Is dying hair safe?

[chocolatefudge]

Is it safe to dye hair during pregnancy i have the garnier nutrisse hair dye in my cupboard i really need to dye it as i've a few grey hairs showing at the top!

I'm 19 weeks this Friday.

thanks
chocolatefudge

it is, but take care as your skins much more sensitive, even if it wasnt before, do a tester patch on a small bit first

I know dw could not get her hair coloured at a salon when she was pg, don't know if it extends to home use colouring

HTH

I had highlights done when I was pregnant. I asked my GP who said ask your hairdresser and she said it was safe.

it's generally advised that you don't use permanent dye when preg, because one of the chemicals (can't remember if its the amonia or peroxide) can get into the blood.

You can use semi-permanent dye and you can use permanent dye over a highlight cap (so the dye doesn't touch the skin) though.

Thanks for letting me know as the one i have is permanent with peroxide in.

chocolatefudge

Think SP's right IIRC but worth knowing that brown or black hair dye may be bad for you anyway, This is based on just one study so shouldn't be taken as gospel but women who used dark hair dye had a higher risk of (I think) bladder cancer. So I'd want to avoid dark hair dyes just in case, although the study didn't look specifically at pregnancy. Can't remember why dark colours are so much worse than blonde but presumably different chemicals.

Yep, I've seen that study too.

I looked into this last time and the risk is really small as it's every what 2 months so thats the baby exposed maybe 4 times at most? Given that the dye is on your hair what 40 mins at a time I thought it was worth the risk with all the other chemicals the baby will be exposed too I mean how much smoke from even outside will it be exposed to, chemicals in food even bacteria in food even though we avoid the really dangerous foods.

I've been dying my hair since 1991 . I have no idea what colour it is underneath. I could be completely or partially grey. Hope I never find out!

The small risk, if any, seems to be from the dye getting into the bloodstream across the scalp. While I was pg, I continued to dye my hair. I just took care to put it onto the hair rather that slather it onto my scalp as I would usually do. It took longer to do, it was fiddly, but it seemed a compromise.

Is that useful?

Oh no feeling worried now, I had highlighted blonde hair up until last night when I bought a light brown from the supermarket (my natural colour) and decided to make life easier and go back brown! I did put it on my scalp because it said to massage it in after 30 mins, I thought it was just potentially harmful to breath in the fumes so I was really careful to do it in a well ventilated room, I didn't know peroxide passed into the bloodstream!

I have a permanent brown dye every 8 weeks or so to cover up my 'platinum highlights' - asked my hairdressers (in NZ and UK) about this, and they both said that it wasn't an issue and if it was they would in no way condone the use of permanent colour during pregnancy...

If you are worried about it though, you could try henna, which is natural?

highlights and foils are better than whole head dyes where the dye penetrates the scalp more

chloe55 don't fret, I'm sure you've done no harm at all. I coloured my hair properly when I was about 36 weeks pg, I mean, it got onto my scalp. I figured a one off wouldn't be too bad.

You'll probably do more harm worrying!

I've dyed my hair dark brown every four weeks this pregnancy (I'm just about 36 weeks) and when I was pregnant with DS. According to my roots I must be completely white naturally and there is no way I'm revealing that to the world. I've used permanent dye as semi-permanent just doesn't work for me. For me, the risks involved were too small, but it's a personal thing.

Following 2 mc's while I was pregnant with dd I didn't dye my hair at all. I was advised though that it was ok and that the safest option was foils. The total head colour was not advised as it was absorbed by your head/skin. Not sure how true this is....
I stayed clear for my own peace of mind.

I had my hair dyed and lowlighted when pg - hairdresser said it was fine, he had been asked previously and telephone the manufacturer to check.