Hair Treatments and
Pregnancy
Any woman who gets pregnant has a 3 - 5% chance of
having a baby with a birth defect. The information
below will help you to determine if your use of hair
treatments during pregnancy increases your risk
above this background risk. This information should
not be used as a substitute for thè medicai care and
advice of your health care provider.
What are thè different types ofhair treatments?
Hair treatments include hair coloring, hair curling
(permanents), hair bleaching, and hair straightening
(relaxers) agents. Hair coloring procedures are
divided into several groups determined by thè length
of rime thè color stays in thè hair. These
categories include temporary dyes, semi-permanent
dyes, and permanent dyes. Permanent dyes have
received thè most attention, and they include a
variety of chemicals. Hair curling or permanent
waves are produced by placing two solutions in thè
hair. The first solution is a waving fluid and thè
second is a fixation or neutralization solution.
Hair bleaching involves thè use of hydrogen
peroxide, and hair straighteners or hair relaxers
involve a variety of chemicals.
The amount of an exposure, thè timing during thè
pregnancy and frequency of use may be important
factors when thinking about hair treatments in
pregnancy. Since many different chemicals are used
and manufacturers frequently change formulations,
these generai guidelines are offered based upon
small doses, animai data and limited data in
pregnant women. Cosmetic products are frequently
used, but are not generally evaluated for effects on
pregnancy.
Do I absorb hair coloring/dye through my skin ?
Low levels of hair dye can be absorbed through thè
skin after application, and thè dye is excreted into
thè urine. This minimal amount is not thought to be
enough to cause a problem for thè baby.
Before I was pregnant, I had my hair dyed every
couple of months. Is this safe now that I am
pregnant?
There are very few studies of hair dye use during
human pregnancy. In animai studies, at doses 100
times higher than what would normally be used in
human application, no significant changes were seen
in fetal development. We know that only a small
amount of any product applied to your scalp is
actually absorbed into your System and therefore,
little would be available to get to thè developing
baby. In addition, many women have dyed their hair
during pregnancy with no known reports of negative
outcomes. This information, in combination with thè
minimal absorption through thè skin makes hair
treatment in pregnancy unlikely to be of concern.
/ would like to have my hair permed and am currently
in thè first trimester of my pregnancy. Is there any
risk for birth defects or miscarriage?
Similar to hair dyes, there is limited information
available for thè safety of hair permanents in
pregnancy. The fixation solution used during thè
application of thè permanent may irritate thè scalp,
but this has not been associated with any other
effects in thè body. Very little absorption is
likely to occur and it does not seem to cause
effects in other parts of thè body.
/ have my hair straightened every two months. Can I
continue this into pregnancy?
A study in humans examined thè use of hair
straighteners during pregnancy. The use of these
products was not found to increase thè chance of low
birth weight or preterm delivery. The study did not
address thè chance of other abnormal outcomes (such
as birth defects). Again, it is likely that only a
small amount of hair straightening products are
actually absorbed into your System, so thè
developing baby would only be exposed to small
amounts.
/ work full tìnte as a cosmetologist and recently
became pregnant Should I stop working until thè baby
is born?
A large study looked at thè risk of miscarriage in
cosmetologists. A slightly increased risk of
miscarriage was found for cosmetologists who had
specific work activities. Activities that seemed to
contribute to thè slightly increased risk included
working more than 40 hours per week, standing more
than 8 hours per day, higher numbers of bleaches and
permanents applied per week, and working in salons
where nail sculpturing was performed. Part time
cosmetologists (less than 35 hours per week) did not
seem to have an increased risk of miscarriage during
pregnancy.
In another study, miscarriage rates among
hairdressers were reviewed, and newer data was
compared to older data.
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