During my first pregnancy I was worried about what was permitted and what was forbidden to do, so that I don’t harm the baby. So, I started searching for answers on the internet.
Of course, the person you should consult is your doctor, not me, or your friends or somebody else. My doctor didn’t tell me to avoid nail polishes or herbal hair dyes, but still I wanted to do my own research.
I found out that there are ingredients in the nail polishes which are not really safe not only for your skin, but also for inhaling reasons. And if you paint your nails, then you can’t avoid nail polish remover either.
From the things I read, I realised that the risk wasn’t big, but I decided to make sure I wouldn’t do anything bad, so I didn’t dye my nails at all.
Hair was the biggest issue for me. Although I had tried to keep my natural hair colour, a few days before I got pregnant I went to the hairdresser’s just for a haircut and I decided to have a few red/brown highlights to cover some grey hair. The result was that I ended up with a bright red colour all over my head and yellow highlights. The colour faded soon, but my head was tricolore. So, the biggest doubt for me was if I would tolerate my ugly hair or I would dare to dye my hair.
Although I was allowed to use herbal hair dye, I wasn’t sure that it would be safe. I thought of having highlights as with this process the colour doesn’t go to your skin, but I resisted and decided to stick to my ugly hair. Like that wasn’t enough, I made it worse with a horrible haircut! Never trust a hairdresser who tells you ‘Trust me’!
I felt so jealous when I saw other pregnant women with beautiful hair.
Something else that worried me was the deodorant. Many products we use daily have ingredients which could be dangerous. What I did was to stop wearing deodorant when I knew I would spend most of the day at home or I would work only for a few hours. I think I’m lucky not to sweat a lot. After giving birth I tried not to use deodorant when I was breastfeeding either. It was Summer, so it wasn’t easy, but I tried to have showers when the baby was asleep or when I managed to persuade my mum to hold him for a while. I called her every morning or anyone else who could be available and begged them to come over for a few minutes. It’s so difficult to find a babysitter when you need her. And although you have to accept that your daily routine changes, there are things you can’t change. I want to have a shower when I wake up!
Until I got pregnant I used to wear make up always, every day, no matter what. I wondered if it was safe, but I still wanted to look nice. At the end that wasn’t an issue as I didn’t like myself even with make up on, so I stopped wearing make up all the time. After giving birth I continued not using make up, but the reason was lack of time.
I remember though, that a few days after giving birth my skin looked better than ever and I only wore my black eye pencil to feel that it’s still me.
Hair removals can be also dangerous. So, I tried not to use hair bleaching products or depilatory cream. There are other methods like wax or razor. My silk epil has been my savior, as it’s difficult to shave your legs all the time when you have a huge belly.
Now, being pregnant for the second time things are almost the same. I don’t dye my hair, but this time I had my hair black so it doesn’t look bad. What I don’t like is my grey hair, but now I say I have silver highlights!
I still don’t use nail polish, although I don’t feel it’s really harmful, but I want to be fair and act the same like in my first pregnancy.
I wear deodorant, but these days I’ve been thinking I should avoid it when I stay at home.
And I rarely use make up because I have been used to not wearing make up every day and it saves me time.
I have also said goodbye to my jeans and normal bras. I try to wear clothes which are not tight and elastic bras.
Although I think high heeled shoes should be avoided too, my boots haven’t been completely flat. Now that the weather is better I’ll start wearing ballerinas, flat sandals and flip flops.
Do you think I’m overprotective?