Hello!
We are a family with a lot of allergies and a whole lot of blonde hair. Growing up my mom kept baggies of frozen ice cubes of lemon juice from lemons we got from my grandmother's tree in the freezer. We'd leave several in a glass on the counter to thaw while we went swimming in the apartment's pool then I'd wash my hair using the lemon juice to get rid of the inevitable green my very blonde hair would turn.
We just enrolled the kids in their first swim lessons. Before they've been in very controlled swimming pools of friends where we know what the chemicals are and have not had issues with green hair thankfully. I am very concerned with using a larger public pool and their hair.
I want to make sure I have something in the house before the lessons start just in case because I know the faster you get to it the faster it comes out.
We have some allergies to various beauty products including shampoos. We use a more natural shampoo normally that we buy at Trader Joes. I have seen the swim shampoos in stores that say they wash the green out. Do they work? Which brands work better? Do you know which ones are milder that have less chances of causing allergic reactions? Or should I stock up on a bunch of lemons and do it the old fashioned way?
Any help or recommendations are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I've never heard of having the hair wet before!
My daughter has really long hair that I will be braiding or otherwise putting up. I wonder if it would get wet enough if I got it wet after I put it up? Her hair doesn't cooperate much when it's wet because it's very wavy and curly so I have to do it dry.
Melissa: One reason I don't want to go the route my mom did is my grandparents are no longer alive and we don't have access to a lemon tree anymore. That means I'd have to buy quite a few lemons or a bunch of even more expensive bottles of lemon juice as I have more than one blonde and my daughter has very long hair. Since I was already spending money I was wondering if the shampoos were easier then buying and juicing a ton of lemons. The shampoos weren't around when I was a kid. I also remember the hard time it was using the lemon juice, trying to keep it out of my eyes and such. My youngest is just turned 4. It can be a challenge enough washing her hair some days, I can't imagine trying to use lemon juice if I can avoid it. If I had the access to free lemons and such I would be more inclined to just go that route.
I always just used the same shampoo after swimming as any other time. Never had a problem with green hair and I was a blonde kid. Now my hair is dyed and I still use my regular shampoo after swimming and have no issues with discolored hair.
The very easiest way to protect your kids' hair is with water! Yes, really. What you need to do is get their hair wet BEFORE they get into the public pool, using plain, clear water. Most public pools have showers - have the kids get their hair completely soaked in the shower before swimming lessons. This will prevent the dry hair from soaking in the chlorine and copper. (It's actually copper that causes hair to turn green, the chlorine just dries it out.) When I was on swim team, we would then apply conditioner to our hair and put on a swim cap - but if it's just swimming lessons, probably a swim cap and conditioner is not necessary.
So, just clear water to soak the hair prior to swimming, and then use regular ol' shampoo (whatever you normally use) after swimming. That should be enough to keep their hair in good shape.
My dds have blond hair. I asked my hairdresser what to use. She said the best thing to do is to get their hair wet with clean water before entering the pool. That way the hair has already absorbed water and will not absorb the chlorine water.
My dh is the one to take them swimming and I know he never had them wet their hair. Fortunately, their hair never turned green. Their hair is getting darker now so I don't have to worry about green hair.
I love Aubrey Organics swimmers shampoo and conditioner. I have dark hair, so I don't have the green hair issue, but this stuff gets out all of the chlorine and makes your hair look and feel great. I actually use this shampoo and conditioner all of the time, it's my favorite. It's a natural shampoo, and I have had reactions to other shampoos (mostly they just make my allergies go crazy due to all of the chemicals), but not these.
I didn't know about wetting your hair ahead of time! That's a great tip. I don't have blond hair, but I remember my hairdresser telling my mom that I should wash my hair right away. I was on a swim team in junior high, and she suggested this because the chlorine can damage anyone's hair. I guess us brunettes are just lucky that it's not always obvious to the world.
I always washed my hair in the locker-room after swim. As far as I know it did the trick.
Yes, getting the hair wet before getting in the pool works wonders for my lil blondie. Occasionally I will have her use 1 part vinegar and 1 part water to clarify her hair. Or apple cider vinegar works too, same ratio. Just be sure to condition really good afterwards. We use paul mitchell detangler or conditioning balm by biolage.
Shampoo 3 by paul mitchell is a good clarifier too btw.
Good luck!
our hair lady said to use a clarifying shampoo after the pool. my dd goes during daycare in the daytime and we use it afterwards when we bring her home. As soon as we get home she goes straight in the shower. We haven't had any problems since we started doing this.
Why not do what your mom did?
I used Ultra Swim with my children and am using it with my grandchildren now. My children and one of my grandchildren have allergies but so far so reactions to Ultra Swim. You can find it at most drug stores. I had to cut my daughter's hair because it became so knotted from chlorine damage. Good luck.
I agree with wet hair beforehand.
You could also buy a container of pure lemon juice, instead of hassling with the lemons. You could toss the little container in with your swim gear and rinse with it at the pool.
Can they wear swim caps?
I don't know anything about the shampoos, lemon juice, or caring for blond hair, so swim caps are my only advice.
You could go the swim cap route. The main thing with chlorine is that is is a very unstable ion and wants to bond with anything. If the thing it comes into contact with is hair, it bonds with hair. I used to wet my hair, add some conditioner and put on a cap. The conditioner gave the chlorine something else to bond to. I think the lemon juice thing turns your hair to straw, as in brittle.
Perhaps research some salt pools in your area.
Bottom line there is no shampoo that is really good at removing chlorine. There is only preventing the chlorine from bonding to hair. Once it bonds, its no longer chlorine and there is no removing it. The solution is to limit the amount of time chlorine water can have contact with the hair by using caps or washing immediately after the swim.
I use a clarifying shampoo after swimming. I use the Suave version as it's the cheapest and it works.
YMMV
When my kid's were little we had one season of swim lessons that they had green hair. We ended up using a shampoo for chlorine and it worked fine, but was expensive and my kid's hair was pretty damaged from the chlorine. My hairdresser recommended the getting their hair wet before hand, and that worked great. As soon as the lesson is over the kid's would shower and then I would put in a leave-in comditioner to cut down on the tangles. That worked great and we still do this. My daughter swims on her school team and now she wears a bathing cap, but still uses the leave-in conditioner.
We keep some Pantene shampoo and conditioner in the swim bags and they use the shower at the pool to wash their hair before we leave. They just use the shampoo to wash all over actually. Then we go get dressed and wash the swim suits when we get home.
