Swimming Pools & Chlorine = Green Hair

I received a desperate phone call recently from one of my young clients who was experiencing the dreaded  "green hair" syndrome after swimming in a friends swimming pool.  Unknown to the girls, the friends father had just loaded the pool with chemicals and as it turns out the PH was too low.

Her previously pale blonde highlights were now a true seaweed-green!  I recommended a couple of Chlorine and Copper Removal Shampoos (Professional products: Paul Mitchell Shampoo 3, and Nexus Aloe Rid.  Over the counter products include: Swimmers Solution or Ultraswim found at stores like Walgreens). 

I also explained a removal process available in the salon called a Deep Clarifying treatment which gently removes residue such as chlorine, minerals and other impurities. 

Copper; a mineral, that also turns reddish gold metal a pretty oxidized green will also turn swimmers hair the dreaded green tinge. It is a result of an imbalanced of Ph. in the pool. 

Chlorine; even a minute amount of this caustic chemical, used to kill off bacteria and algae , is known to strip the hair of it's natural mantle layer (protective oils) of the hair shaft and the scalp.  With repeated saturation, the chlorine builds up in the hair shaft and leaves behind a tell-tale slimy feeling when wet. 

Chelating shampoos will help remove the chlorine, and green color, along with further removal of the protective natural oils, moisture and shine.

After stripping the hair it will need extra special attention and it's important to include a deep moisturizing conditioning regime to regain the hair's luster and sheen.

Prevention is the best medicine in this case. To avoid chlorine damage, more casual swimmers will tie their hair up and try not to submerge it while swimming. 

Another common preventative is to cover the hair if possible, with a swim cap after saturating your damp hair with a thick, rich conditioner. Coconut Oil works great! The concept is that the hair cannot absorb the copper or the chlorine when it is already fully saturated with an oil based conditioner.

Immediately after swimming in chlorinated water (even Salt Water pools contain high amounts of chlorine) it's always best to wash and rinse your hair thoroughly. The worse thing you can do is bask in the sun, allowing the chlorine to dry in the hair. The sooner you remove it, the better.


The following 'home remedies'  were found on the web:
BAKING SODA
"What works best with my hair to get the green out is to mix baking soda with a swimmers shampoo that is made to get the green out. Then let the mixture sit in your hair for 10 minutes and rinse it out. Make sure to condition afterwards, it kinda dries out your hair."
STYLIST RESPONSE:  Using baking soda on the hair shaft could be damaging if you aren't very careful, although natural it can be abrasive and is highly alkaline.  If you choose to try this, gently massage only the areas that have the green buildup as the baking soda can rough up the hair shaft, breaking off cuticles and therefore result in tangles and breakage. Once the cuticle layer is gone, there is no repairing it.

TOMATO JUICE, SAUCE, SOUP or PASTE
~One way to get the green out is to take tomato juice and pour it in the hair. Let it sit for about 35-45 minutes and then wash it a couple of times to get the tomato juice out. The acid in the tomato juice will neutralize the chlorine.
~We also used TOMATO SOUP, and a shower cap and a 15 min bath. then after time was up too a shower and POOF we are blondes again! Best advice I have ever found! Will keep a stock of tomato paste in the cabinet.

STYLIST RESPONSE: I don't know if this works. My initial thought is that the Red of the tomato might combine with the green and neutralize it by 'browning" out the green.  Red +green=brown.  This would work with the same concept that Purple colorants in shampoo help neutralize the Yellow in gray or white hair. Tomato juice, while natural it is too acidic.

ASPIRIN & WHITE VINEGAR
~The aspirin dissolved in white vinegar worked immediately! 6 aspirin in a bowl of white vinegar. I had my daughter lay on the counter and dip her hair in it. The hair was back to normal in a flash. Follow with normal shampoo routine. I find that wetting the hair & (if possible applying conditioner to the wet hair) before pool use creates a barrier for the hair.
~One of the best ways i found was to crunch 30 aspirin into a cup and add water to make a paste then spread onto hair leave on for about 15 minutes and rinse.
STYLIST RESPONSE: Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid.  Salicylic acid if found in facial exfoliators and gently dissolves away dead skin cells.  If you chose to try this home remedy then I would suggest working on a small section at a time, rinse and see how it looks before proceeding.  Vinegar is an acetic acid solution and has a ph of about 2.4 to 3.4.  (Home remedy for dread locks: Diluted apple cider vinegar can be used to deep clean dreadlocks, removing residue and even beeswax. One method involves spraying a mixture of one part vinegar to four parts water onto the hair, letting it soak in, rinsing with water, and repeating this process as many times as necessary)

PRELL SHAMPOO  or LEMON JUICE
~My stylist said to use Prell Shampoo. It worked wonders and it stripped the green out almost instantly.
~I usually had to go the lemon juice route -- it takes time.
STYLIST RESPONSE:  These are common methods I've heard of.  Prell is an especially low ph (stripping) shampoo meant for greasy hair.  Original Prell (or normal to oily) WITHOUT added conditioner is an inexpensive stripping shampoo that is recommended for the treatment of head lice.  I'd say that is some strong chemical!  There are other similar shampoos that will do the same thing, that is why there are so many 'hair color preserving' shampoos on the market currently.  Lemon juice has a pH of 2.3 to 2.5.  Anything below 3.0 pH over a prolonged period can have adverse effects on the integrity of the hair shaft. A pH of 3.0 - 3.5 is optimal.

  ~LA