Hair Relaxer During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time when most women are ready to alter their diet and lifestyle, so that no harm is caused to their unborn baby. One of the most common things that women fear during pregnancy is exposing their unborn baby to harmful chemicals and toxic substances. Due to this, they also avoid getting hair treatments as most of the hair treating products are made of chemicals. One such product is the hair relaxer which comes in the form of a cream or lotion. It helps in relaxing curly or wavy hair, thus making it easier for the person to straighten the hair. However, due to the presence of chemicals in it, many experts advise women not to use it when they are pregnant.

Hair Relaxants
Hair relaxants are available in the form of lotions, creams and serums which are applied on curly, unmanageable hair to make them less curly. When this happens, the hair is straightened with the help of regular hair straightening methods. They are made of sodium hydroxide or lye which cause changes in the structure of the hair, thus flattening the curls permanently. It is believed that these chemicals enter the blood stream through the scalp, subsequently reaching the fetus through the placenta. Hence, experts advise pregnant women to avoid the use of these serums during pregnancy. However, there is another set of people who say that no scientific studies have proved the fact that chemicals present in hair relaxing serums can cause harm to the unborn baby. Nevertheless, certain things have to be considered before one goes for a hair treatment during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the blood flow in the body increases to protect and nourish the baby. However, due to this increased blood flow, pregnant women can become extremely sensitive to chemicals. It has been observed that certain women start feeling nauseous and have a headache after using these serums. Another reason why doctors as well as hair experts discourage use of hair relaxants is because they may not be effective on the hair during pregnancy. Many times, when a woman becomes pregnant, the texture of the hair changes, due to which the hair may react differently to the chemicals. For instance, rather than becoming straight, you may end up with frizzy hair.

Precautions
Though there are some potential side effects of indulging in hair relaxing treatments during pregnancy, there are many women who still want to try them because sometimes, curly hair becomes more unmanageable during this time. However, before you use any of these serums, it is important to know about some of the precautionary measures. If you are doing this process at home, choose a natural hair relaxant, i.e. one which is made up of natural ingredients. Another thing that you can do is to apply petroleum jelly on your scalp, so that the chemicals are not able to penetrate your body. Wearing gloves and masks while applying, can also help in protecting your baby from the harmful chemicals in it.

With this information, it can be said that they can be dangerous to the fetus, especially if proper precautions are not taken. So, if you are keen on doing this hair relaxing treatment while you are pregnant, do take the necessary preventive measures to avoid any kind of problems. However, it would be best to avoid indulging in hair relaxing treatments during the first trimester as this is considered to be the most sensitive period during pregnancy. This time is crucial because organ development and rapid cell division occur during this time and even mild exposure to any kind of chemicals may give rise to serious trouble for the fetus.