Getting the Green Out of Blonde

Before and afters are my favorite...

There are times when being "green" is good, but not literally. My kids have spent a lot of time in the pool this summer but we've been a bit relaxed with making them shower afterward. Yesterday the kids went to their last pool party of the summer and my daughter's hair was alarmingly green when we got home!

We had a pool growing up and I remember sitting outside for dinner with ketchup on my hair as a means of getting the green out. Did any of you deal with this when you were younger?

I hadn't heard of anyone doing the ketchup trick any time in the last three decades {I'm dating myself here}, so I thought I'd check "the oracle", as my brother calls it - Google. The first link led me to a 2009 post from a beautician who listed treatments from $20 shampoos to home remedies. Well, I'm all about home remedies, especially if I already have the ingredients.

I gave my daughter the choice between dishwasher detergent and baking soda, or vinegar and lemon juice. She chose the later. I poured two tablespoons of vinegar into a mixing cup and squeezed two large lemons. We went outside and I just dipped her ponytail in.

I pulled it out after swooshing the hair around for about 10 seconds and the green looked to be gone! I thought I might be seeing things so I did as the post recommended and let the concoction sit in her hair - it ended up being for about 15 minutes in a shower cap while we read.

"Really, Mom?!"

Then she showered and check out the results!

I'm absolutely amazed that it not only took away the green completely, but restored her hair to her natural, beautiful color. Anyone reaching for some lemons?

What do you do to get the green out?

.molly