Hair perm while pregnant

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Hair perm while pregnant
« on: October 26, 2009, 04:02:11 PM » by 4myhoonie

hi ya'll, i am just wondering how terrible it would be for the baby to get my (really bad scraggly) hair permed. i am 25 weeks, and my hair is broken and falls out more than it should. it just looks so bad i am desperately considering getting a perm. does anyone know if any of the "stuff" would get to or harm the baby in any way? i just don't know if i can put up with this ugly hair, or try to "do" something with it for the next few months. thanks for any info you have.

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2009, 04:39:13 PM » by AndysJess

Yikes...perm chemicals are really strong!! Not only would you be breathing in the fumes, the chemicals will sit on your scalp for quite a while.

Also, I have really weak hair and any time I've permed it, it has fallen out and broken off even more. I would stay as far away from a perm as I could, especially while pregnant.

Just my .02 Wink

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2009, 07:50:10 PM » by 4myhoonie

hmmmm.......i wonder if there is a less chemically version?? Cry

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2009, 08:49:31 PM » by rainygladness

Yikes --I would NOT risk it! You can get always have your hair done in three short months after the baby comes.
I think you'll be glad you did. My sister kept dying her hair red during her first pregnancy. Her baby was born with a permanant skin lesion the sized of a nickel on her face. Sad

Taking every feasible precaution during pregnancy is well worth it. You just never know!

My suggestion: buy a few pretty scarves and wear them over your hair instead. Scarves are pretty stylish nowadays and come in a beauiful array of colors and options for wear.
Congrats on your baby, btw! Cheesy

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2009, 10:25:25 PM » by mommyjen

4myhoonie, congratulations on your baby!! Kiss

Here's Shonda Parkers advice about highlighting. What about some hot curlers instead? I wouldn't do a perm ever, especially during pregnancy! Blech. So toxic. But, I'm about as natural as they come by. Grin

Quote

Hair Highlights

Q. I just wanted to give you a quick update after our last phone conversation, when I called you in a panic over having cramping. I took the Cramp Bark as you recommended, and it stopped within 15 minutes. It returned the next afternoon, and another dosing did the trick again. I've had no cramps since then. Thank you so much!

Also, I've been faithfully taking the Milk Thistle 3 times each day, along with a couple of quarts of lemon water and a steady supply of B6. I've also been sipping a cup of Milk Thistle tea here and there. I'm at 6 weeks come Monday, and no nausea yet.... one little episode of woozies was nipped in the bud with almonds and ginger caps. I figure this coming week is the acid test. I typically start having morning sickness just shy of 5 weeks.

Another thing that seems to help is having a powdered protein drink before bed and first thing in the morning. I am mixing it with Enhanced Rice Dream. Also, Powerbar has a new "Harvest" version of their high protein energy bars, which are also high in B6 and other nutrients. The regular Powerbars are a little gooey for my taste, but these are more like granola bars. They are not too sweet, and have fruit in them -- apples, strawberries, or cherries. They will turn a sinking spell around for me fairly quickly. I buy them at health food stores, but a friend found them at my local supermarket also. They come in foil wrappers so they're good to throw in your bag for emergencies!

The one time I felt HORRENDOUS was after having a big ice cream cone one evening at the mall. I went to bed shaky and achy and woke up feeling completely wiped out -- fatigue, headachy, queasy, the works. I have been avoiding sugar anyway, but that episode underscored your section in the book on hypoglycemia for me. No more sugar for this mama!

By the way, Rachel Green emailed me ecstatic over receiving your book! I had raved to her about it just the day before it arrived! You were so dear to send her a copy. Thank you for taking care of my friend! I am LOVING the book -- wish I had had it 10 years ago! God bless you for all your efforts. Do you also have a book for family herbal care?

Finally, a quick question -- what do you think of hair highlighting during pregnancy? I have my hair foil highlighted about every 8 weeks. It's in bad need of attention right now! The solution does not have much contact with the scalp with foil, for what it's worth.

Grace & peace,
Lynn

A. Lynn, thank you so much for the wonderful review of The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy. I’m glad Rachel is enjoying the book. And most of all, praise God that the cramping stopped, and your little one is growing well inside your womb.

I do have another book on family care entitled “Mommy Diagnostics.” It’s available in local Christian bookstores, Books-a-Million stores and through many mail-order businesses.

Back to your questions. Ladies, here’s where we all get honest (or at least I do). I, too, go in once a year after the summer to get summer highlights “foiled” in. I don’t get in the sun too much due to family melanoma history and a pre-melanoma myself at the early age of 25. Since I’ve been avoiding excessive sun exposure since that time, I choose to artificially add them. I do not do highlighting during pregnancy until after the 20th week after consultation with physicians and chemists regarding the chemicals inhaled during the highlighting procedure (or permanent or temporary colors either at home or in salons). I try to avoid the highlighting altogether, but I have had it done during two pregnancies. Now that some beauty salons carry and use only the Aveda organic and naturally-derived hair and highlight colors, I feel much more comfortable when needing to get some highlights to go over the dark hair that usually grows in during my pregnancies when I’m taking high doses of iron (iron supplementation can and does darken hair color).

Thank you again for the glowing remarks, and grace and peace to you and your family!

« Last Edit: October 26, 2009, 10:30:10 PM by mommyjen »
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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2009, 10:42:58 PM » by Mrs. B

Toxic stuff aside... I would also agree that a perm is much more likely to further damage and break your hair, and that wouldn't fix your problem.
Make sure you're getting enough of vitamins, and maybe, as the weather is getting cooler, do as rainygladness mentioned and wear some scarves or hats.

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2009, 08:16:53 AM » by 4myhoonie

Quote from: rainygladness on October 26, 2009, 08:49:31 PM

thanks, and my daughter has a ton of them i could borrow, but she just "fits" them. they look so pretty on her. i am feeling pretty down on myself right now, and don't think i could pull it off. but ya'll are right, a few months isn't long to wait.

when i have gotten a perm in the past, it was cuz my hair was falling out, etc. and it kept me from running my fingers through it causing more breaking and falling out. that was what i was thinking.i suppose since my health isn't great anyway, it would be more dangerous to him than even for someone else.

i started taking perfect food caplets recently, as all my other supps were giving me major digestive stuff, mostly tons of burping. so IF i'm absorbing them i got the vitamin thing covered. had to quit CLO, b vits, multis, and Flax oil.

thanks for all the advice, i guess i will try to do something other than a perm. my daughter was encouraging me to get one, to make me feel better. i just don't have a lot to work with. it's in bad shape.

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2009, 10:28:49 AM » by womanofsteele

I got a perm when I was preggers with my first. Asked doc and she said it was okay because they don't use the harsh chemicals they used to and most are actually fruit based? Anyway, she said to just be sure to tell my stylist that I was pregnant and to use a gentle formula. My stylist said the perm might not "take" as well or last as long. I was feeling rather desperate too, my formerly thick and wavy hair was totally limp and lifeless! I'll never do it again though cause the perm really took and I ended up with tight poodle curls and it stayed in for such a long time! I'm sure you are not supposed to color your hair though.
Oh, and baby girl was absolutely fine! Completely healthy at birth and ever since and all nurses and visitors commented on how strong and alert she was for a newborn. That is just my experience and I hope you can figure out something that works for you!

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2009, 10:43:53 PM » by rejoicing

Have you stopped using shampoo? This did wonders to revive my hair! Maybe a small change like that could be enought to boost it up a bit?

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2009, 07:37:27 AM » by 4myhoonie

Quote from: rejoicing on October 27, 2009, 10:43:53 PM

Have you stopped using shampoo? This did wonders to revive my hair! Maybe a small change like that could be enought to boost it up a bit?

yup, long ago. just occasionally a mild organic one to get the yuk off. thanks. Cheesy

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2009, 08:53:45 AM » by born-an-okie

Well, I'm experiencing the same problems as you 4myhoonie. My hair has been falling out for months now, and being pregnant now hasn't lessened that. It breaks easily too. It was looking curlier so I tried cutting it shorter in an attempt to tighten up the curl (less dragging down), but that didn't work. I think I just cut all of the curl off. Now I have a bob that looks horrid unless I blow dry it which you know isn't doing my hair any favors. I wash it about twice a week and blow dry it for church on Sunday. I really think my hair issues may be thyroid related as I have plenty of other symptoms of a problem in that area, even though weight gain isn't one of them (with my family, you would have to gain a lot of weight before it would even be noticeable, we are a scrawny bunch). You might try rag curls, they are less damaging to hair and you can roll them as tight or loose as you like. Or you could try cloth headbands. That might keep you from messing with it. Hopefully the next three months will go quickly for you!

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #11 on: October 28, 2009, 11:01:04 AM » by 4myhoonie

Quote from: born-an-okie on October 28, 2009, 08:53:45 AM

sorry to hear you feel the same way, but at least i'm not alone! have you tried anything for your thyroid? i wonder if this can be taken while pregnant?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0017IH1R4/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A1N6ISL486J30M&v=glance

i've thought about trying it on my teen. she says she is losing some hair now, but come spring the last 2 years she has lost gobs and gobs. she is i tears when it is going on. so next time i'm not going to let it get that bad before getting her something!

i had cut all my hair off short at the beginning of summer. can't afford to do that very often, so now it's all grown out and like you said horrid. unless i dry and curl all of it with an iron, and still it's not great! well, best of luck. how many months do you have left?

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2009, 12:59:50 PM » by born-an-okie

I've got six months to go. My grandmother had Graves disease, my mom has hypothyroid, so there is definitely a family history for problems. I was taking this product:
http://www.amazon.com/T-100-60-tablets/dp/B000NCMTDG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1256751486&sr=1-1 I had just started taking it when I experienced some weird problems so I stopped. Then I found out I was pregnant. Now I'm pretty sure that the problems were mostly caused by extreme iron deficiency, not the supplement. I didn't have my iron level tested, but I have had an ongoing problem with it, so I just went ahead and started supplementing to fix the problem. I feel waaay better, but I still feel there is something else going on. I'm leary to try fixing it without really knowing what I'm doing, but I'm also picky about doctors and haven't found one I like since moving last year. Besides, we pay for all medical expenses out of pocket, so I don't go for just any little thing (thanks to WTM as well).

Anyway, all that to say, pregnancy does weird things to my hair, sometimes it gets really curly, but then goes really straight. This time is a little different though. Usually it grows longer and thicker, but falls out a lot after the birth. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is just cut it as short as I can stand. I haven't permed my hair while pregnant, but I do think the chemicals have changed. The last perm I got, 4 years ago, did not last as long, take as well, or smell as awful as my previous experiences. I hope you find something that works for you! Rag curls are kind of a pain to roll, but if it isn't too humid they might last a couple of days!

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2009, 04:39:53 PM » by rainygladness

4myhoonie, I found this info on the web. It refers to hair thinning/loss rather than perm safety as that seems to be the heart of the issue. Wink

It may or may not help, but I found it interesting and worth checking into if you have well water. (We do, and have to use arsenic and iron filters to make ours safe to drink.)

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"There are numerous heavy metals present in well water and you can absorb heavy metals through the skin or through ingestion. There would include thallium, arsenic, mercury, copper, cadmium, or bismuth. A half gram of bundled hairs kept in their normal orientation (tops toward the top) sent to the National Medical Services in Willow Grove, PA can evaluate your hair for arsenic.
A low pH can sometimes cause copper in the pipes to precipitate out into the water and this can result in an accumulation of toxic levels of copper in your system.

You could have your physician work you up for heavy metal exposure. Blood levels, urine levels, and hair levels will generally tell you if you have been exposed to heavy metals. Often times you will have neurological findings or symptoms with heavy metal exposure.

Lab tests in addition to a heavy metal analysis include thyroid function tests, a CBC and ferritin level to evaluate you for iron deficient anemia, a dihydroepiandrosterone level to check you for elevated male hormones, a testosterone level, a FSH and LH. If the work up comes back negative, you could consider a properly performed biopsy. The dermatology department at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta could perform most of this work up.

Heavy metal poisoning produces a characteristic form of anagen hair loss. A dermatologist should be able to assess you for any particular hair shaft abnormalities. Heavy metals were often found in pesticides and herbicides that could have found their way to your well water."

I don't know if this helps or not but it might be worth checking. HTH!

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Re: Hair perm while pregnant
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2009, 09:37:07 PM » by 4myhoonie

wow! that is really interesting. i don't have well water now, but my parents have really nasty well water that i grew up on. we don't drink it when we go there, it's so bad. i will be checking into that. hope you get your thyroid straightened out!

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"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

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