Hair coloring?

What is the current advice and risks related to coloring
one's hair while pregnant?

[Forum-M.D.-DT]

Thank you for visiting the Family Practice Forum.

Essentially the risk to the unborn baby is "negligible". I was unable to find any information through medline search which showed any specific risk to the unborn baby if the mother used hair dye while pregnant.

Numerous hair dye formulations are available on the market. They can be classified into three categories:


1. Temporary rinses that coat the hair shaft
2. Semipermanent which wash off after successive washes
3. Permanent/oxidation dyes

There are not extensive human studies available, but some absorption of the last two category dyes into the circulation have been reported. Some oxidative hair dyes (class 3) are carcinogenic in lab animals, but human studies do not indicate an increased cancer risk.

I hope this helps!