How to Dye Your Hair With Lemon Juice -

16 de mayo de 2013

How to Dye Your Hair With Lemon Juice -

Want to lighten your hair or bring out highlights "naturally"? Want to look like a California girl, with sun-kissed locks that shine when they hit the light? Don't fret, it's easy. Simply follow the short instructions below for a head of beautiful, lighter hair!

Edit Steps

Combine lemon juice and water. Mix 1/4 cup of warm water with 1 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed. Combine this in a spray bottle.

For dry hair, combine lemon juice and hair conditioner. This may dry hair which is why hair conditioner is needed. Mix 1/4 cup of conditioner with 1 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed. You may want to whisk this mixture together in a small bowl and set aside.

Protect your skin with a layer of sunscreen. You're going to be "activating" the lightening effects of the citric acid in the sun, so you want to make sure that your skin is protected from harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Apply the lemon lightener to your hair. For full coverage, spray the mixture over all your hair and give it a few light brushes.
- If you're looking more for highlights, take a cotton ball soaked in the lemon mixture and slide it down the strands you want highlighted. Try to keep track of which strands were lightened, because the process takes a while and you'll have to reapply the lightener several times for it to take effect.
- If using the lemon conditioner mixture for dry hair, take a pastry brush or similar item and brush the hair you want lightened with the mixture. This mixture will have more body and be slicker than the lemon water mixture, so it will be harder to get highlights with it.

Find a comfortable spot outside in the sun. You will need to sit outside in direct sunlight for at least 60-90(1hr-1hr30min) minutes to begin seeing any color change.

Reapply the lemon juice after 90 minutes. Continue sitting in the sun for another 30 minutes.

Give your hair a deep conditioning when you're done lightening. Wash your hair, and then deep-condition with a generous amount of hair conditioner or another natural substance.

Give the process time to work. Don't expect to see sudden changes right away; lightening with lemon juice takes time! Expect the following color changes in 3 to 4 weeks:
- Dark Brown to: Light Brown or Ecru
- Light Brown to: Golden Blonde
- Dark Blonde to: Light Blonde
- Dark Red to: Dark Blonde
- Light Red to: Light Brown / Blonde
- Black: Won't show much change at all.

Other Lightening Methods To Try

You can use these methods in combination with lemon for better results.

Try lightening your hair with Cassia Obovata. Cassia is a plant that contains a faint golden or slight yellow dye. It's known also as "neutral henna," and will give your hair a golden tone.

Use chamomile tea to lighten to your hair. Chamomile tea works best on light brown or blonde hair, and you spray it in the same way you would lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide.

Use hydrogen peroxide to lighten your hair. It may not be "natural," but it genuinely works. (Lightening your hair with lemons, even though they're "natural," still damages your hair the same way hydrogen peroxide does.)

Try a bit of cinnamon to lighten those locks! Cinnamon works nicely on dark hair, and it sure smells better than hydrogen peroxide. Give it a try!

Give a bit of honey a try. Honey is another good lightening agent. It's natural, it doesn't dry out your hair like lemon or peroxide, and it works!

Edit Tips

Continue this process on multiple days if you don't have much time the first sitting.

If you apply the juice to only your natural highlights, you will get streaks. If you deeply saturate your whole head, it will lighten the full color.

Be patient! You will need to do this many times to get a big difference.

Don't use bottled lemon juice.

Edit Warnings

Don't do this too often, since the sun can seriously damage your skin over time. Watch out for sunburn, it's easier to prevent a sunburn than treat it.