Will my hair turn green or something if I go swimming?

Question

A few weeks ago I got my hair professionally bleached blonde will it turn green from the chlorine if I go swimming ? And I really don't want to wear a swimming cap!

Answer 1

It depends on what kind of chlorine is used in the pool, mine used to when I was a little kid, but then we switched to a different chlorine and it hasn't turned green in over 10 years.

Answer 2

If your hair is blonde it might. It depends on how much chlorine. Also if you go from the cold pool to the warm hot tub quickly there's a chance. Just wash your hair after you swim. You can also use a clarifying shampoo to help it from drying out and get out the extra chlorine that regular shampoos can't. You should also wear a protecting spray since you just bleached your hair. Paul Mitchell has a good one. It's white with orange writing and I'm pretty sure it's called UV spray. It helps not make your hair color fade away in the sun.

Answer 3

If you hair is chemically altered, yes, it very well can turn green. My daughters did and it was a disaster. There are special swimmers shampoos & conditioners you can buy at salons or beauty supply stores that should help prevent that. They are formulated to take the chlorine out of the hair shaft. You should use them immediately after swimming and the directions say you can use the conditioner before you even get in the pool to help protect it. We haven't done that, but it is better than a cap if you are worried about it. Do you have a 'Sally Beauty Supply' where you are? That is where we get the 'Ion' brand swimmers products.

Answer 4

It has nothing to do with chlorine. The offender is… copper.

A series of events must occur before hair, or anything else in the pool, can turn green. The water must be allowed to become aggressive; it must dissolve some metallic copper, it must have sulfates in it, then – high pH conditions must prevail (values above pH 8.3) to precipitate the stuff that the water had previously dissolved. This last step can happen in the water itself, on the plaster or… in the hair!

Green hair color cannot manifest itself without copper in the water, then in the hair – yet neither should be the case in a well-managed pool. Copper simply shouldn't be in your pool.

Copper pipes and bronze impellers contribute along with the heater's internal elements. Since pH is by far the most influential variable in the CSI, one could safely say that temporary low pH – caused by acidic sanitizers or by excessive pH correction with acid – is the primary "cause" for this aggressive water. Such water achieves this fulfillment by taking on every metal and mineral in its environment, and that includes generous portions of the pool-system's copper.

Everybody's hair absorbs this copper-bearing water. Yes, the black-, brown- and red-headed kids as well as the blonds take on this still invisible dissolved metal. Then the second influence finishes the job: they shampoo. As all normal shampoos have high pH values, the dreaded precipitation occurs. Visible copper appears, providing that lovely shade of turquoise.

Blond-haired swimmers are most obvious since there is little pigment there to mask the green effect. And if the hair has been bleached blond you can expect near' twice the effect, as damaged or stripped hair has much more absorbency to hold the copper-bearing water.

What can the swimmers do? Rinsing the hair thoroughly and towel drying rather than letting the water evaporate with contents left behind seems most effective. Shampooing with "swimmers' shampoo" helps because it has an intentionally lowered pH to avoid precipitation. The best plan, of course, is to swim in, or operate, a well-managed pool with perfect, copper-free water.

If your swimmers are already affected, you can assure them that the color will fade after multiple shampoos.

Answer 5

Your hair should not turn green from swimming in a properly balanced swimming pool. First of all it is not the chlorine in the water that cases hair to turn green.
Usually is it caused my metals in the water due to improper water balance. The metals that will turn your hair green are traces of copper. These metal particles usually are from the pools heater that dissolve into the water when the pH is not kept balanced.

What chlorine will do is to damage hair by drying it out. This damage allows copper and other metals easier access into the hair. (sort of like when you get a cut on your skin, it is more prone to infection)
These metals affect all types of hair, regardless of color. It's just that lighter hair colors will show the green color easier.

Chemically bleached hair is also more prone to staining from metals in the water. Like many other people stated there are many shampoos and conditioners on the market that can help protect your hair from changing colors. The other tip of thoroughly rinsing your hair after you get out of the pool will also help to prevent your hair from turning green.

There are many links on the internet related to this issue, just search for "green hair causes".

I posted a few below.

Answer 6

no i have my hair bleached blonde and my nans got a swimming pool in her house so i go swimmimg 4/5 times per week and dont wear a swimming cap, there horrid and dont really work hair still gets wet !
if your hair goes slightly duller try a cleansing shampoo which will brighten it back up, this happens due to build up only after several weeks!
good luck

Answer 7

Depends on your hair the chlorine level etc how often you swim, many different factors. Be sure to use a good shampoo and conditioner, they have some just for swimmers and colored hair

Answer 8

when i was a kid my parents couldn't get me out of the pool and my hair didn't turn green but it got a greenish tint. there are ways around this. the grren is from the chlorine oxidizing your hair so use something else in your pool. i was a pool man while going to college and some people used salt system to keep their pool clear (cost about $1500 but makes the water feel great) or you can just replace the chorine tabs with bromine tabs. hope i helped

Answer 9

sometimes...but you have to swim everyday and spend quite a bit of time in the pool. loreal makes a shampoo..it's for kids mostly. used it on my girls hair in the summer to get the chlorine out. or go into the salon and have a malibu treatment.

Answer 10

if as soon as you get out of the pool you wash your hair with an after swim shampoo you should be fine x x x