Haircolour & Pregnancy Don't Mix

By Laura Yates on Oct 29, 08 06:16 PM

I don't know if was colouring my hair, or colouring it so soon after giving birth that caused my problems.

I've never been a big believer in old wives tales but maybe I should have listened to the people who told me you can't colour your hair when you're pregnant or breast feeding - or at the very least I should have listened to the hairdressers who told me it wasn't a good idea.

Perhaps it was the sheer amount of shop bought products I smothered on me bonce, but the result was certainly not the glossy locks promised on the boxes of dyes I'd been shovelling on like I was a dam teenager.

Claudia Schiffer I wasn't. (Note it was purely my hair that let me down on this.)

After finally conceding that the more of these potions I was putting on, the more damage it was actually doing I trotted dutifully to the hairdressers and asked them to put it all right.

Unfortunately it's not as easy as that. They took some hair samples and did some hair tests (very scientific) then promptly called me to tell me that my hair had all but fallen apart when they'd tried to lift the layers of colours I'd been experimenting with.

Bleach certainly was not advisable. Apparently hair can become more porous during pregnancy and soon afterwards, changing how it reacts to some products.

The past few months have therefore, been spent using strong shampoos to strip out this orangey/brown with a hint of khaki mess. I'm fairly sure what I'm left with is..is.. (I can barely type this) my... natural hair colour. (bleugh).

The latest strand test has revealed that my hair should now stand up to some highlights, so I'm booked in for Friday. I shall be blonde again!

My lesson is well and truly learnt. I shall listen to every old wives tale I'm told, and if I can't do that I shall at least listen to the experts.