[Toni]

Fear of anything getting into the bloodstream sends off warnings to us as we know whatever the mother has in her system, she shares it with the baby. As a precaution, mothers are being advised more and more to stay away from perms and hair color since things get absorbed in your skin which are not necessarily harmful to you yet research is warning about birth defects. While I'm uncertain of results, common sense tells us that 'something' is causing birth defects so why take chances?

Besides, your body is a little out of sync when you have those raging hormones going and a lot of times, perms and color would turn out strange or at least uneven anyway. So why jeopardize the baby for a chance at unsatisfactory results? Take care of your (and that child's!!) health first.

So personally, I advise moms-to-be to realize that nine months is not that long to wait. And if they are nursing, I give them the same advice.