Alternative ways to lighten your hair? (outside of salon)
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Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:54 am

Is there any easy, cheap... preferably natural...way to just lighten your hair a bit?

My hair is a lot darker now than it used to be when I was younger (I used to be a dirty blond, now I'm definitely more of a brunette).

I kind of miss the blond streaks but I don't want to get started with highlights because of the hassle of maintenance, not to mention the costs. Also I hate the that stripey or streaky look I see on some women.

I've used Sun In before -- in my younger days used to go overboard with that and got the orangey/brassy look which I didn't like. Now I just will add a few sprays here and there every couple of months.

But is there anything else I should be looking into? I'm not in love with Sun In because of it's tendency to make the hair reddish. I've heard of just squeezing lemon drops into your hair... does that work? Do you have to be in the sun to activate it?

Or are there any other natural ways to do this? I've heard about henna techniques...

Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:55 am

Oops this is probably the wrong forum for talking about hair -- but I figured since I saw that "How often do you wash your hair" thread it will be OK!

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:01 am

put some lemon juice Wink

in your hair and go outside for a few hours....make sure its a sunny day!

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:10 am

Maura sounds like you've got similar colour hair to me. I also wanted a cheap way to highlight my hair and even sat for around 4 hours whilst my hubby pulled my hair through a cap with a home highlight kit, NEVER AGAIN!

I have used Sun In too and got the same effect as you but try lemon juice and then sit in the sun it does work.

I now use a full hair colour for blonde hair and it only takes 20 mins, much quicker and easier.

Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:19 am

I've never used the lemon juice stuff before... can I ask a few questions?

1. Are you talking real lemon juice, i.e. directly squeezed from a lemon, or the pre-squeezed lemon juice you can buy in the store?

2. Do you just apply it to a few strands or all over or what?

3. How dramatic are the results?

4. Does it look at all orangey/brassy like Sun-In?

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:14 am

You should use some real lemon juice, and stay in the sun. However, if you are a dark brunette it wouldnt work. Also lemon + sun cant be good on your hair. It would really dry your hair right up...going into the salon to lighten your hair would probably be just as damaging.

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:57 am

I posted this link up for natural hair colouring products in the Lounge:

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11657

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:07 am

http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1982_March_April/Color_Your_Hair___Naturally_

hope it's okay to post this link, lots' of good info here on natural dyes. I am dyed right now but want to get back to my natural color and try some of these methods.

Allie Grace

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:40 pm

I've never used the lemon juice stuff before... can I ask a few questions?

1. Are you talking real lemon juice, i.e. directly squeezed from a lemon, or the pre-squeezed lemon juice you can buy in the store?
I'm lazy, I buy the "Real Lemon" in the plastic yellow lemon bottle, but you could squeeze those little buggers if you wanted..
2. Do you just apply it to a few strands or all over or what? depends on the look you are going for...chunky-put it on big chunks of your hair from the root to the ends. I usually put some on a wide tooth comb and just comb it through.

3. How dramatic are the results?
I find that its very natural looking
4. Does it look at all orangey/brassy like Sun-In ? I have blonde hair and it lightens it up nicely. In the winter, I get highlights from my hairdresser, but when I use lemon in the summer, I dont have to.

free skin care · Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:39 pm

Here is a link to another thread from last month that dealt with hair lightening: www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11220&highlight=

free skin care · Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:59 pm

i was wondering if using lemon to lighten hair would work on black/really dark brown (asian) hair?

free skin care · Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:22 am

Hi, have you tried henna? it can dramatic or subtle results depending on your base hair color. my hair is really dark, so it just adds red highlights that can be seen in the sun only. it's also 100% natural and is good for the scalp. http://hennaforhair.com/

free skin care · Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:08 am

Honey. I do honey rinses and that gradually lightens your hair. Put about a tablespoon into a cup and add water (warm or cold) to dissolve the honey. After shampooing and conditioning as a last step do the rinse. I leave it in, others rinse it out. Not only will it lighten your hair but it'll give you great shine since the honey acts as a humectant.

Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:47 pm

Watch out if you use the lemon juice method! Make sure you don't get it on your skin because the juice makes your skin a lot more susceptible to sunburn. I know from experience. Ouch.

free skin care · Sat Sep 16, 2006 12:08 am

ariesxtreme wrote:

Honey. I do honey rinses and that gradually lightens your hair. Put about a tablespoon into a cup and add water (warm or cold) to dissolve the honey. After shampooing and conditioning as a last step do the rinse. I leave it in, others rinse it out. Not only will it lighten your hair but it'll give you great shine since the honey acts as a humectant.

Does that rinse rinseout easily? Thanks Oops just saw that you leave it in.

free skin care · Sat Sep 16, 2006 5:00 pm

I never did it cause I didn't want to lay out in the sun all day cause of sun - skin damage. So I had tried soaking my hair in various things like straight 3% hydrogen peroxide. Plus other mixtures like lemon/chamomile etc. and then blow drying it to create the heat effect. Absolutely ZERO change in color. It did nothing at all. I wonder if you really do need the sun for it to work. Or maybe it only works if you have blonde hair. I guess I will have to give it a try and cover my face as much as I can. I wouldn't mind a light tan on my body, as envious and unfair as I feel looking at all those gorgeously bronzed Brazilian models.

I honestly can't decide though what to do with the color of my hair. I have not colored or highlighted it in over 5 years. I've gotten used to the natural color for once. Although I am getting bored of it, it just is too subtle and too dull for me. I hate being in between and wish I naturally had a vibrant color. When I was a little kid my hair was basically platinum blonde. Then as I grew older it progressively got dirtier and dirtier and darker, until now as an adult it is brunette/light brown. It is pretty light ash/mousy brown though and boring. I wish it was either bright blonde or rich dark caramel brown. So I can go either way. Blonde highlights or maybe a dark henna color. Although all the photos of rich brown I like are on girls with darker skin color and more exotic looking, maybe it wouldn't look good on me. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. So hard to decide. I know I should go to a salon for highlights I just hate all the other chemicals it comes with. Made me feel sick last time and totally damaged my hair. Confused

Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:03 pm

I used to just brew some chamomile tea, put it in a spray bottle, spray it on my hair and sit in the sun. It worked as a gradual lightener, and my hair is medium brown. I imagine mixing some lemon juice with it and doing the honey rinses might be the best way to lighten your hair faster.

Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:10 pm

I decided to let my hair go natural also, although I like exotic colors that are vibrant and the dull color was just not working for me. I do not like chemical dyes because of the PPD, so I found out that I can dye my hair with henna. There is also cassia, and indigo, which if used alone or with henna can give you an array of colors and is natural.

free skin care · Wed Jun 03, 2009 3:55 pm

I hi-light my own hair with kits from the drugstore. I've been doing it myself for years and it looks great. I only have to touch up my hi-lights once every 4 months. Now I only need to do the top of my head now as the older highlights grow out. The first time you will need to do a bit more depending on the look you want. It's fast and it only costs me $10.00 every 4 months. I don't use the kits with the plastic bonnet and hook, they are too time consuming and they are a pain if you have longer hair. They do work good if you have short hair. I either brush the lightener on small sections with the brush in the kit or with an old toothbrush or I coat small sections with the die between my fingers. I do wear plastic gloves of course. To do the back of my head I just look in another mirror behind me or ask my husband to do a few. Since I only want a subtle look I only add about 15 highlights total. It really helps brighten my dark blond hair that keeps getting darker as I get older. The kits sold at drugstores really work very well.

free skin care · Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:39 pm

keli13, is there a certain kit that you like?

free skin care · Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:21 am

Recently my colorist put on a toner that was too dark. I was told to go to a beauty supply store and buy a bottle of low volume peroxide, like a 10 but no more than a 20. You mix equal parts volume and shampoo and add two ounces of water and shampoo it into your hair. I left it on for 10-20 minutes, checking the color as you don't want it to turn brassy or orange and then rinsed it out and shampooed again, followed by a deep conditioner. It did lighten a few shades and was not brassy at all. You could probably do this in sections as a highlighter of sorts.

Fri May 07, 2010 11:03 pm

cookie wrote:

keli13, is there a certain kit that you like?

Yes, I would really like to know what brand you use too.

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