- There’s no exact time for your hair to turn green from chlorine. It all depends on how long you swim in the pool and how well you take care of your hair.
- If you swim for eight hours with your hair loose and unprotected, your hair will turn green in a day or two.
- Alternatively, if you stay at the pool for two hours and protect your hair with a waterproof cap or rinse it with tap water every time you finish, your hair will turn green in five or six days. It could even be such a subtle green that you may not even notice it.
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Swimming in a pool or the ocean after coloring your hair: How long should you wait?
Are you planning to take a few days off but fear the chlorine in the pool will ruin your hair color and turn it green?
Please note that your hair won’t end up green the first day after diving in the pool for ten minutes.
So, the chlorine that keeps the pool water clean will leave your hair green when a large amount builds up. The buildup will depend on how long you spend in the water.
- If your blonde hair is in contact with water all day, it’ll turn greenish in a few days.
- Instead, if you wear a waterproof cap, your hair will have almost no trace of green in it.
You should also take into account other issues. And we’ll go into them in more detail.
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Why does blonde hair turn green in contact with chlorine?
As I mentioned earlier, your hair may turn green from chlorine, but other chemicals affect it too.
What turns your hair green is the copper sulfate contained in the products that keep the pool water free of algae and fungus.
So, chlorine and copper sulfate make your blonde hair turn greenish.
In detail, chlorine weakens your hair turning it porous, and copper sulfate penetrates the fiber and builds up until it changes the color of your mane.
So, how long it takes for your hair to turn green from chlorine is the exposure time.
It’s like wondering how long it’ll take for the sun to tan your skin. It depends on how long you expose yourself to the sun and how you care for your skin.
- If you sunbathe every day for four hours without any protection, you’ll be tanned within two days. But your skin will take a toll on you, as the UV rays will dry it out.
- Alternatively, if you expose yourself to the sun’s rays every day for ten minutes using sunscreen, it will take you longer to get a tan, but you won’t expose your skin to deterioration and drying out.
Pool water will have a similar effect on your hair. Your hair will turn greenish according to the time your mane is in contact with the water.
- If you decide not to get in the pool, your hair won’t turn green.
- If you stay in the water for eight hours without wearing a cap, it will take two days for your hair to turn green.
- If you swim for two hours and protect your hair with a waterproof cap or rinse it with tap water after swimming, the green shades will emerge after five or six days, but they’ll be very subtle. You may not even notice them.
How to keep chlorine from turning your hair green
Here are three tips to help you avoid turning your hair green.
Wet your hair before diving in the pool
If you saturate your hair fiber with tap water, it won’t have much room to absorb pool water. This will prevent chlorine and copper sulfate from settling in your hair and changing its color.
Apply hair sunscreen before entering the water
These products are for hair damaged by sun, chlorine, and high temperatures. The main advantage is that they are water-resistant and form a shield that prevents chlorine from penetrating the hair fiber. So, they help you keep your blonde color longer.
Use waterproof swim caps
I know. Swimming while covering your hair with a swim cap will take away the fantasy of transforming into a beautiful mermaid, but it’ll help you avoid chlorine and copper sulfate buildup.
You should also rinse your hair with tap water when you get out of the pool to remove any remaining chlorine and copper sulfate.This will prevent your hair from turning greenish and you’ll have a gorgeous mane throughout your vacation.
Conclusions
Now you know that there’s no exact time for the chlorine to turn your hair green. It all depends on how long your hair will be exposed to it and a few things you can do to take care of it.
If you protect your hair from chlorine by wearing a swim cap and rinsing your hair with tap water before and after swimming, it’ll take longer for your hair to turn green and you may even be able to avoid it.
