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Hair highlights during pregnancy?

Please could you give me your advice/experience of dying hair while pregnant as I keep reading conflicting advice.

I always get the foil highlights done and none of the dye touches my scalp, so from what I have read this seems to be okay, but I want to be sure that it is safe to do when pregnant.

What did you ladies do?

Replies

  • I've also had this done, and did it with my son also. It's prefectly fineimage
  • ive used hair dye on both my pregnancies and it touched my scalp,both times its been ok,i asked my hairdresser and he said its fine

    sarah
  • hey i have my hair hilighted as well. its fine to continue. only real change is because our hairs changes in pregnancy the hilights make be really quick to take or take longer than usual.
    go for it...pamper yourself.

  • hi. its fine to continue hilights. as long as not touching the scalp its fine.
    only real change is causes is becuse our hair changes in pregnancy the colour may take really quick or take longer.
    no worries....go of it. pamper yourself
  • hiya

    my family have been hairdressers all there lives and weve all continued to dye our hair and have beautiful healthy babies!
    my friend got refuesd in the hairdressers as they wudnt do it for her so i think its a personal choice for both parties.
    my hair is bleach blonde and ive had my colour and roots done all the way through ive got my roots booked in tomorrow as im due on sunday and want to feel as best as i can and its not being vain at all if it makes you feel better its not like your are drinking 10pints of larger and smoking 60!;\)
    its totally up to you but i wouldnt let anyone put you on a guilt trip for it hun do what your comfortable with:\)
    xxxx
  • Eeek, I really struggle with this one. I always try to use organic cosmetics and have avoided perfume through my pregnancy but I have dark hair and quite a lot of grey coming through which I hate.
    I've been using John Frieda's Brilliant Brunette colour glosser as it's wash-in wash-out so I know the chemicals in it aren't very strong and I only use it on my parting. It blends the greys in a fair bit but it's still not quite how I'd like it and I've been considering dying it 'properly' before I go on holiday at 22 weeks. I figure at least the baby is fully-formed by then and is simply growing bigger but I know I may yet chicken out.
    The problem with certain chemicals in pregnancy is that we simply don't know what effect they will have on our children in say, 30 years time, however healthy they are as babies.
    Scientists have made a connection between perfumes etc used in the first trimester and boys being born with abnormal genitals and / or developing testicular cancer / having a low sperm count as adults. And I don't know whether it is bad luck or what but my mum's hairdresser's son has just had testicular cancer at 28, so who knows if it had anything to do with the chemicals she was exposed to when she was pregnant?
    That said, I do think the main risk is when the dye is touching your scalp - your hair is essentially dead while your skin absorbs some of whatever you put on it....so foils is a far better option than a full head of dye, especially early on in your pregnancy.
    xxxx
  • You'll be fine! my family have been in the Hairdressing Industry for 5 generations and they'll back me up!!.

    I have even had a perm (yes dont laugh but it was 7 years ago!) whilst pregnant! and it didnt go wrong, I've had full head colours (box colours from chemist when I had not got time for hairdressers) and ones done at salons, and i've had highlights done with foils! I've had no problems.

    If your hairdresser seems unconfident to it, then I'd advise changing to someone more experienced. but if she/he is willing and confident just make sure they keep an eye on you with it on - its that simple!, and worth paying for the 'senior colourist' rather than the Junior on these occasions.

    Sometimes hormones can make colours 'take' differently, ie faster or slower (and thats if its your period as well not just pregnancy), so if you normally have heat applied whilst your highlights are being done to help them lift, maybe now you wont need the heat, it all depends - but a good hairdresser will monitor you every five minutes (or less) and be able to say when it needs rinsing off.

    My mum has been colouring her hair all my life and before I was born! with no side effects. Most colouring f+'k ups are because of in-experienced colourists!
    Its impossible to avoid chemicals in our everyday life, even the magazines/papers you read have them on, your new clothes, your food, your products, your house cleaners, your rubber gloves, your cars, the environment, other peoples!, your whole house in fact, lunchboxes, plastic water bottles, cling film, our water, the computer your sitting in front of whilst reading this! its everywhere, whilst its great to limit yourself, you cant lock yourself up! so at least 'get your flipping roots done' and dont feel so guilty!

    Emma xxxxxxx
  • I work in a hairdressing college and these were the first people I spoke to regarding getting highlights and they said it is totally fine. I have also spoken to midwife who said it was fine and I have had my hair highlighted a few times since I have been pregnant and hadnt any problems. Foil is fine because the colour doesnt touch the scalp so it is not being absorbed into the hair follicles and into the blood, I know the hairdressers I work with wont do an all over permanant colour because this does touch the scalp.

    32+3
  • Thanks so much for this ladies, Its very interesting reading. Keep the opinions coming!

    I am just so paranoid because my last pg the baby stopped growing at 4+6, and looking back, on that day I was in the hairdressers, therefore I have linked the two in my head even though I know that something was obviously wrong with the fertilised egg.

    But on the other hand I want to be able to relax and enjoy this pregnancy...I already suffer from terrible guilt if I even have half a cup of tea.
  • Hi Posy

    I completely understand how you feel. After a mc it's so difficult to find a balance - you worry even more about EVERYTHING. I think the important thing is that you feel comfortable with your decision. There's no point going to have your hair highlighted if you're just going to feel guilty and worry about it for weeks afterwards. But equally I understand you wanting to be able to relax and act as you would have if this had been your 1st pregnancy.

    I know what you mean about the tea though except mine was with Coke and Lucozade. I really struggled with drinks until about 16 weeks - first the only thing I could stomach was Lucozade and then Coke. I knew I was nowhere near the 200mg limit of caffeine a day but still worried and felt so guilty!

    Going back to the highlights I personally won't be having them done whilst pregnant. I felt this way when I was pregnant before my 1st mc too so it's not 'extra paranoia' :lol: just that I don't think it's worth the risk. And I do think it's a risk - just because there is little/no research to say that it's dangerous doesn't mean that it isn't, it's just that they haven't done enough tests because it's obviously unethical! And yes, there are lots of chemicals in everyday things too but I try to use unscented and organic or natural products (cosmetics and cleaners) and don't use a huge amount of makeup and don't wear perfume either. No, you can't get away from all chemicals but the way I see it you can do some things to minimise your exposure. And it's fair enough saying that the dye doesn't go on your scalp but what about all those fumes you're breathing in whilst it's being done!? I just wouldn't feel comfortable and would always wonder if something happened.

    Just my opinion though, which I see is in the minority!! :lol:

    Love NN 22+2 xxx

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  • I know lots of people have answered on this topic, but was reading something last night and was reminded of your post - http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/949.aspx
    I have had my highlights updated twice in pregnancy - not within first twelve weeks though. I get them done by a hairdresser, she knows I am pregnant and never goes near the scalp anyway so don't see there should ba a major risk. However, it is also a personal choice.
    Ix
    30+3
  • Ihad my hair highlighted the day I started getting pg symtoms, in fact, my hairdresser and I reackon it's one of teh first things we should've noticed - my hair took really well and I ended up much blonder than she intended! Looked great thoughimage Didn't get a BFP for a full week after that either - spooky!

    I think, if you read right down into it, there are so many things that are 'potential risks' that you'd end up eating and drinking nothing and doing zero just in case. I personally can't beat myself up about everything, there are people who don't know they're pregnant and carry on as normal until they find out really late - now that must lead to shed loads of guilt!
    I had my hair highlighted again when I was 20 weeks, having checked with both the midwife and my hairdresser. There are treatments they won't do if you're pregnant, but they will highlight as it doesn't touch the scalp. My hairdresser does 2 colours for me, and the one that's closer to my natural colour she said she'd put in more of so that my roots blend more easily - that way I don't have to have it done again very quickly.
    There are all-over colours you can buy that are recommended as safe during pregnancy, that might be an option, but it's totally up to you whether to have it done. x x x

    Em 29+5 x x x
  • yeah i dont think its being "vein" wanting to feel as happy and as confortable with your appearance as you can while youre pregnant,after all we all know how down it can make you feel so i say if you wanna get some highlights n feel beautiful then go for it n i agree its not like youre smokin and drinking heavily its just a few highlights!
  • Hey Lil



    I wondered this too, i have highlights put in very often, My SIL does my hair and shes a hairdresser, she says its personal choice really, It was only to do with the fact that your hair quality changes so its possible that the hair dye wont take to the hair like it used to. I have the foils too and like you said they dont touch the scalp, im going to go ahead with it, my hairs a mess. Its getting too greasy at the minute eurgh image



    MPP + Pip (7+2)

    xxx
  • Hey



    I have also avoided it. I have already suffered one mc and I want to do everything I can to make sure this baby is as healthy as possible.



    I know people have done it throughout and been fine, but that doesn't mean it's the same for everyone, for example not everyone that smokes gets cancer. (I know that's an extreme example but what I'm saying is not everyone is affected in the same way no matter how much or little evidence there is).



    For me my baby is worth a lot more to me that than my roots and even feeling good! I would rather be feeling terrible about my appearance than to take something on that hasn't had sufficient testing.



    I understand that other people will feel different about this, and I'd never say that someone is wrong for dying there hair, because there is just as much evidence that it's fine than it's not. But it's not for me. I would perhaps feel different if I hadn't had the mc, but is a fit healthy 22 year old I didn't expect to go through that and this time I'm going out of my way to follow every guideline I see, however restricting it is on my diet/lifestyle.



    Only you can make the decision, you know your body and your baby better than anyone else.



    xx
  • I'm also debating on whether to get highlights. I don't know what these people mean when they say that it doesn't touch the scalp. Of course it does! I do my highlights with foil every 6 weeks. My roots are dark brown at that point. When I leave the salon, there is a mixture of dark and blonde. But, clearly more blonde. So, how did my roots get lighter without the bleach touching the scalp? It had to touch. It's just that the bleach doesn't cover the entire scalp like when you dye your entire hair. But, it still touches the scalp. Inhaling the fumes is also an issue. I asked my doctor if it's safe to get highlights and he said, "Well, nobody knows." There is very limited (if any) research on this so it's going to be a difficult decision. 

  • I personally didn't chance it. 

    I know what people are saying about chemicals being everywhere these days, but I just thought that was all the more reason to avoid them where I could. 

    If you really hate your roots, maybe what you could do is dye the rest of your hair to match the roots, instead of the other way? That would be a once off, and it would touch less of your scalp than dying your roots. 

  • I spoke to my midwife she said no bleach atall  nd mrs chaos is right I had hair bright blonde and dark roots so had dye hair a dark blondebrown 

  • I suffered a mc the day after having highlights (through a cap ones). Was probably a total coincidence but I'm not risking it this time image

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