Thank you all for great advice and wisdom. When I first noticed the yellowing of my hair, I did my research and tried the product route. Read many reviews and orderd highly recommended products - purple and clarifying shampoos, mousses, masks and tints. Spent quite a bit of money with very disappointing results. And I don’t even like trying new products because they can also cause reaction and irritation of my scalp. So don’t think I want to try any more products. But I really like idea of getting some professional treatment like lowlights or highlights. Even considering going more blond to make this yellow parts more intentional and less dull. Will talk to a hairdresser about it but will not mention my allergy. But I am little surprised that I did not get even one vote to cut it. LOL This is what I did when I went grey first time, and because of that I don’t have much experience with transition and hiding demarcation line.

Anchie I posted about the exact same problem a little while ago and indeed did cut it off because it was driving me crazy! I understand you completely. I had no idea how attached I was to the exact white shade of my hair until it yellowed and every time I looked in the mirror it was like a rebuke. I also tried every purple product, tried bleaching the yellow bits, tried a purple toner, begged my hairdresser, etc. The best shampoo for me is https://www.amazon.com/Klorane.....B000Q384SQ, but it doesn't solve the problem. I think you need to find a hairdresser with experience with white hair and dying hair silver. Or cut it off! It grows back after all.

And best wishes for your daughter - I am sure that is very challenging for both of you.

Oh I so regret I didn't address cutting it! I actually edited out that part of my previous comment.

It's very pretty long but I don't think you'd be any less lovely with short hair, you might even love it!

shevia - I feel like you really do understand and it helps - thank you

Isabel - I am still considering cutting it if I decide on a haircut that I like

Well, I hesitated to offer an opinion because I know so many women become very attached to having their hair a certain length, but I’d vote for spending the money on a really good cut instead of subjecting your hair to more chemicals.

Like Shevia, I think you’d look awesome in a short crop so why not try something different? Also, if you want to continue swimming with your daughter, it certainly would be a practical choice.

And, if you permit me a soapbox moment, I think embracing change is what keeps us interested and interesting, especially as we grow older. Even if you eventually move back to your current length, the hairstyle(s) you will be sporting over the next few years will look fresher and be more instep with your current self.

Anchie,
Clarifying shampoos really only work directly after exposure to chlorine, iron, salt, etc., not for damage already inflicted, IMO. If the water in your area is high iron content, there seems to be a chemical reaction between the chlorinated pool water, and the high-iron city water when you shower post-swim, in my experience (both hair and a white/black checked swimsuit).
I like John Paul Mitchell’s clarifying shampoo. I also like Queen Helene’s Kolesterol hair conditioner post-swim, and know people who coat their hair with it before putting on their swim caps.
Sorry to hear you’ve had no luck with the purple shampoos. I think you’ll find that going for a silver bleach/dye procedure may increase the damage levels, besides being insanely high maintenance.
I’d recommend maybe trimming just 2”/5 cm of hair, then repeating that every 8 weeks or so, to speed up the transition. That way you could stay with a similar style to what you have now.
No miracle cures, I’m afraid.

“spending the money on a really good cut instead of subjecting your hair to more chemicals.” makes a lot of sense. You might also want to think about whether it’s more important to you to look pretty good on a daily basis (continuing to chip away at the problem) or great for a couple of specific occasions (cut, color, style, the works for those days).

try sun trol from aveda (i think thats how you spell it) it comes in aorange bottle and then there is an after sun mask - we have pool and dd and i both use this during summer - it ges all chlorine out of your hair.

Anchie, I am late to the conversation. Since I'm no longer coloring, and letting my silver grow out, I have learned that white/silver hair is very vulnerable to heat and chlorine. This is why I won't use a flatiron or a curling Iron. I'm too afraid. Unfortunately the chlorinated pool is most likely the culprit.

I would:

1. Cut it

or

2. Talk with hairdresser and see what she can do about the yellowing to blend or make it look better so you can continue growing out gray and aren't a slave to coloring since it's not what you would prefer to do.

I had another idea! If it’s just this one piece of hair that has yellowed, maybe you could try color sprays. They sell them at all kinds of drugstores these days- in many countries I’ve seen them. It’s like a hairspray but with color. They come in many shades including SILVER which is probably what you would want. So you could spray onto the affected area to cover it— Especially for special events. The rest of the time you could just twist up that annoying piece and pin it on top or pin it away behind your ear, if you don’t want to deal with it.

I feel your pain, Anchie. Swimming is a key part of my fitness regime and I'm in the pool 2-3 X a week doing lap swims. Since my hair is red going white = sandy coloured, I'm not sure if I'm picking up yellowing from Chlorinated water. I'm trying to gro my hair out into something longer, and I just had a really bad week that has me scouring Pinterest for ideas.

Is your haIr naturally straight and sleek? Or do you style it that way?

Inspo pics below. Won't get rid of all the discoloured hair, but might lessen the amount that needs to be treated.

Just a thought...

It sounds like this buildup happened gradually, yes? So removing it will probably need to be a gradual process as well.

It really sounds like the pool was your culprit. I’d try to keep using the chelated products (look for highly rated ones online), brush with a boar-bristle brush, and condition the heck out of it with non-silicone/non-dimethicone conditioners (these always build up on my hair) Give it 7-10 days and see if you notice a difference, but take it slowly, so you don’t ruin your lovely hair.

This is an old thread (9 months).