Being pregnant can be one of the most exciting times of a woman’s life, but it also comes with a lot of rules to follow. Pregnant women often find that their daily way of life changes completely during those nine special months, from avoiding certain foods to switching up their beauty routine.

When you suddenly start sharing your body with a tiny, developing baby, you’ll find that you also need to ditch some of the hair products and habits you’ve gotten used to. These are a few hair tips to live by when you’re pregnant, for the safety of you and your baby:

Avoid chemically-enhanced hair dyes if possible
Many women wonder if they can continue dying their hair while pregnant. According to the American Pregnancy Association, research has found that the chemicals in semi-permanent and permanent dyes aren’t as toxic as you might think and are actually safe to use. With that said, most doctors will recommend that you wait until your second trimester to dye your hair, just to be on the safe side.

Go for highlights instead
If you want to be extra cautious and avoid hair dye altogether, there’s one other alternative: highlights. Since highlights don’t affect your scalp, there’s a drastically lower risk of your skin absorbing the dye.

Look at the ingredients list
Most of the shampoos, conditioners, dry shampoos, and other styling products you love are probably safe to use during pregnancy. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check the label and do some research on the ingredients. If it makes you feel more comfortable, ask your doctor about them.

Opt for natural products
Many pregnant women decide to ditch their beauty favorites for all-natural products during pregnancy, and there’s certainly no harm in doing so. Choose hair products that don’t contain as many chemicals or artificial ingredients to err on the safe side.

Reconsider hair straightening treatments
If you usually get keratin treatments or chemically straighten your hair, you may want to rethink getting them done when pregnant. Many of these treatments contain chemicals like ammonium thioglycolate and formaldehyde, which can be absorbed into your skin and could potentially be dangerous for the baby. A lot of pregnant women chose to skip them altogether or wait until their second trimester to get them done.

xx, The FabFitFun Team