Pregnancy is a crucial time for any woman. While there is a lot of confusion between what to do and what not to do during this time, bleaching your hair is no exception to that. Any hair color contains chemicals, and hence it comes with lots of associated questions, including if is it safe to bleach your hair while pregnant?
Do you know that more than 29% of US women wished they would have known in detail about different stages of pregnancy? With little information about the pregnancy trimesters for the first-time to-be-moms, there is no single day when a pregnant woman is reminded about what she can do or can’t go. But does that mean that the would-be mom has to carry forward with her dull hair only?
Is It Ok To Bleach Hair During Pregnancy?
Have you seen recent images of Hilary Duff? She has revealed multiple videos on Instagram showing her entire hairs covered in foils as colorists bleached them. She also disclosed that she only had to get up once for the bathroom during the bleaching process because she was eight months pregnant. So, are you feeling confident about bleaching your long hair now?
If you’re worried about bleaching your short hair, check Amber Rose’s profile. She is the model and fiance of rapper Wiz Khalifa who had colored her platinum even at nine months of pregnancy.
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Interestingly, she has put bleach directly on her scalp and further disclosed that she cuts and dyes her hair every three days.
While these are perfect examples how safe it is to bleach your hair even during pregnancy, there is still more to understand and go through the details. Let us know all about the burning question- is it safe to bleach your hair while pregnant in detail, starting by understanding different pregnancy trimesters and associated risks.
Can Bleaching Your Hair While Pregnant Hurt The Baby?
One of the most prominent questions that come to the mind of a pregnant woman is whether hair bleaching has any troubles with the fetuss’ development. It is important to understand that a baby’s growth is instrumental throughout the nine months of pregnancy. Hence, it is important to check the bleaching issues during different pregnancy trimesters.
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Bleaching Your Hair During Pregnancy First Trimester
The first trimester of pregnancy is the initial phase that starts on the first day of the last period and lasts up to the 13th week. It comes with multiple changes in the body with characteristics like vomiting, nausea, etc.
Do you know that more than 25% of pregnant women experience bleeding during the first trimester?
The other main symptoms of pregnancy’s first trimester that call for additional precautions during hair bleaching include weight gain, mood swings, heartburns, fatigue, etc.
Thus, when it comes to bleaching your hair during pregnancy in the first trimester, it calls for strict monitoring of your body responses.
While it is not a clear no for getting your hair bleached during the first pregnancy trimester, certain guidelines are to be followed.
First things first, your body may respond to the smelling hair bleach while pregnant and may exaggerate vomiting and nausea. It can be managed by going for natural alternatives in hair bleaching.
Hair bleaching is needed after every 30-45 days, and hence it is ideal to go for hair bleaching before you are planning for conception. If needed, women can go for hair bleaching during the first trimester of pregnancy with necessary precautions.
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Bleaching Your Hair In The Second Trimester
The second trimester of pregnancy is from week 13th to 28th week. Ideally called the easiest months of pregnancy, the second trimester of pregnancy comes as a relief from the struggling first phase. Hence, generally, women consider it a perfect time to get ready for the next crucial three months.
Women love to bring themselves out of the pregnancy symptoms that end with the first semester. Bleaching your hair in the second trimester may be preferred by some and may seem like an ideal time to get rid of the boring natural hairs.
Come to think of it, the third trimester could be lined with discomforts and once the baby is out, there will be many, many other pressing priorities.
Certain precautions like wearing proper safety items, using high-grade hair colors to prevent health issues, and allergy checks are necessary at this time.
Bleaching Your Hair During The Last Trimester Of Pregnancy
It is the 29th week to complete the 9th month of the pregnancy. It is an important stage, considered crucial for the baby’s development and his position change in the body. Many women prefer to go for hair bleaching as the upcoming months are full of hard work.
While it is important to keep in mind that the baby is opening eyes, can hear, sucks her thumb, can cry, smile all in the womb, during the last trimester of pregnancy, it is not advised to try something new at this time.
Further, if a woman uses any hair color over time, she can go for the same hair bleach in the last trimester of pregnancy. However, it is of utmost necessity to consult your gynae to avoid any issues with the baby and progression for labor and birth.
According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the practice of dying hair while pregnant is not toxic for the fetus of a pregnant lady.
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Whether you are looking for highlights, bleach, or tone color, there is no risk to the fetus and its growth. Hence, women can confidently go for hair bleaching even during pregnancy while ensuring crucial precautions are not compromised with.
Precautions If You Bleach Your Hair During Pregnancy
It is always great to have a checklist even before you’re looking to solve whether is it safe to bleach your hair while pregnant. So here are the top precautions to be considered during hair bleaching during pregnancy.
- Doctor consultation: First things first, you must consult your doctor before bleaching your hair in pregnancy. This is because bleaches have chemicals that can get absorbed in the body from the scalp. Hence, it is crucial to have a doctor’s advice before smelling hair bleach while pregnant. According to the doctor’s recommendations on your pregnancy, it helps women get all about the hair colors and ideal times to ignore it.
- Go for chemical-free options: If any woman is not comfortable in the natural boring color, there is no need to risk the chemical colors. More natural options in the market are hair colors based on henna or natural ingredients. Hence to eliminate any confusion of is it safe to bleach your hair while pregnant, use the herbal colors only. These semi-permanent or permanent hair dyes are ideal for any pregnancy trimester. The chemicals don’t have a good reputation for the health concerns of pregnant women. Just like ammonia or peroxide are not related directly to miscarriages or birth defects. Still, chemicals have a bad name for pregnant women. It is recommended to go through the hair color details and any results of animal testing or another clinical testing on the products.
- Skip first trimester: Women must avoid bleaching their hair during pregnancy first trimester. This is a precautionary measure to prevent any exaggerated effects of conception that are prominent in the first trimester. Once you cross the first trimester of pregnancy, you can explore the opportunities of hair bleach according to your needs.
Also, there are different options in the hair colors- permanent colors, semi-permanent colors, and temporary colors. All these colors have chemicals, and according to animal studies, only a portion of these chemicals get absorbed in the body. Hence, hair bleaching doesn’t have any possible effects on birth defects.
Always dye your hair in a well-ventilated area. This helps eliminate the smelling hair bleach while pregnant. Further, it is crucial to go for the patch test according to the product guidelines to prevent any allergic reaction with hair color on the scalp.
Never become lazy when wearing gloves, a box dye kit, etc., while coloring hairs during pregnancy. It keeps a safe distance of chemical colors from the hands and eyes of the to-be-mom.
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Another precaution is to avoid a shower after hair bleaching and go for a hair wash in the sink or a parlor. It further eliminates the contact of applied hair colors on the skin and other body parts.
It is advised to stay away from applying hair dye to the scalp due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide. It opens up the hair cuticles, penetrates the hair cortex, and dissolves in the natural melanin of the hairs. It causes stings, burns, and skin irritations. Hence, to avoid any extra issues during pregnancy, it is recommended to go for the hair bleaching after doing all necessary checks.
Conclusion
There is no need to worry about the myths when you know all about hair bleaching during pregnancy. Hence, we can conclude the answer to the burning question- is it safe to bleach your hair while pregnant? While there is no solid proof to prove that hair bleaching is harmful to pregnant women, several precautions can be observed while going for hair bleaching during pregnancy.