Can I Dye My Hair While Breastfeeding

If this is your first time having a child, there are lots of things that you might consider problems, but in reality, they are not. Facing issues like itchy breasts or excessive hunger are common. However, you must avoid anything that mixes with your breastmilk since your baby only gets food via breastmilk. Fashion won’t affect your breast milk, and it might arise a question, can I dye my hair while breastfeeding?

A straightforward answer to this question is, yes, you can dye your hair while breastfeeding. The hair color won’t go inside your skin or mix with your blood, so it is safe to dye your hair. However, if the hair color has high doses of the chemical, it might cause some issues.

On the other hand, if you want 100% safety, it is better to dye your hair after 12 weeks. Until then, take care of your child and your health, so even if you use a high dose of chemical-based hair color, it won’t affect your health.

While it might sound weird that hair color can cause body issues but in postpartum or breastfeeding, there are no guarantees that it might not. However, there has been no known case of hair color causing any problems.

On the other hand, despite its safety, it is better to take precautions while dying your hair as you might have to breastfeed your baby during that time. The smell of hair color can irritate the baby, plus if the color is still wet, the chances are it might affect your baby.

Precautions While Dying Hair During Breastfeeding

Here are some precautions you must take while breastfeeding after dying your hair

Keep the Hair Color Away From the Baby

A Baby’s skin is sensitive, and if your hair color has strong chemicals, it can affect the baby’s skin. It would be much better to cover your baby while breastfeeding and have a fan close to you so the smell won’t irritate the baby. You don’t want them to cry because of the smell; they might not drink any milk and cry even more because of hunger.

This might be the biggest and most common issue you’ll face while hair coloring during breastfeeding. Babies are fragile and can’t withstand anything undesirable; the best they can do is cry and won’t stop until they are comfortable.

Opt For Temporary Hair Dyers

Temporary hair dye has two benefits: it won’t enter the bloodstream, and it is easy to take off and is not as smelly as others. Permanent hair dyes can get inside the skin; thus enter your bloodstream. One reason why most people experience weird side effects after using cheap hair color.

Choose Softer Colors

Pick a lighter or softer color, as darker colors have more color-fixing compounds, which might be harmful. On the other hand, babies love to play with light colors so that they might be more comfortable around because of your light hair color. Moreover, lighter colors won’t take much time to dry; some even get dried within an hour. This option is much better as you can dye while your baby sleeps.

Ignore Hair Color With Harmful Ingredients

Every hair color has a label on the back with the ingredients list. Typically, a soft hair color won’t have a huge list, but a hair color with dark tones must have many ingredients. On ther other hand, permanent hair dyes also have many ingredients, some of which are potentially harmful. So, if you want a permanent hair color, it is better to check the list and avoid purchasing if it has these ingredients.

• Aromatic amino compounds
• Naphthylamine
• Phenylenediamines
• Toluene
• Ammonia
• Silver
• Mercury
• Arsenic
• Lead
• Bismuth
• Pyrogallol
• Alcohol and its compounds

Test the Hair Color

Some vendors allow you to color a small portion of your hair to see if it suits you or not. You can also try the same test at home; instead of coloring all the hair, just color a single strand and a small patch of the scalp to see how it goes.

Hair dye allergy is common, and permanent hair colors are most likely to cause it. If applying on a small patch brings no adverse side effects, you can confidently use it as you like.

Potential Side Effects of Dying Hair During Breastfeeding

You can face some or all of these side effects if you opt for dying hair during breastfeeding. However, it is unsure whether these side effects will affect your breast milk.

• Local skin redness
• Itchiness
• Split ends
• Loss of hair’s luster
• Scaling of the scalp
• Hair dryness
• Loss of hair
• Premature hair graying
• Slow hair growth

Alternatives To Hair Dyes

If you cannot use a hair color during breastfeeding, it doesn’t mean you cannot dye your hair. You can use many safe and natural alternatives to dye your hair without any trouble. Here are some other options you can use to dye your hair; make sure to check the videos online to get a better idea of how to apply them.

• Beetroot juice for violet
• Coffee extracts for deep brown
• Carrot juice for orange
• Black plum paste for purple
• Sage for light brown
• Chamomile tea for yellow
• Henna for red

Since these alternatives don’t have chemicals, you might need to add lots of quantity to get a solid color. Plus, they are quick to dry, so you can easily apply them after a breastfeeding session. The baby might take a nap for hours before asking for food again; during that time, you can apply and dry the hair color. This might not be a permanent solution, but for the first 12 weeks, you must keep the baby away from any harm.

Final Words

Can I dye my hair while breastfeeding? Yes, you can, but with precautions. Don’t use a deep and permanent hair dye; instead, opt for light colors and soft hair dye to avoid any issues. On the other hand, you can use organic alternatives to color your hair until your baby is old enough to withstand the hair color smell.