In the News – College Students Losing Hair Due to Pool Chlorine?

Some students at George Washington University in Washington, DC have been experiencing hair loss after swimming in the pool. From the article:

Chemical imbalances in the pool, which began on Oct. 21, were caused by “a glitch in the (chemical) monitoring system,” said Kirk Southworth, service coordinator for Winkler Pool Management, which monitors pool equipment for the University.

One swimmer said his teammates lost about 70 percent of their body hair. The athlete also said he “could hardly taste my breakfast” on Oct. 22 after feeling cotton-mouthed from the previous day’s practice.

Read the full article — Swimmers report hair loss, irritation

We’ve written here a few times that chlorine doesn’t cause hair loss, and I still stand by that. Even in the article, a professor at the school states that “hair loss is inconsistent with chlorine overexposure and high or low pH levels”. There’s obviously something in the water causing many people to lose hair.

Update: I’m open to any and all studies that show hair loss from chlorine are linked. I’ve not seen any, but seeing as how it is a chemical, I wouldn’t be shocked to learn there’s some link.