When the clothes start getting bigger, the underwear less appealing, and the shoes more functional, you would like to at least find some solace in your crowning glory; but if you’re like more than half of us, you’re crown isn’t so glorious without a little help from your chemical friends. Chances are, you’re not really that blonde, or the sun didn’t just happen to hit those perfect strands that frame your face, or your tongue stud loses its edge when your cherry-red bob turns mousy beige-brown. Something tells you, however, that the fumes which nearly knock you off your feet at the salon or when you’re bent over the sink at home are not exactly aromatherapy for you or your baby – and you’re right. So, are you just to face your mirror to the wall and plan on arriving at delivery with six inches of outgrowth? If martyrdom is your thang, go ahead, but there’s no medal for it.

First off, there have been no conclusive studies attesting to the toxicity of conventional hair dye on a fetus (or on you, for that matter, although many believe a connection is to be found between high levels of PPD – the chemical that makes color permanent - and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma); if this is enough to set your mind at ease, by all means rock on with your Clairol or L’oreal, but allow for as much ventilation as you can fan in and out! Anything that causes you to lose your breath or that makes the lining of your throat tingle (other than a peppermint) is not doing your fetus any favors. Also, be aware that the chemicals in mainstream hair dye are absorbed through the scalp and can be detected in urine, which proves that benign or otherwise they have access to your body systems. The really good news is that most have a hair type or color that can still be achieved by stepping down the chemical exposure a bit. A few don’t and may have to change their game plan for a few months.

FIRST, A NOTE TO DEVOTEES OF THE ELLE WOODS BLONDEST BLONDE

If your ideal color happens to be more than two shades lighter than what your maker gave you and you refuse to compromise a full head of perfect Barbie goodness, the hard stuff may be your only option. There are no all-natural or mostly-non-toxic preparations that can lift color more than two levels unless you’re one of the people I’ve never met who can actually get a noticeable lightening from lemon juice, chamomile tea and sunlight. If you are, I suspect you already fall in the Nordic tilt of the blonde spectrum anyway. The good news is that even the most cautious doctors will advise that you avoid bleaching only for the first trimester while the fetus is doing the bulk of its neurological growth.

Fortunately for you, the most socially acceptable root-showing look is dark outgrowth on blonde – it’s practically iconic! Three months of roots translates to about an inch and a half, which really isn’t that strange looking. If you can wrap your head around this (that was almost a pun) as a deliberate style and embrace your inner Brigitte Bardot or Edie Sedgewick, I say muss up your part a bit, go a little heavier on the eyeliner and go all sultry. Experiment with wide headbands and low ponytails that require no part at all. The other option is to jump ship to the more attainable, natural-looking…

CARAMELLY STREAKY BLONDE (actually, this method is for anyone, blonde through brunette, who typically colors their hair more than two shades lighter than their natural roots)

This is a blonde with more depth, thanks to adding some very light brown lowlights that blend the root color in with the goldilocks. And, since you’ll be essentially eliminating a line of demarcation at your part, you can go several weeks and thus wait out the first trimester before deciding to just touch up the lighter areas or to go back to your former self. Choosing from one of the semi-permanent brands listed below, buy a shade one level lighter than your roots and a shade in between that and your lightest pieces. If you plan to do this yourself (I kind of don’t advise this – there are too many ways you can mess this up!), buy one of those dorky highlighter caps that you hook your chosen strands through so you come out relatively even. Err on the conservative side – you can always add more dark pieces later, but you can’t really lighten what you’ve already colored. Mix the two shades separately, and in a third bowl, combine some of each so you have three tones to work with. Concentrate more of the darkest shade on the top strands that are nearest to your visible part and root line, and go progressively lighter toward the pieces at the bottom. Don’t do any of this too precisely, though, or it’ll look really fake.

GOING LIGHT TO DARK OR LIGHT TO RED

Well aren’t you lucky? You have the easiest way to go - just choose from one of the semi-permanent brands below in one shade lighter than you anticipate your hair turning out and presto!

ARE YOU, UM, SKUNKY?

Prematurely gray and pregnant – a fun combo! I started going gray in high school and began coloring at 22; judging by the white stripe that emerges every few weeks, I have maybe seven dark hairs left. Semi-permanent won’t cover the gray (I don’t consider light rust or pink “natural-looking highlights”) but conventional permanent dye is downright toxic. I tried lots of things to get through the first trimester (see next section), and finally found and fell in love with Herbavita’s Herbatint line. It contains a very low amount of PPD, no other harsh chemicals, is fumeless and leaves hair lustrous. Jane Leeves (Daphne from “Frasier”) is another prematurely gray girl who turned to Herbatint when she was pregnant, and her hair is gorgeous! Pick one shade lighter than you anticipate it turning out.

NOW, EVERYBODY – WHAT NOT TO DO

Okay, so there are some great-on-paper-horrific-in-practice ways to go about maintaining our chosen hue without conventional permanent dye:

Highlighter mascaras If you have visions of being able to simply paint on your sunshine, you will be dismayed by the reality of clumped metallic stripes. And, unless you have a short, tufty do that you already use a lot of product in, like wax, this stuff will make your hair all gummy and if you mistakenly run your fingers through it (or your husband tries to) you’ll end up with gunk all over your nails. Leave this kind of silliness to the 12 year olds along with the Dr. Pepper Bonne Bell lip-gloss.

Color-depositing shampoo This is only an alternative for those looking to temporarily counteract some slight oxidation (brassiness) on their ends. Expecting anything more transforming than that is a recipe for disappointment. Just like with the mascara, you can expect to ruin your manicure and this has the added bonus of killing your towels.

Colormark touch-up So many women with white roots swear by this little wand of brush-on, leave-in quick-fix in between coloring sessions – especially for those really resistant grays at the temples – so I must be cosmetically-challenged, because every time I tried to get the little pesky ones at my forehead, I ended up tattooing myself and looking like Eddie Munster. Plus, when I’d use it on my part, it would again leech onto my skin and make it look like I as wearing a wig because there was no visible scalp.

Touch-up crayons If you can’t already visualize the mess this must make, let me help: remember those never-worked-on-paper-but-stained-your-hands colored pencils that you were supposed to wet and then transform your drawings into watercolor paintings? Well think of just how much more of a sludgy, colors- everything-but-what-you’re-actually-meaning-to mess that would be if instead of pencils, you were using something the consistency of an oil pastel. Unwieldy, gloppy, ugly and sad.

Spray-on temporary color Best left for the Halloween party, it’s very fake-looking, turns your hair into the texture of cotton candy, renders your head untouchable – seriously, it will get all over your hands, once you figure out how to dislodge them from your confectionary helmet – and runs down your face if you sweat (if you’re pregnant, this is likely an issue), get caught in the rain or get sunscreen too close to your hairline. Really, the stuff is only ideal for an Elsa Lancaster “Bride of Frankenstein” moment.

THE BEST SEMI-PERMANENT OPTIONS

Herbavita Vegetal Hair Color

Cassia Natural Semi-Permanent Color

Surya Henna Cream Semi-Permanent Color(this one contains NO TOXIC anything – not even PPD; but finding the right shade combo is tricky – I had to mix Chocolate with Light Brown to get a medium brown that didn’t glow magenta in the sunlight)

THE BEST PERMANENT OPTIONS

Herbavita Herbatint hair color

Naturtint Permanent Hair Color

Tints of Nature hair color