natural,’ the idea that that’s necessarily safer is not really true,” Sterling says.

Popular Pregnancy Resources

Still, while it’s generally considered safe to dye your hair during pregnancy, Reavey recommends avoiding it until the second trimester. “The first 13 weeks of pregnancy are critical for baby’s growth, so I’d err on the side of caution and avoid using hair dyes during this time,” she explains. Or, if you’re looking for a new hairstyle, but hesitant about completely dyeing your hair during pregnancy, Reavey recommends opting for highlights. “This will change the color and dynamic of your hair, without directly putting color on the scalp,” she says. Ross agrees, noting that treatments like highlights, streaking and frosting have little contact with the scalp and can be safer alternatives during all trimesters of pregnancy. Hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient in several beauty products designed to alter hair color or lighten the appearance of body hair.

Alternative Methods To Lighten Hair Naturally During Pregnancy

For maximum safety, you can apply the same chemical exposure cautions that you did when pregnant. Usually present as hydrogen peroxide in hair color products, this ingredient has a crucial role in the process of hair coloring. It lightens the natural color of your hair, making your hair more receptive to the new hue. Although peroxide does not generally cause safety issues, some people may be allergic to it.

Find more top doctors on

Keep reading to see why applying hair toner is safe to do during pregnancy. If you're wondering whether you should bleach, dye, or highlight your hair during pregnancy, we've gathered specific recommendations from the American Pregnancy Association to help answer your question. If you're concerned about chemicals but need to keep up your appearance for professional reasons, consider getting highlights or using a natural dye.

Research from 2018 found that females who dyed their hair prepregnancy had a higher chance of their baby having a low birth weight. These are the foods and drinks you should avoid or cut down on to protect your baby. From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting. 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.

The skin can absorb these chemicals through the skin during application to the hair. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that pregnancy, in itself, can naturally change the hair’s texture. Pregnancy may also cause your hair to react differently to perming or coloring. If this is the case, you may want to wait until after pregnancy to treat your hair. Even if you bleached your hair often before becoming pregnant, it’s also worth noting that pregnancy can affect your hair’s normal condition, so you should be aware of this when bleaching during pregnancy.

Plus, she and Ross recommend taking extra precaution to ensure the product isn’t directly applied to the scalp. “During pregnancy, your skin is often more sensitive to new ingredients, so prolonged exposure to the scalp/skin can cause irritation,” Reavey says. “The most sensitive time of pregnancy in terms of fetal development is during a period called embryogenesis, and that’s through the eighth week of pregnancy,” Dr. Sterling says. If you are looking for the safest ways to dye your hair and minimize any potential risks to your pregnancy, consider all of the different options for coloring hair available to you. Instead of dyeing all of your hair, you might choose a treatment like highlights or balayage. These treatments generally keep the hair color off of your scalp and skin which is where chemicals can be absorbed into the body, even in very small doses.

Your hair may react differently to bleaching than it usually does, and it might become more or less absorbent, frizzy or unpredictable. 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.

Highlighting your hair, by putting the dye only on to strands of hair, reduces any risk. The chemicals used are only absorbed by your hair, and not by your scalp or bloodstream. Always do a strand test first, whether you're using hair dye for the first time or it's a product you've used before. This is because your hair may react differently during pregnancy. Whether you’re in your 2nd or 3rd trimester, pregnancy can affect your hair's normal condition, so it’s worth remembering that your hair may react differently to colouring than it usually does.

So, if you’re wondering whether you can bleach your hair during pregnancy, here’s everything you need to know. If you’re at home, open up the windows so you’re breathing in fresh air, not toxic fumes. Always wear gloves if you’re applying the product to your own hair, and slip into a long-sleeved shirt for extra coverage. Follow the manufacturer’s directions, leave the dye on for the minimum time recommended and be sure to wash your scalp thoroughly when the job is done. When it comes time to start coloring, experts agree you should take some extra safety precautions.

But you should still take precautions to minimize the risk of causing harm to your baby. Many hair dyes contain chemicals, so you might be worried you’ll expose your baby to toxins. If a person has any questions or worries about hair treatments during pregnancy, they should speak with a healthcare professional.

If the smell of your shampoo or hair spray becomes too strong to tolerate, switch to a fragrance-free version. In poorly ventilated spaces, the fumes from bleach can make you feel dizzy and potentially expose your growing baby to harmful chemicals. Rapid growth and development takes place during the first trimester. It’s important to provide a protective environment for your baby during this time. A person should perform a patch test every time they dye their hair.

11 Pregnancy-Safe Hair Dye Brands You Can Use At Home - Romper

11 Pregnancy-Safe Hair Dye Brands You Can Use At Home.

Posted: Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Since there is an extremely low risk to the unborn baby, getting your hair treated with a hair toner can help you relax, recharge, and allow you to indulge in some self-care during your pregnancy. Rëzo says the average person will leave a toner on for between 15 and 25 minutes. Despite the fact that the product is applied to the hair, and a small amount will touch the scalp, there is little, if any, cause for concern.