Hair treatment during pregnancy

Often there are questions related to the treatment of hair during pregnancy. Most treatments use chemicals and dyes that make women wonder if they are safe.

Different types of hair care include:

Coloring- This includes permanent, semi-permanent and temporary dyes.
Curl. A perm is created using two solutions on the hair. The first one is a curling solution and the second one is a neutralizing/fixing solution.
Bleaching. This procedure uses hydrogen peroxide.
Relaxers. These are also known as perms. They contain either caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) or caustic soda (potassium, lithium, or guanidine hydroxide), which are used to permanently straighten hair.

Are hair dyes and hair care chemicals safe during pregnancy?

Although limited, most studies show that the chemicals in semi-permanent and permanent hair dyes are not very toxic and are safe to use during pregnancy. In addition, only a small amount of hair dye can be absorbed through the skin, and little will reach the fetus.

Thus, this small amount is not considered harmful to the fetus. The same is considered true during breastfeeding. Although there are no data on women receiving hair treatments while breastfeeding, few chemicals are known to actually be absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, the possibility of their getting into milk and creating a risk to the baby is unlikely.

However, if you're hesitant to use regular hair dye while pregnant, there are safer alternatives. For example, applying strands to the hair reduces the risk because the dye is applied only to the strands of hair and does not touch the scalp.

Thus, the skin does not absorb chemicals into the blood. Another alternative is pure vegetable dyes, including henna. If you are still concerned about using hair dye while pregnant, you may want to talk to your doctor. Some doctors recommend waiting until at least the second or third trimester, or even after pregnancy, to dye your hair.

What precautions should be taken when chemically treating hair?

Consider waiting until the second trimester to treat your hair.
Make sure the treatment is done in a well-ventilated area.
Do not leave the chemicals on your hair any longer than indicated by the directions.
Rinse your scalp thoroughly with water after treatment.
Wear gloves when applying the treatment.
Carefully follow the directions on the package.
Do a patch test for allergic reactions before completing the process.
Never dye or bleach eyebrows or eyelashes. This could cause swelling or increase the risk of infection in the eye area.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that pregnancy itself can naturally change the texture of the hair. Pregnancy can also cause your hair to react differently to perm or color. If so, you may want to wait until the end of your pregnancy to treat your hair.

What if I work as a beautician and I'm pregnant?

For beauticians, risks during pregnancy are related to the amount of exposure to chemical hair care products, which is affected by the number of hours worked, as well as working conditions. The study points to a greater risk of miscarriage in women who use high amounts of bleach and permanent hair dye, work more than 40 hours a week, and/or work in salons that offer nail extensions.

Good working conditions, such as wearing protective gloves, not eating or drinking in the work area, and ensuring that the work area is well ventilated, are also important to limit exposure to chemicals used in hair treatments.

In general, hair care products are considered safe to use during pregnancy. However, you may also want to consider purchasing wicks or using pure vegetable dyes. In any case, your safest option is to wait at least until the end of the first trimester, if not until the end of the pregnancy.