[Green hair: clinical, chemical and epidemiologic study. Apropos of a case].

A 36-year-old woman developed green tinted hair after exposure to swimming pool water with high copper content, measured at 9.94 ppm, which decreased to 107 ppb after water renewal. The green tint was primarily at the distal ends of her hair, and the copper content in her hair was elevated to 3,900 ppm. The study found that the use of algaecides without proper water replacement increased copper levels in the pool. Hair damage from repeated waving or bleaching facilitated copper deposition by increasing keratin content of cysteic acid and related anionic sulfonate groups. The case highlighted the chemical and therapeutic aspects of green hair, supported by epidemiological data from other studies.