My hairdresser could tell I was pregnant by looking at my hair

“I was shocked because a secret that only my partner had known, was outed,” the woman tells Kidspot. 

When *Sasha went to have her regular six-week haircut, her hairdresser made an unexpected and revealing observation just by looking at her hair. 

“Going into my hair appointment, I was beyond excited to get some alone and self-care time away from my responsibilities AKA my toddler but instead, I was left absolutely gobsmacked with a question my hairdresser, *Lisa asked me,” she tells Kidspot.

“I wasn’t shocked because the question was offensive or hurtful, I was shocked because in one question, which was really more of a statement, a secret that only my partner had known, was outed,” she says.

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Image: iStock

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"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Sasha explains that as her hairdresser, Lisa began her usual process – taking Sasha’s hair out of its “mum bun” and getting it ready for a wash, she then started to lean in as if looking closely at something.

“Lisa was tousling her hair in my hands asking me how I was doing like normal and then it was like she saw something out of the ordinary. She then interrupted me, asking whether I had something to tell her,” Sasha says.

Absolutely unaware of what Lisa was alluding to, Sasha says she just looked at her hairdresser in the mirror, confused.

“Then she started grinning at me and said, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Sasha says. 

“And the truth was, Lisa was right, I was pregnant, but I hadn’t told anyone other than my partner the news yet and it was still early on at the time, so I had absolutely no idea how she knew. I honestly thought she must be psychic or something.” 

While Sasha says she could have denied it, she ultimately wasn’t concerned that her long-time hairdresser would reveal the news to anyone else, so she confirmed that her assumption was correct, that she was indeed pregnant.

“Once I told her she was right my first question was how on earth did you know? Which is when she told me that it was all in my hair,” says Sasha.

Lisa explained that she observed a line or band in Sasha’s hair where the newer hair growth was visibly lighter than the older hair. And this colour change, she said was all to do with pregnancy hormones.

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An increase in melanin causes changes in hair colour

So is this actually a thing? Yes!

In a viral article, Birth Doula Monique Cowan told Romper that pregnancy can change your hair colour.

 "The hormones and chemicals in your body are doing all sorts of craziness in you during pregnancy, so your hair, skin, and even your eyes can develop an increase in melanin," she explains. 

And for some women, like Sasha, this change in melanin can alter their natural hair colour, causing these distinct bands.

Website Baby Gaga reports that, “An increase in melanin causes changes in hair colour. The hair can either become darker or lighter. Brunettes have reported having blonde hair while blondes have changed to brown or brunette. The colour changes can either be temporary or permanent.”

And an online hair salon community, Behind the Chair, also shared examples of these hormonal lines via a 2021 Facebook post that highlights one of the most extreme cases they had come across.

Image: BehindTheChair.com

“Fun fact: I can usually tell how old your baby is depending on where this band is at…Pregnancy does funny things to our bodies, and our hair is definitely not excluded from these interesting changes,” the caption says.

Alongside the post is a photo of the visible line, showing how much lighter the newer hair growth is.

"My hair was at least two shades darker during pregnancy"

Below this, in the comments, other hairdressers and clients also share their own experience with hair changes during pregnancy, which not only include other colour lines, or other colour changes in hair, but changes in hair texture, hair growth and loss and even greying. 

“Omg yes, this happened to me!!! My hair was at least two whole shades darker during my second pregnancy. Didn’t, happen during my first. I was very surprised,” comments Jacinta Heffernan. 

“Straight hair my whole life. Could just blow dry it and it was stick straight. First pregnancy I had curls all through the pregnancy then they disappear after. Second pregnancy, my hair stayed straight during and then after turned curly after and has been curly/wavy ever since,” commented Amy Letts DeLozier.

And according to Cowan, "For some women, the change can be permanent.” 

While Sasha isn’t so keen on her lighter locks and hopes that they change back once she has given birth to her second child, she says, “As long as I don’t go grey, I will be happy.”

*Names withheld for privacy

For further information on hair dye during pregnancy, ask your pregnancy health advisor.

This story was updated in October 2023.

Originally published as My hairdresser could tell I was pregnant by looking at my hair