Can I dye or bleach my hair during pregnancy?

Is it safe to color your hair during pregnancy? Whether you’re going for blonde highlights, purple streaks or turning your locks a deeper shade of auburn, you’ll be glad to know that in most cases, hair coloring (and perms) are considered safe to use during these nine months. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) officially signed off on hair color back in 2001 with this statement:

Historically, physicians advised women against dying their hair while pregnant because it was thought to be potentially harmful to the fetus. However, today it is believed that hair dyes are most likely safe to use during pregnancy since very little is absorbed through the skin. Women should realize, though, that because pregnancy causes a change in hormone levels, the hair color may not come out as expected.

That said, around here, we like to err on the side of caution just a bit. We steered clear of hair colorant for our first trimesters, just because the embryo/fetus is going through the “sensitive period” and some things just aren’t worth the risk — even if the risk is really, really tiny. (And it’s not like we’re models or otherwise in the public eye with some image to maintain.)

Read more on dyeing your hair during pregnancy here (which, despite what ACOG says above, is not dying your hair — unless you’re killing it with a nasty color).