Summer Beauty Tips: How to Avoid Green, Brassy Hair

OK, it’s getting really hot, and lots of folks are heading to beach or splashing in swimming pools. Between the chlorine at the pool and salt water at the beach, your hair is under constant attack.  This assault on your locks is especially hard for blonds.  Light hair has a tendency to become brassy or develop a greenish-hue after being exposed to an entire summer in the water.

So why does your hair change color?  The main culprit is the copper found in the water that oxidizes on your hair and results in a change of color.  Combine that with the other chemicals found in your pool and/or salt water that can make color fade and you have the perfect cocktail for … you guessed it, “The Hulk”style green hair.

No need to fret, Fashion Reverie is here to save your locks no matter if your naturally golden or a bottled blonde.

Pre-treat

It’s important to take precautions for your hair’s health before you dive right in to those excursions on the beach or in the pool.  Try soaking your hair with tap water or a bottle of water before going into the pool to prevent it from soaking up too much chlorinated water. You can also apply conditioner to your wet strands to nourish it and block out chemicals.  However, if you just highlighted or dyed you hair, you might want to take extra measures to ensure that your color doesn’t alter or fade.  Try using a sealant (available at most beauty supply stores) that is designed to protect your hair and lessen the amount of chemicals absorbed while you’re splashing around.

Post Beach/Pool

Rinse your hair right away! It’s great to go straight from the water to a drink with friends but especially with chlorine, you want that out of your hair, pronto!!  Augusta Falletta of Beauty High suggests combating the copper in your pool with an acidic hair rinse.  Falletta points out a good trick for a quick rinse is as simple as dissolving aspirin in warm water.   In order to make this easy at-home fix, dissolve several regular pills— we’ve heard up to 8 aspirins will do the trick—in warm water and saturate your hair with the mixture.  Let the aspirin water permeate your hair for about 15 minutes and then rinse it out and shampoo and condition as usual.

Falletta also recommends using a purple shampoo, “strange as it may sound, purple shampoo keeps your hair color from turning brassy, which can happen with other shampoos that aren’t specifically formulated for blonde hair.”

—Janine Silver