Hair colouring/peroxide during pregnancy?

[whyistherumgone]

...I've had conflicting advice about this!
Midwife said try to avoid peroxide, doctor and another midwife said it's ok as long as doesn't touch the scalp and hairdresser said it's ok as long as it doesn't touch the scalp.

I know I can easily avoid and just not get my hair done, but just wanted to get opinion really.

Think NHS says it's ok in pregnancy but that some people may wish to wait until after the first trimester

There has been no deep research into this (at least there was none I could find 2 years ago) and I bleached my hair every month on time, scalp and all.
Obviously do what you are comfortable with but from experience I had no problems.

I wish I knew. I have a lovely dark chocolate semi upstairs that i'm too scared to use

I dyed my hair in both my pregnancies with no adverse effects apart from one of them that didn't take properly and it had to be redone.

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/949.aspx?CategoryID=54 - the NHS info

I'm a hairdresser and have always read conflicting information on what is safe with regard to colouring hair whilst pregnant.

It seems that most of the information is based on opinion, rather than fact/studies, as there hasn't really been much research on this. As far as I'm aware, the colour mix doesn't penetrate the skin deeply enough to enter the blood stream in quantities that would be dangerous, however there are some sources that dispute that.

From an insurance point of view for a hairdresser, they would be required to skin test 24-48 hrs before colouring (allergies can appear when there's a hormonal change in the body such as pregnancy), and they would be required to follow the manufacturers advice on whether or not they deemed it safe, so as not to void their insurance. If you tell a hairdresser that you're pregnant and they don't follow this procedure at the very least, run a mile! Same applies if you aren't pregnant- you should be skin tested regularly before colouring!

If you're going to do it yourself, ultimately it's your own choice (I'm 25wks pregnant and have coloured my hair twice, on scalp since being pregnant), but I would recommend skin testing 24-48 hours before using the product, according to the manufacturers instructions.

Better safe than sorry, for the health of you and your baby!

Thanks everyone, I definitely agree with the safe not sorry policy - I think I will wait until after 12 weeks if I get that far and see how I feel then.
Thanks for info from a hairdresser's point of view Little - out of curiosity which home dyes do you recommend (I'm quite light blonde but more golden than platinum) - haven't used one in years!

Thanks for the link demented

My hair went a different shade of blonde, much warmer. Be warned. Your hair can react differently.

Thanks fox hadn't thought about that...maybe I should just let nature take its course and stick with the faux ombre roots effect!

Whyistherumgone- honestly, I wouldn't even know which brands of home colouring there are, as I've never bought one! From a pro point of view, I'm a life long L'Oreal user, so I guess their home colours would be at the same standard their pro colours are?

If you can afford it, I would definitely try and go to a salon, especially if you're pregnant. Just so they can monitor you/any reaction you might have while you have the colour on- there's probably a stylist local to you who has experience colouring pregnant ladies' hair. And colouring hair while there is a chemical change/imbalance in the body (pregnancy, change of meds, etc) can mean what you would usually use reacts in a totally different way than it usually would. Hope you get sorted :)

Whyistherumgone- you could always have your colour blended into your roots? That way the colour is not on your scalp (if you're worried about that), and you can rock a low maintenance ombré/balayage look for the duration of your pregnancy!

I took the view that I would never have time to dye my hair after my babies were born anyway, so it seemed like a good idea to give it up during pregnancy given the conflicting advice about it x

If you do it def get patch tested. I developed an allergy during pregnancy and still have it five years later - can no longer colour my hair at all. Thanks children!

thanks for your advice everyone. My hairdresser gets back from travelling in January by then I will (fingers crossed) be 12 weeks so think I will play it safe and leave it til then and go in and see if I can get colour blended at the root like little suggested