Kim Vo's Beauty Tip For Green Pool Hair

Okay, this sounds crazy, but if celebrity hairstylist and master colorist Kim Vo, tells you to try this, I would. The Vietnam native has one of the most beautiful heads of blonde hair around. He knows color, believe me.

Today, he mentioned ketchup. It's summer now, and that means lots of pool parties, and lots of laps. So if your bottle-blonde hair turns a nasty green, don't fret. Kim has a simple solution. Just apply ketchup to your locks, massage in, and let it sit there for a few minutes. Then jump in the shower and rinse thoroughly. Shampoo, and rinse again. It really works. The green is gone!

According to Anne Marie Helmenstine, a chemistry expert, the culprit is the copper, not the chlorine.

"It isn't the chlorine that turns blonde hair green. Oxidized metals in the water bind to the protein in the hair shaft and deposit their color. The metal that produces the green tint is copper, which is most commonly found in algicides, though it naturally occurs in some water. The bleach that is added to a pool may be responsible for oxidizing the metal, but it's not the cause of the color.

If your hair turns green, you can remove the discoloration by using a shampoo that chelates the metal. To some extent, you can prevent copper from binding to the hair by sealing the hair cuticle with a conditioner before swimming. Rinsing your hair immediately after leaving the pool will help protect it, too."

Hmmm. We kind of like the simple ketchup idea better.

By the way, Kim Vo is one of the hottest hairstylists around. He has tended to the long, lovely tresses of Teri Hatcher, Kate Hudson, and Pamela Anderson. And this evening, Kim will be presented as one of the lead judges in Bravo TV's Shear Genius reality series. The second season is premiering at 10 PM/ET/PT with hostess Jacyln Smith. Twelve contestants head to Los Angeles to compete for $100,000. Get ready to lather. Rinse. Compete.