05/26/2026
Blonde, gray, or color-treated hair turning a faint green tint? You're not imagining it, and it's not from a swimming pool. The cause is in your home water supply.
Here's what's actually happening:
When water is acidic (below the EPA's recommended pH of 6.5), it slowly dissolves copper from inside your home's plumbing. The dissolved copper concentration may be too low to taste or see, but it's there in every glass and every shower.
Copper has a strong affinity for the keratin protein in hair, especially:
🔹 Naturally blonde hair
🔹 Gray and white hair
🔹 Bleached or highlighted hair
🔹 Color-treated hair (especially light shades)
The copper binds to the hair shaft and oxidizes, producing the characteristic green-blue tint. Once it's deposited, it's difficult to remove without specialized clarifying treatments.
The EPA secondary standard for copper in drinking water is 1.0 mg/L, with the action level under the Lead and Copper Rule set at 1.3 mg/L. Acidic well water can produce concentrations far above these levels.
The fix is two-fold:
1. Treat the cause: install a calcite neutralizing filter to bring your pH into the safe range (6.5-8.5). This stops new copper from leaching.
2. Remove existing copper: a whole-house carbon or sediment filter can capture dissolved copper.
This is especially common in northern NJ wells drawing from crystalline bedrock geology, where naturally low alkalinity produces acidic water.
Have you experienced this in your home? 👇
📞 Free pH test > www.portasoftnj.com
