How To Get Green Out Of Hair And How To Prevent It
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If you’ve been swimming for a while, you’ve probably noticed some light hair such as blond hair may turn green when swimming in a pool. But have you ever thought about why it turns green in the first place?
In this article, we’ll talk about why hair turns green, how to prevent it, and some remedies you can use if your hair has already turned green.
Keep reading.
Why does chlorine turn hair green?
One of the biggest misconceptions around this topic is that chlorine turns hair green, however, according to a study by the Johnson & Johnson Baby Products Company, that isn’t the case.
The reason why dyed blond hair or natural blond hair turns green is that when there’s copper in the water, hair absorbs it and then the chlorine in the water causes the copper to react producing small oxidation damage to hair fibers and thus giving it a green coloration.
The reason why there’s copper in swimming pool water is because of corrosion of copper plumbing or from copper salts added to the pool as algaecides.
How to prevent green hair from chlorine
The oxidation of the hair boosts copper absorption but pretreatment with a formulated quaternary ammonium compound impedes the process.
Having said that, the best way to prevent green hair is by using a pre and post-swim conditioner like Trihard’s to create a cover layer around the hair, thus reducing chlorine and copper absorption.
After you finish swimming, take a shower with a swimmer’s shampoo to remove the chlorine and copper layer that’s on your hair. This should prevent your hair from turning green.
How to get green out of hair
It’s commonly thought that the green color can be removed by shampooing, however, very few studies have shown a link between shampooing and the removal of green tint on hair.
Here are some remedies you can use to get rid of green hair.
1. Use a Swimmer’s Shampoo
A great way to get the green out of hair is to use swim-specialized shampoos, such as the Trihard's After Swim Shampoo, designed and formulated to eliminate pool chemicals. When the chlorine cover is eliminated, the copper-induced oxidation damage on hair fibers is naturalized, allowing the hair to recover and successfully remove the green hue.
2. Use a Swimmer’s Hair Conditioner
A great alternative to swim-specialized shampoos is the swim-specialized conditioners, such as the Trihard's Pre & Post Swim Conditioner, which prevents pool chemicals' absorption and eliminates them while neutralizing oxidation damage caused by copper on hair fibers and successfully removing the hair's green while recovering the texture and providing a smooth feel.
Although the swim-specialized shampoo and conditioner are great alternatives, these two products work amazingly together and give a better result for your hair.
3. Baking soda
Baking soda is probably the cheapest solution to getting rid of green hair. What you need to do is…
- Take a bowl and fill it with ¼ to ½ cups of baking soda.
- Mix with water until you form a paste.
- Coat the areas of your hair that are green with the baking soda paste and massage it for about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Then take a shower to wash your hair and condition it normally.
The number of times you’ll have to repeat this process will depend on the intensity of the green tint on your hair.
4. Ketchup
- Use ketchup to massage the affected areas.
- Use tin foil to cover your hair.
- Then leave it for about 30 minutes to remove the green tint.
- After the 30 minutes are up, wash your hair and condition it normally.
5. Lemon Juice
- Saturate your hair with lemon juice and leave it for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Then take a shower to shampoo your hair and condition it normally.
6. Lemon Kool-Aid
An alternative to normal lemon juice is lemon Kool-Aid.
- Mix lemon kool-aid with water.
- Then apply it to the areas affected and leave it for about 5 minutes.
- Then take a shower to shampoo and condition your hair. It should remove the green out of your hair.
7. Aspirins
- Crush 6 to 8 aspirin tablets in a bowl.
- Add warm water and let it dissolve.
- Apply the mixture to your hair and leave it for about 15 - 20 minutes.
- Then take a shower and shampoo and condition your hair normally.
8. Clarifying shampoos
Clarifying shampoos are specially formulated with strong surfactants to copper out of blond strands. Clarifying shampoos such as Head & Shoulders and Paul Mitchell clarifying shampoo two, and more work well.
Summary
If you’ve been swimming for a while, you’ve probably noticed some light hair such as blond hair may turn green when swimming in a pool.
The reason why dyed blond hair or natural blond hair turns green is that when there’s copper in the water, hair absorbs it and then the chlorine in the water causes the copper to react producing small oxidation damage to hair fibers and thus giving it a green coloration.
To prevent green hair, use a pre and post-swim conditioner like Trihard’s to create a cover layer around the hair, thus reducing chlorine and copper absorption.
After you finish swimming, take a shower with a swimmer’s shampoo to remove the chlorine and copper layer that’ on your hair. This should prevent your hair from turning green.
If you already have green hair, you can use baking soda, ketchup, lemon juice, lemon kool-aid, a mix of aspirins and water, or clarifying shampoos to get the green out of your hair.
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