When blonde hair starts turning a lighter shade of green, many people start to worry. People’s initial thoughts are that perhaps their hair dresser has put in the wrong chemical in their blonde highlights. They wonder if maybe the hair dresser left the bleach in for too long? Did the hair dresser use a bleach that was too strong? Or they might even wonder if the green hair is some kind of internal problem, perhaps a problem with not getting enough vitamins or minerals in their diet. Needless to say when healthy blonde hair is vivacious and full of life one day, then starts turning an ugly shade of green the next it does make people concerned.
Luckily this concern though needn’t go too far. When blonde hair starts turning green it is an indication of environmental effects on the person’s hair and has nothing to do with whether their hair dresser has made a right mess up of their hair or any indication of their internal health. With just a few tips and tricks that can easily be applied, one can ensure that blonde hair need never turn that sickly green colour ever again.
A common denominator of this condition is always water. Whenever this happens it always either surfaces after someone has had a shower or after someone has had a long swim at a pool. This indicates that there must be something in water that actually makes blonde hair turn green. That something is actually copper.
When oxidised copper is exposed to the protein in the hair shaft it deposits its colour. In the case of copper it deposits a green tint. This is actually happening to people of all coloured hair, it is just that in blonde hair it is most obvious
In a pool, many chemicals are added to ensure that the pool is free of bacteria and algae and is safe for the masses to swim in. A common ingredient of many algaecides that are put in pool water is copper (though it is also naturally found in some water supplies). When a bleach like Chlorine is then added to the pool water, this oxidises the copper that is found in the algaecide. Add one blonde unwitting swimmer and you get a head full of green tinted hair.
This occurrence is not only limited to chlorinated pools. Many people also report it happening in their homes. This again can be put down to oxidisation of copper in their water supplies. Take for example a freakish occurrence of December 2011 in Sweden. A large group of Swedes who had moved into new homes in the southern region of Anderslov grew extremely concerned when overnight all of their blonde hair turned green. Initially they all thought the cause of the phenomena was due to the municipal water supply. Though after rigorous testing by the water suppliers, they found only normal levels of copper in the water. After some more testing the cause of the problem was found. Hot water left overnight had lifted copper from the pipes in the homes and water heaters, then had deposited it into the home water supplies. When they showered in this copper infused water, it caused for their hair to turn green.
In homes the best way to deal with blonde hair turning green is to eliminate copper from the source of our shower all together. An easy and very effective way of doing this is to install a shower filter which has KDF in it. KDF is a filter medium which is found in most high quality shower filters. When water that has copper (or any other heavy metal) passes through a shower filter with KDF, then the metal binds to the KDF therefore removing the possibility that it will tint hair. Shower filters also remove chlorine from water supplies, which stops any kind of oxidation of copper which may be found naturally in water or which has come fro copper pipes.
In pools a good way to stop blonde hair turning green is to wear a swimming cap. Also conditioning hair before going into a pool has been known to give very good results in avoiding blonde hair turning green.
Jenny Holiday
