Hair Dye While Pregnant? Here Are Some Tips!

Image courtesy of HuffPost.

Does pregnancy mean that all your beauty routines go out the window? Can you bleach or dye hair while pregnant? These are the kinds of questions our students ask in our Maternal Support Practitioner program. Well, we talked to Senior Master Stylist Toni Warren from Life Salon Spa in Halifax to get you the answers.

Life Salon Spa uses all Aveda hair dye products which smell flippin’ delicious and are made from naturally derived products – their hair dye alone is 99% naturally derived! So, does that mean it is safe to use in pregnancy? Good news, you are good to get gussied up! If you are nervous, Toni recommends that you head to your local salon in the 2nd or 3rd trimester to be safe. Although, the colour is only left on for about 20 mins, so none of the chemicals have time to enter your bloodstream. If you are still worried, just go for a semi permanent, demi or foils. Bad news? These don’t do a great job covering greys, so for that you will need a permanent hair dye.

“If you are nervous, Master Stylist Toni Warren recommends you head to your local salon in the 2nd or 3rd trimester to be safe” 

WHAT ABOUT THOSE NATURAL DYES, LIKE  HENNA

Those got more of a red light from Toni for a few reasons. Firstly, they are metallic dyes so it makes it really hard to get out of your hair when you are ready for a change. It also doesn’t react well to salon products, so the chestnut brown hair you dreamed up will probably miss the mark. Henna leaves a brassy orange in your hair. It has to be left on for hours, so any of the undesired chemicals it contains will have more opportunity to enter your bloodstream from the prolonged exposure.

What about if you want to go (or stay) blonde in your pregnancy? Again, it is safe to do, just make sure you are getting your treatment in a well ventilated area of the salon. It has the same risks from the bleach with or without being pregnant. When pregnant you may consider using foils for safer bleaching.

OUR HAIR CHANGES IN PREGNANCY

I know we loved our thick and luscious locks for that 40 weeks, however, it may also be more resistant to treatments and respond in a slightly unpredictable way… this can continue after pregnancy for a bit too! You may also find that your hair’s texture changes after pregnancy, only time will tell.

For those of you that are used to going the DIY route for your hair, Toni warns that there are more unknowns in the home kits. You do not know the volume of developer (fancy talk for the ingredients that support the colour change) and they typically have a lower level in the salon products, which is a good thing. The higher the level, the more of that eye burning fume smell you can expect! Can you shop for a safer hair dye? Check out the ingredients on the box of your home kit before you buy. You want a product with little or no peroxide.

TOP THREE HAIR DYE  TIPS WHILE PREGNANT

Toni suggests:

1. Timing is everything – If you are worried about the fumes of the hair dye while pregnant and you have grey that you need covered, you can do foils and book your appointment when the salon is not busy so there is not a lot of other chemical treatments being done. This lowers fume exposure.
2. Long hair, don’t care – Ladies, don’t cut your hair off while pregnant to try to ‘save styling time’ once the baby comes. Short hair actually takes more work to ‘do’ and you may not have the time. It will be harder to feel good and look great. She says she regularly hears women express their worries about the baby tugging their long locks when they arrive, or hair getting in the way of breastfeeding.  Solution? Tie it up, don’t cut it off.
3. Conserve your colour – Want your hair colour to last longer so you have fewer exposures to treatments in pregnancy? Maybe you just had your baby so you are struggling to carve out a few hours to head to your salon for a touch up? Use one of the many Aveda colour conserve shampoo and conditioner combos or a Blue Mulva coloured shampoo and conditioner to keep the colour longer.

So there you have it. No need to make a pregnancy fashion statement with untouched roots or a hair colour you hate. Plus, its much easier to get your hair done when the baby is on the inside. It’s very difficult to keep a newborn happy for 2 hours while you get your hair did!

How did you handle your hair during pregnancy? Did you feel comfortable enough to hit the salon?