Can you Bleach Your Hair While Pregnant? [Solved!]

If you’ve ever bleached your hair, you’ll know it’s not a gentle process. It can make your eyes water, make your scalp feel like it’s on fire, and ruin any piece of clothing it touches.

It begs the question then, can you bleach your hair while pregnant? Yes, you can! Currently, there’s no solid evidence that bleaching your hair is harmful to you or your baby at any point during pregnancy, but to be extra cautious you may want to play it safe and delay any bleaching or lightening until after the first trimester of pregnancy when the most crucial fetal development is happening.

What Chemicals are in Hair Bleaching Products?

Hair bleaching products contain dilute hydrogen peroxide mixed with ammonium hydroxide. The bleaching effect happens when the ammonium hydroxide reacts with hydrogen peroxide.

It’s believed hydrogen peroxide is unlikely to harm your baby because it’s rapidly broken down, meaning that only a tiny amount gets into your body through the scalp.

Ammonium hydroxide is a mixture of ammonia and water. Though it sounds intense, it’s actually a commonly occurring chemical that is used in many household cleaning products.

What About Facial Bleach?

For some women, like myself, the hair on your head may not be the only stuff you want to bleach. But is facial bleach safe in pregnancy? What about bleaching body hair while pregnant? Thankfully, yes, there’s also no evidence to say that bleaching facial or other body hair during pregnancy poses a severe risk to you or your unborn baby.

With that said, it’s important here to differentiate between facial hair bleaching and skin lightening products.

What About Skin Lightening/Bleaching Products?

Skin lightening products can pose a significant risk to both the mother and fetus if used during pregnancy. In fact, many skin-lightening creams aren’t even safe for you while not pregnant. The FDA states that over-the-counter (OTC) skin bleaching products are not recognized as safe and effective. Skin lightening creams were deemed not safe for human use based on a review of evidence.

Skin-lightning products sold in both the UK and Canada have also been flagged as dangerous and health organizations there say not to use them as well.

All in all, if they aren’t safe for you during normal use, they definitely aren’t safe during pregnancy when your skin is highly sensitive and your baby can also be harmed.