Hair care, WaterBear ?

Hey WaterBear, our resident beauty expert & chemist... ( & chemgeek too)

Is there something that I can mix up & spray on my hair to neutralize chlorine & bromine ?

The colouring in my hair is being stripped out.
I only colour my hair every six months or longer periods. & I usually attempt to match my natural deep dark brown ( to cover up the silver... yeah I said silver, not grey, not white); otherwise I look like I've got s.o.s. pad head going on...

anyway, my re-growth is getting lighter, but still ( slightly reddish) brown ( & silver), but the coloured portion ( about 90% +) is getting lighter & lighter... goes from deep dark brown ( some people think black) to red-brown to golden-red with blonde to... no colour. I'm sure when viewed under a microscope, you'd see two copper sides with clear in the middle ( of each hair).
The coloured silver ( which would have been coloured to brown), turns copper & then gold.
I'm sure UV is also affecting the changes, but the sanitizers are really doing a number here.

typically I don't wash my hair after being in the pool & hot tub because I'm too busy doing safety stuff & then getting all the kids dressed, so I'm looking for a spray-in & leave-in neutralizer...
would be fabulous if I could make something at home for this job.

thanks for your help :)

Yeah, I was a colorist for many years so I can sort of help you.
Sorry to say that permanent hair color is anything but! It gives best results when applied every 4 to six week because:
1) some of the dye bases are not stable, particularly in the neutral and ash shades. The blue dye bases used in these colors will actually oxidize to a reddish molecule over time from atmostpheric oxygen. This is what happens when hair color turns 'brassy'. I am sure that the sanitizes in pools will help speed this up!
2) Hair grows about 1/2 inch a month and this new growth is less resistant to chemical manipulation because it has not fully keratinized (oxidized by atmospheric oxygen) and is more 'plastic' so is less resistant to coloring. If the reagrowth is more than about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in length it is less 'plastic' and more resistant to dye base penetration. This will result in uneven color. 3) The previously colored portions of the hair shaft become more porous and one of two things happen....with slight porosity they tend to grab color and go too dark compared to the first 1/2 to 3/4 inch of regrowth and when the porouosity increases dramatically (usually on the ends) they don't hold color and can look ashen or greenish (not to be confused with green from copper in the water!) This is why a touch up application, and not just working the color through the entire hair shaft is important. Best solution is to retouch every 4 to 6 weeks and do it properly.
Your regrowth is getting ligher and so are your skin tones because the melanin production in your body is slowing down....it happens to all of us!
You will get a more natural looking color if you select one a shade or two ligher than your natural color (it will go with your lighter skin tones better) and remember the 'silver' hair will not cover properly unless you are adding a golden or reddish color to your selection. Silver is the ultimate ash color (it is actually a blue). and unless you are dying it a deep brown or warm black will always look lighter than the pigmented hair that is colored. Once the hair greys it also becomes much more resistant to chemical manipulation. The cuticle layer becomes much more compact and the hair more 'glassy' in feel. It might even be coarser than the pigmented hair! That is why most haircolor lines either have special 'grey covering colors' that need to be used for at least 50% of the color formula or they make both 'transparent' fashion colors that are not meant for grey hair and 'opaque' colors that provide better coverage. (I am talking about professional color product lines....the home retail color lines do not inclued these colors). Also you will get better coverage if you stay away from color lines that use a constant violet base throughout and use a line with variable bases and be sure to pick a yellow based or neutral grey covering base for best coverage. If your grey is over 30% you will only achieve a blended look and not total coverage no matter what you use unless the hair is 100% white. Then your selected color will look one or two shades ligher than the color swatch unless it is black or a deep warm brown.
Sorry to inform you that silver hair IS grey hair.....so is slate, so is white. Your body has stopped producing the red and yellow oxymelanins and what you see as silver is the result.
Coating your hair with conditoner and wearing a swim cap, then rinsing it out after is the best way to protect your color. If I had some magic spray on formula I would be retired right now!;)

Thank you very much for the in depth answer; most informitive :)

I can't see why inventing a neutral to chroline could be that difficult... ,
my goal was not so much to protect my colouring, but rather to slow down the degradation rate as excellerated by the the chrlorine & bromine...,
but I'm not a chemist... so what do I know?:eek:

( I come up with great ideas, but my follow-through sucks! )

sodium thiosufate will neutralize the chlorine in the hair but it will also reduce the oxidized dye in your hair and allow some of the color to come out and will cause even more fading!
Anyway, atmospheric oxygen is the main culprit affecting hair color, along with heat and UV from the sun!. color will start to fade in about 2 weeks after application whether you go in the pool or not!

Okay, Interesting...

asuming that a person's hair isn't coloured ( or that they don't care that much about colour) and are worried about what damages might be caused to the hair, is sodium thiosufate what they should/could use to neautralize the sanitizers on a regular basis?
( could this be used on kids' hair?)

where can a person purchase sodium thiosufate ? ( is this dry or liquid?)
How would this be applied... mixed up with water or does it need some other base or activator to work?

Thanks for the info :)

This is great info, Thanks again Waterbear! Now I know the reason I have to get colored every time I turn around, It's the air!!!

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Originally Posted by RavenNS

Okay, Interesting...

asuming that a person's hair isn't coloured ( or that they don't care that much about colour) and are worried about what damages might be caused to the hair, is sodium thiosufate what they should/could use to neautralize the sanitizers on a regular basis?
( could this be used on kids' hair?)

where can a person purchase sodium thiosufate ? ( is this dry or liquid?)
How would this be applied... mixed up with water or does it need some other base or activator to work?

Thanks for the info :)

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To make it easy on yourself I would suggest two product that I KNOW work. Nexxus Aloe Rid Treatment and Nexxus Aloe Rid Shampoo. The Treatment contains citric acid and EDTA so it will remove metals and the Shampoo contains sodium thiosulfate to remove chlorien and bromine. these 2 products used together are the only ones I know of that actually work. (and I do not for for that company...wish I did!)

FYI, sodium thiosulfate is also called photograhers hypo and can be found at any camera store that sells darkroom chemicals. It is also in chlorine killer sold for pools and also in the chlorine neutralizier used in some test kits for the TA and pH tests.

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Originally Posted by mbar

This is great info, Thanks again Waterbear! Now I know the reason I have to get colored every time I turn around, It's the air!!!

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Hehehe, It used to ensure that I had a constant income when I worked in the salon!:D

Thanks for the "consult"... it's appreciated :D