by Judith Willson

Created on: March 25, 2010   Last Updated: September 24, 2010

If you have fair hair you might have noticed it turning an interesting shade of green after a lot of swimming.  Unless you like this unusual hue, or plan to dye your hair dark anyway, you probably want to find out why this happens, what makes it worse and, crucially, how you can prevent it. 

Blonde hair only goes green from swimming in swimming pools.  The ocean may be full of green algae but these will not stain your hair.  The reason that blonde hair turns emerald in pools is because of chemicals added to the water.  The real culprit is copper, with the aid of chlorine to speeds up the green reaction.  Copper can turn up in swimming pools from pipes, in algaecides, or simply by already occurring in local water. 

When exposed to air a chemical reaction occurs, resulting in a green residue.  You have probably noticed this happening with copper jewellery at some point.  The combination of copper, moisture and oxygen creates green. On dark hair you will not notice it but fair hair shows it up beautifully. 

It doesn’t happen to all blondes though and the reason for this is the condition of the hair.  Bleached blonde hair for example is exceedingly porous and absorbs whatever it comes into contact with.  The same goes for permed or straightened hair.  If you have both bleached and straightened your hair it will be quite delicate and very absorbent. 

Even if your hair has not been treated it could still be prone to greening.  Blonde hair is often more delicate than dark hair anyway and some things make it even more porous..  Dry hair, damaged hair and naturally porous hair are all likely to take on this lovely green tone.  The longer your hair the more time it has had to become damaged and the more likely it is to become green. 

To prevent swimming turning you into a walking tree there are lots of things you can do.  A swimming cap keeps the water off and should be very effective.  Many people find these uncomfortable or unflattering though and you do have other options.  

First of all take good care of your hair.  Prevention is better than cure; remember to condition your hair, get split ends cut off and try not to use heated styling gadgets.  Hairdryers, curling tongs and straighteners are all drying and damaging.  Go for the natural look as much as you can.  Always condition and perhaps sometimes use an intensive conditioner to help further.

Rinse your hair under a shower immediately after swimming, and before swimming you could try a glossy leave-in conditioner to repel water.  Most styling products will do the same job and in fact even just wetting your hair with tap water helps. 

Of course you could always leave the pool alone and go for a dip in the ocean.  Particularly when you are on a beach holiday why go in the hotel pool when the beach is two minutes walk away?  Swimming in the sea is more fun and better for your hair, just remember to rinse the salt out later.

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