Do you worry about coloring your hair if you are breastfeeding?

[mra]

I seriously need a haircut and color. Do you worry about the chemicals in hair dye if you are breastfeeding? I read a few articles about the chemicals getting into your body and breastmilk.

I didn't color my hair during pregnancy until about 8 months and then I only got highlights and asked my hairdresser to not let the dye actually touch my scalp.

I wouldn't even worry about the color, but I'm in a  wedding in May and I don't want my hair to look like crap.

I'm super careful about all the products I use for home and body, but coloring my hair is the one thing I let myself indulge in even though it isn't really good for you.

[bird_verde]

I am like you - extra careful about all the other soaps, lotions, foods etc. that my family puts in and on their body but I have to give in to professional hair color once in a while.  I don't color during pregnancy (not only because of the chemical contact but also because the smell would make me vomit) but I do color while breastfeeding.  However, I only do it when absolutely necessary (translates to I can't stand the gray roots anymore) about twice a year.  In between, I wear scarves and large headbands to help hide the roots.  I know it is probably better to just not get the color but I haven't found anything natural that produces the desired results.  I have pretty thick and longiish hair.  It gets noticed and it is one vanity that I just can't give up (i've given up sooo many others since I had kids).

[evabea]

There are a couple of salons here that offer 'organic' and supposedly non-toxic hair coloring. I'm thinking of going this route, lack of care and hair loss around 4 months have left me looking pretty scrungy. 

[Knitting Mama]

I've been coloring with regular at home dye. But, if you're not lightening your hair at all and just changing the color to go darker or to add red, you can use a combination of henna, indigo and a few other herbs to get basically any color (as long as it's not lighter than your current color) you want. 100% body art quality (BAQ) henna can be done as often as you want, doesn't contain any weird metallic salts or anything, and can be dyed over with regular hair dye. When I was still going red (trying to get closer to my natural color now) I bought henna bundles from www.mehandi.com. Their site is kinda funky to navigate, so if you're interested and know what color you want to achieve, I can help you find the bundle that works for you.

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

I highlighted my hair once while pregnant and colored my hair (single color - couldn't keep up with highlights anymore) back to my natural when I was about 4m PP.  I didn't worry about it because I did it so infrequently and there are far more chemicals that we are all exposed to every day.

[dejagerw]

FYI

http://www.llli.org/faq/hair.html