Preventing possible risks | Hair coloring during pregnancy

Preventing possible risks

The topic of hair coloring and pregnancy still unsettles many women.But since expectant mothers also pay attention to their appearance and do not want to give up coloring their hair for months, at least some protective measures should be taken. If an allergy to one or more of the ingredients of the colorants is known, the coloring of the hair during pregnancy must be avoided completely. In the case of a pronounced allergic reaction, this can lead to serious health problems for mother and/or child.

Furthermore, it must be noted that new allergies and hypersensitivities often arise during pregnancy. Women who do not want to do without hair dyeing even during pregnancy should therefore test the dye on a small area of skin approximately 24 hours before application. If in the course of this test redness and/or blisters appear, the product should not be used under any circumstances.

Since the various ingredients of the hair colorants can enter the organism via the scalp as well as via the skin surface, direct skin contact should be avoided as far as possible. For this reason, women who do not want to do without hair coloring during pregnancy should not try it themselves. In order to minimize direct skin contact with the hair dye, hair dyeing during pregnancy should only be done by a trained hairdresser.

In addition, the absorption of potentially harmful substances through the scalp can be influenced by the choice of the coloration process. While the colorant has to be applied directly to the scalp when tinting, bleaching and coloring the entire hair, a certain distance to the scalp surface should be maintained when setting so-called foil strands. In this way, the probability of potentially harmful substances entering the body via the scalp is reduced.

For this reason, women who do not want to give up coloring their hair during pregnancy should switch to foil strands for the time being if possible. If a visit to the hairdresser is not possible and the expectant mother takes over the dyeing of the hair herself, she should always wear suitable gloves. Gloves that are impermeable to the ingredients contained in the hair dye can be purchased in special hairdressing supplies stores.

This also significantly reduces the probability of substances entering the organism via the skin surface of the hands. In addition, the room where hair dyeing is performed must be ventilated both during and after the dye application. Otherwise, large quantities of the chemicals used will enter the body of the expectant mother via the respiratory tract and lungs.

However, the absorption of the chemicals via the respiratory tract cannot be completely avoided even by airing. In addition, women who do not want to give up dyeing their hair during pregnancy should always bear in mind that the exposure time of the hair dye must be kept as short as possible. Also the choice of the used colorants can help to reduce a possible risk for mother and child.

While bleaches in particular have a large number of highly potent chemicals, darker hair colors are considered much gentler. In addition, it can be useful to use certain natural hair dyes during pregnancy.