Pregnant Pause 

There is so much information about what is and is not safe during pregnancy that you can often feel unnecessarily worried or guilty about something as simple as colouring your hair. 

It is true that there has not been a lot of research into this area but women have been dying their hair during pregnancy for a long time and there has been no link found between dying hair and causing harm to the baby. The chemicals found in modern hair dye are not thought to be highly toxic, either to the mother or the baby and the method by which you or your hairdresser dyes your hair means that there is little chance of a high level of the chemicals being absorbed by the body anyway. However, the less contact the dye has with your scalp, the less chance you have of the chemicals being absorbed, so streaking and frosting of the hair is less risky than having a full colour on your hair.  

The main problem with dying hair in pregnancy is that it may look different to how it normally does. Due to all the hormones produced during pregnancy the hair changes in thickness and amount, as well as how it actually absorbs the hair dye. The result is that a colour that someone has been using for a long time before pregnancy may suddenly appear to be completely different. 

Some pregnant ladies feel happier experimenting with less harsh colorants, such as those made from vegetable dye and most hairdressers have these available in salons or are happy to can order them for you. 

The important thing is not to worry about this too much. Do keep having your usual beauty and hair treatments. They will make you feel good about yourself and, as you are very special at the moment, go ahead and treat yourself.