# Dyed HAir/Pool Chlorine Q **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364 "2003-06-17T02:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blasphmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@blasphmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blasphmer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364/1 "2003-06-17T02:24:57Z")
Hey guys, if I were to go into a pool a week after dying my hair with Mice & Easy hair dye will it affect my hair color? ---
**Author:** ![sj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@sj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sj2)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364/2 "2003-06-17T02:37:06Z")
It depends on the color. If it is blonde, I’d advise against it. It also depends on the amount of chlorine. I’d steer clear of hotel/public pools. If it burns your eyes, it will fry your hair. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364/3 "2003-06-17T02:59:19Z")
Back at the Dawn of Time ™ when I ran a pool supply store, it was common for dyed blondes to wander in with a green tinge… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364/4 "2003-06-17T03:02:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blasphmer \* > Hey guys, if I were to go into a pool a week after dying my hair with **Mice & Easy** hair dye will it affect my hair color? Don’t Jerry and Mickey use that brand? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dyed-hair-pool-chlorine-q/182364/5 "2003-06-17T03:04:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sj2 \* > \*\*It depends on the color. If it is blonde, I’d advise against it. It also depends on the amount of chlorine. I’d steer clear of hotel/public pools. If it burns your eyes, it will fry your hair. \*\* Untrue. Scylla has a book on pool chemistry. Contrary to popular beleif it is not the chlorine that burns your eyes but the acidit and chloramines in a pool. A pool that has that has that “chlorine smell” is actually out of free chlorine. What you are smelling are chloramines which are partially reacted chlorine thingies. Usually this will mean that the pool’s ph has also dropped, and the combination of these two things is what makes your eyes hurt. The two biggest factors in bleaching will be the pool’s free chlorine and ph. High chlorine/low ph will give you a strong bleaching effect. I follow Sam the Pool Man’s book “Untreated Sewage” as my guide to pool chemistry. He contends that a high ph 8-8.4 combined with 7-8 ppm free chlorine produces a clean bacteria free pool without bleaching or eye irritation. I maintain my pool at these levels and indeed smell no chlorine and experience no bleaching or eye irritation. By contrast typical pool standards are based on the science of boiler water and free chlorine between 1-3 ppm, and a ph of 7 is what is tradittionally recommended, and what you are likely to find in a well-maintained pool using standard methods. The problem Sam the Pool Man contends, is that once that pool gets out of balance (one guy sweating for half an hour in a 30,000 gallon pool is supposedly enough,) you can use up the free chlorine, drop the ph and you then have an eye irritating bleaching effect without any bacterial protection. My recommendation: go to Walmart and buy some test strips. Feel free to swim in either a balanced pool, or one with high chlorin/ph. Do not swim in a pool with high chlorine/low ph or low chlorine/low ph, or one that has that “chlorine smell.” I’ve tested my pool when it smelled like chlorine after the cover had been on and indeed that smell means the free chlorine is gone.