Sunday, September 25, 2011

Chocolate and Hair Dye

What are your thoughts on dying your hair during pregnancy? And what about eating chocolate? I have been avoiding chocolate because it has caffeine in it, and I have completely cut out caffeine since before transfer. I know it's okay to some caffeine in the day, but I don't want to risk it. So does that mean I shouldn't eat chocolate chip cookies? Or chocolate ice cream?

Also, I was blond until I was about 5 and then it turned dirty blonde. So I have been dying my hair blonde since early high school. I've been avoiding doing my roots because I'm scared it will hurt the baby! I've read online that it's okay, but I don't know. If I let my hair grow out it's going to be half black half yellow! Of course, Ill do anything to keep the baby safe, but what do you think, can I do my roots? Should I wait until a few more weeks for the second trimester? Or should I invest in a lot of hats? And just to let you know, most of time I don't look good in hats :)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

My hair lady always says highlights/low lights are okay bc the dye doesn't touch the scalp. I've also heard after the first trimester dying the hair is okay.

Samantha said...

I put a hold on my highlights until the second trimester, and then continued with them as normal (once every 8 weeks). If you do it, make sure you're in a well ventilated area.

As for food, I avoided the major pregnancy no-nos like soft cheese but I had a pretty crappy diet. I couldn't stomach anything but carbs for the first trimester, and the rest of the time I really craved junk food. I tried to force the good stuff while also giving in to my cravings for hamburgers. I'm not a coffee drinker but would occasionally hace caffeinated soft drinks.

You just have to do what you're comfortable with.

beauty and insanity wrapped into one said...

i heard the same thing & followed the same rules, highlights were fine because it wasnt on the scalp. and they even said dying your hair from dity blonde to blode was fine, its when you have black hair & have to bleach it to blonde is not so good cause its sitting on your scalp for a long time... dr never said anything about chocolate, it was more like tru to stay away from non-decaf coffee, unpasturized cheeses, booze, smoking & raw fish!!.. pretty easy to do!!! xoxox

BeckyT said...

I never dyed my hair at all in pregnancy. The chemicals are NOT harmful to baby but it has been proven that hormonal/chemical imbalances in the body can change the final look so it may not come out as you expect in some cases.

As for food, a little of most things will be ok as long you do avoid things most likely to cause a stomach upset. Ie undercooked meats/fish. Soft/blue cheeses and soft whippy style ice cream (all 3 due to not being fully pasteurised) and caffiene isn't that bad as far as I am aware. Too much caffiene is not good for anyone but a little here and there doesnt hurt. That goes for tea, coffee, chocolate and fizzy drinks.

Having a baby is a wonderful wonderful experience but you need treat yourself occassionally too and don't be too hard on yourself if you do crave into coffee/chocolate.

babycenter.com is full of good advice, I would certainly reccomend a good browse to any mom to be.

RMCarter said...

I have the same dirty blonde hair issue. I had mine highlighted after the first trimester using foils where the stuff never touches the scalp.

I eat chocolate just about every day and I feel okay about it. I also have a small Dr Pepper once every couple weeks when I really crave one. I think that is okay for me. But ultimately it's your decision and you need to do what you feel comfortable with. :)

L said...

I would ask your doctor about the hair dye. I also only get my hair highlighted. My doctor said that she doesn't tell people that they can't do it, but doesn't recommend it either. She said if I wanted to do it, I could once in the second trimester and once in the third. I decided just to skip it since I could live with how my hair looks without coloring it.

I didn't cut out chocolate though :) I don't eat a lot of it, just a little here and there.

Jill Dorsey || Made with Moxie said...

Let's start with the fact that you have a pretty sweet new hat to wear soon now that summer is wrapping up. :p Hair dye is ok so long as you don't eat it or stick it up your hooha. (don't try to make the carpet match the drapes) I also drznk caffiene (and ate the occasional lunch meat, hotdog, and heck even had raw tuna sushi and a beer) I was plagues with such cravings during my pregnancies it was hard not too. Ugh, I ate like a stoner and gained 45 pounds with each kid. But hey when you're pregnant you gey away with that kind of stuff. It's all about moderation with the "bad" stuff. I know you want to be super careful. I was the same way after losing our Sprinkle, but you'll get past the nausea and move on to crazy cravings. One beer doesn't give yoir baby fetal alcohol syndrome. One tuna sushi won't give her mercuru poisioning. Be good, but don't beat yourself up if you just have to have something. Ok, lay off the crack akn other hardcore drugs cold turkey, but do enjoy your pregnancy! Because after he's born it's not really acceptable to eat half the package or Oreos in one sitting anymore. Or at least it's not cute. ;p Also don't freak out about how much weight you gain. You'll get rid of a bunch at birth, and only the last 10 to 15 takes work. Or you cojld jusy rock some sweet mom jeans, because hey, you'll be a MOM! :) ps- I'm still really excited for you if you can't tell.

ADSchill said...

Go for the Chocolate! I occasionally drink one can of regular pop but I think that there is VERY little caffeine in chocolate. No worries there!

I waited until 12 weeks to do my dye, but my stylist said that highlights should be fine the whole time since you get very little bleach/dye on your scalp with a foil.

Faith said...

I have also heard that highlights are just fine. And chocolate is no biggie! Just do it! Coke even calmed my nausea in my first tri so I sometimes had a coke for that. And I also drank 1 cup of half caf coffee in the morning. In moderation, caffeine is ok - all the research focuses on excess amounts of caffeine - like over 3 cups of coffee. Chocolate isn't going to get you there!

manymanymoons said...

Dye that hair girl! I mean for heavens sake, we've already given up so much because of infertility. Your hair shouldn't have to suffer too! :)

Jos said...

Highlights are fine b/c the dye doesn't sit and absorb into your scalp. I don't know about a full day or painting just your roots... maybe a heavy highlight can blend in your roots for the duration of the pregnancy?

Eating chocolate should be fine - the avg cup of coffee has 110+ mg of caffeine (and I guess you're allowed 1 cup/day while pregnant? I dunno, I'm not a coffee drinker), but check this out:

Caffeine in Chocolate
Dark Chocolate (1 oz) - 20 mg
Milk Chocolate (1 oz) - 6 mg
Chocolate Milk (8 oz) - 4 mg
White Chocolate (1 oz) - 0 mg
Yoo-Hoo (8 oz) - 0 mg

Also, if you're a soft cheese eater like me, check the labels - every soft cheese I was eating pre-pregnancy I am STILL eating. Most cheeses sold in the US are made of pasteurized milk nowdays, so they ARE safe during pregnancy and the blanket recommendations to avoid them no longer apply.

Jenny said...

I worried like you...stay away from Dr. Google!!!
I didn't dye my hair until I was in the third trimester and I used a new type of dye that has less chemicals/amonia. As someone else mentioned the hormones in your body can change the outcome...and the fumes are more of a danger than anything.
As for chocolate I avoided it in the first trimester but after that I gave in...chocolate milk was a nice choice cause I'd get my fix without feeling too guilty :)

Most stuff is fine but if you are going to be freaking out and worrying about it constantly after you do it then it's not worth it...the stress you put on yourself is worse than anything else.

Marissa said...

At some point in one of my IVF cycles, I did the math on mg of caffeine in oz of chocolate and how much was safe to eat.

Can't remember the exact answer, but it was more than even I wanted to eat per day. ;)

Unless you have high BP, I really wouldn't worry about it.

Jess said...

Hairstylist here :) I have had many, many pregnant clients that normally color their hair. The consensus seems to be what everyone has already said, most have stuck to highlighting with foils if they were worried. Some grey gals still colored the whole way through, some waited until they were in their second trimester. I have also worked with pregnant stylists that have worked with haircolor the entire pregnancy and I know none that have had problems with fumes, etc. Its totally about what you're ok with. :)