You finally get your hair to the blonde you have always wanted, you jump in the pool on a warm afternoon because it is summer and you deserve it, and when you get out there is a green tint in the mirror that was absolutely not there this morning. You blame the chlorine and everyone you tell also blames the chlorine, but chlorine is not actually what turned your hair green, and because most people never find out the real reason it keeps happening every summer. If you’ve also noticed your blonde becoming dull or fading in the summer sun, check out our guide on How the Okanagan Sun Is Quietly Wrecking Your Hair Colour (And What to Do About It).
It Is Copper, Not Chlorine
Chlorine reacts with things in pool water, and one of those things is copper, which gets into the water from chemicals used to keep algae away and from old copper pipes in the plumbing. When chlorine and copper mix they create something that sticks very strongly to the protein in your hair, and once it latches on it turns your hair green. On dark hair the exact same thing is happening but you cannot see it because the existing colour covers it up, the same way a stain shows up clearly on a white shirt but disappears on a dark one.
Why Fresh Highlights Are the Most at Risk
Natural hair has a fairly tough outer layer that slows down how much it soaks up from pool water, but lightened hair works the opposite way because bleaching opens up that outer layer to remove your natural colour and leaves hair that soaks things up much more easily. Fresh highlights are at their most open and absorbent, meaning they pick up copper from pool water faster than almost any other hair type, so jumping in without any protection right after a blonding appointment is one of the worst things you can do for your colour.
How to Prevent It
You do not need a complicated routine, just a few things that genuinely work:
- Wet your hair with tap water before you get in the pool because your hair can only hold so much liquid, and if it is already full of clean water it cannot soak up nearly as much of the copper-filled pool water, which takes about a minute and costs nothing
- Put on a sun protection leave-in conditioner or swim spray on your wet hair before you swim to add another layer between your hair and the water
- Wear a swim cap if you swim more than once or twice a week, because for anyone in the water that often it is really the only way to fully protect your colour
After You Swim
Rinse your hair with clean water as soon as you get out because the longer copper sits on wet hair the deeper it goes, so getting it off quickly really does help. Then use a chelating shampoo rather than your regular one, because regular shampoo just cleans the surface while a chelating shampoo is made to grab and remove minerals from your hair.
If It Has Already Gone Green
Do not panic and please skip the baking soda or tomato juice ideas from the internet because they either do not work or make things worse, and a chelating shampoo used a few times will take care of mild green tones while anything more stubborn is best sorted out with a professional treatment at the salon, especially if your hair has been recently lightened.
Come See Us at FORD Salon in Kelowna
At FORD Salon in Kelowna, we work with blondes every day and know exactly how to look after them going into summer and sort things out when they go wrong. Book an appointment with our team and enjoy the pool without worrying about what you will see in the mirror afterward.
