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Hair lightener. Make your own hair lightener

Submitted by Kate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups chamomile tea
  • 1 tablespoon of parsley
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Boil all the ingredients and let it simmer for 15 mins. Strain out the tea bags and parsley (make sure to remove all of the parsley) and let it sit till room temperature. Poor on to hair over a sink and rinse two or three times. Your hair should be smelling nice and looking lighter!

The following was sent in by Answers

Before I answer the questions that have been asked 20X, first you need to understand how hair lightening works. When you lighten your hair, this is not something that will "fade" or can be undone. It's something that is permanent (except for covering it with darker dye).

When you go to a salon to have you hair professional chemically lightened, this is a two-step process. Or if you buy hair lightener in a box - same thing. The "developer" (usually a mixture of peroxide and ammonia = very harsh) opens the hair shaft and strips it of its natural color. Then the (blonde) dye is added to achieve the new shade. Results are different on each person, depending on the natural color of your hair.

This chamomile/lemon mixture acts in the exact same manner - except it is a "natural" method and not chemical. The lemon juice is the natural "developer" and the chamomile adds the warm blonde tones (unique to each person depending on the natural color of your hair.

If you've previously dyed your hair darker than its natural color (i.e. dyed it black), then your hair has not been stripped of its real color. The shaft has been opened and a darker pigment has been added. This will fade over time if you stop dying it black.

NOW THE ANSWERS:

Q: Will it work on naturally jet black hair?
A: No.

Q: Will it work on hair that is dyed black?
A: No. Not until the black dye fades or grows out.

Q: Can I use lime juice instead?
A: No. Lemon juice is a natural developer.

Q: Can it be bottled lemon juice?
A: Yes.

Q: Do I have to sit in the sun?
A: No. But if you don't then you need to use a hair dryer because it is the HEAT that makes the lemon juice work. 20 minutes with a hair dryer is as effective as 3 hours in the sun.

Q: Can I use a different tea?
A: No. The chamomile tea is what gives it the natural looking blonde tones.

Q: Can I just use lemon juice and nothing else?
A: Yes. The lemon juice is primarily what lightens the hair via a natural "chemical reaction." BUT it will look more bleach-blondy and harsh without the tea's tones.

Q: Will it work on brown (even dark brown) hair?
A: Yes. Not as effectively, but yes. You'll need to use more lemon, more heat, etc.

Q: Will it fade?
A: No. You've permanently lightened the hair.

Q: Should I wash my hair afterward?
A: Yes. After you have HEATED it with sun or blow dryer, wash it because the lemon will continue to dry out your hair.

Q: Do I need parsley?
A: No. Parsley promotes shine and hair growth. In this mixture it acts as the conditioner. It does nothing to contribute to lightening it. You can just use conditioner when you're done lightening instead.




Visitors comments



 
answer me :) Comments By: leila on 2010-06-02
i have dark brown hair and everyone is
saying that it dies blonde???
i only want it a bit lighter like golden brown what do i have to do? or will it work?



and..can i use normal tea ??

 
It works Comments By: Brittany on 2010-06-04
I tried this and it worked for me!
I have medium brown hair and I bought the individual tea bags and did almost 2 cups of water for three tea bags.
Boiled the water with the parsley in it and then put the water into a glass container and put the tea bags in it cause if you use a metal pot it can react with the tea and not work as well. I then added the lemon juice. I stuck the container in the microwave for about 5 minutes, took it out, and waited till it cooled. Then I poured all through my hair several times to make sure it was soaked. Then I left it like that for about 40 minutes (it was cloudy that day) and I dried it with a blow dryer and it was a little lighter!!! I am going to keep doing this for a while so it will get lighter and lighter each time. I think I might need to do four tea bags for 2 cups of water...i will try that tomorrow.

 
question Comments By: eimear on 2010-06-09
hey my hair is medium to light brown and when i use lemon it doesnt work nd id love my hair to be more blonde is their any way to do that if this doesnt work............... ps..... it has to be done naturally............
 
Seems cool... should I try it ?? Comments By: Emilia on 2010-06-13
I'm just curious about something. I have medium length dark brown hair. It has no chemicals, and naturally dark brown. In the sun, it's lighter. I have all the ingredients, but I'm wondering about the procedures.

Do you wash your hair first ?? (and wait until dry)
OR do you have the substance on your hair and THEN wash you hair ??
Plus, by wash: does it mean rinsing or shampoo-ing ??

And one LAST question:
Does it work on brunettes ??
And about how many times should we do it ??

 
Going to try it tonight Comments By: Sarah on 2010-06-28
I've bleached my hair once then dyed it ash blonde. it didn't turn out quite the right color and i want it a bit lighter. I was very glad to find that parsley is a toner b/c I had been looking for one where I wouldn't have to drive an hour to a hair care store. hopefully it will work and be a bit noticeable.
 
worked, but not much Comments By: Sarah on 2010-06-28
I said a few hours ago that i would give this a try and i did. It lightened my hair slightly but it didn't help the orange color go away though i was hoping it would. the parts that were already a medium blonde didn't lighten much at all, though they did a little pit. the parts at the ends that didn't bleach as well were still a light brown and one use of this has effectively turned them to a dirty blonde. I'm going to do this two more times as that is all the chamomile tea i have and see how it turns out. I'm terribly worried about the orange as i have some activating peroxide and some purple hair dye left from where my brother did his hair. hopefully diluting the purple and using it as a toner will take care of the orange yellow effect. though I'm worried that it will fade rather quickly.
 
Question??? Comments By: brit on 2010-06-29
im about to try this for the first time. I have dark blonde hair, im excited to see how this works. LAter i plan to go swimming in a pool though, will the bleach have some sort of effect on this???
 
Changed a little bit Comments By: Khloe on 2010-07-01
I used it once and it worked a little but the second timei changed it. I wanted a little bit of a red shine in addition to the lighter hair. I boiled two cups of water and added a chamomile tea bag and a black tea bag and an orange tea bag. I then added a cinamon stick because cinamon lightens hair and i added a fourth cup of lemon juice and three drops of red food colouring. It was exactly what i wanted! I now have strawberry blond hair and i used to have medim brown!!!
 
Listen up people! Comments By: Maggalie♫ on 2010-07-14
Ok for one, I absolutely KNOW that this will work on my hair, and I really don't care if it turns green! (cuz actually that would be kinda cool!:)) And you stupid people PLEASE stop telling these people it will not work! Everyone's hair type is D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T!! So stop making these people upset! that is just cruel! Oh and btw, I am sooo going to try this, I've already done some pretty wacky things to my hair in the past, so this shouldn't even make a difference! (I've died it dark auburn, purple, dark brown, I've put actual bleach in my hair, tried peroxide, and I've cut my own hair) :D
 
I HAVE VERY DARK BROWN/BLACK HAIR. Comments By: BLACK HAIRED GIRL! on 2010-07-24
I have naturally BLACK hair but because I swim, i have some brown highlights that can be seen in the sun/when there is light.
I soaked my hair in this mixture for about 35 min. I do not notice a difference in my hair color. I did not use parsley.

 



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