Honey thread - from TBB and bits from old LHC

[ktani]

I think that honey lightening recipes with ground (powdered) cinnamon are safe to use but I would alternate them with other recipes, not to get too much coumarin at one time, or too often (unless Ceylon cinnamon is available). The recommended maximum is 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon per treatment. I suggest alternating using just honey and distilled water or honey and cardamom and distilled water (coconut oil and evoo are optional).

Cassia cinnamon colour range
"Cassia bark is peeled from stems and branches and set aside to dry. Some varieties are scraped. While drying, the bark curls into quills. The colour varies from light reddish brown for the thin, scraped bark to gray for the thick, unscraped bark. Ground cassia is reddish brown in colour. ..."
http://www.cookbook.hu/angol_receptek/cinnamon.html

"Indonesian cinnamon, in contrast, is much thicker ... and therefore less easy to break. The quills are outside reddish-brown, similar to Ceylon cinnamon, but the inner side of the bark is much darker gray-brown."
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Cinn_bur.html

Both ground cinnamon and ground cardamom can be skin sensitizers. Ground cardamom has been reported to wash out of the hair easier than ground cinnamon and has a higher peroxide value. Patch test before using either spice.

Cardamom

It really depends on the frequency of one's honey lightening routine and preferred recipe.

Even though I have posted about the ground cassia cinnamon, coumarin connection before, it is always good IMO, to review research again.

Overuse of ground cassia cinnamon is not recommended.

[ktani]

More on coumarin and natural sources, including oils, Updated Jan. 2008
http://www.leffingwell.com/Coumarin%...%20update2.pdf

"Herbs thought to contain coumarin or coumarin derivatives"
http://books.google.ca/books?id=ihxy...um=4&ct=result

Chamomile and coumarin
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...891d4ad3ec9b67

Chamomile oil extract and coumarin
http://books.google.ca/books?id=pc7X...m=10&ct=result

Chamomile flowers and coumarin
http://books.google.ca/books?id=pc7X...um=1&ct=result

[ktani]

European Food Safety Authority Coumarin update, July 2008
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobSer...?ssbinary=true

[ktani]

For me, the coumarin information has affected how much cassia cinnamon I consume. I no longer put it on my cereal every day.

I also check out cosmetic labels. Yes, it is in one or 2 products I use.

Again, it comes down to frequency and amounts. From all of the research, any liver damage is reversible, upon discontinuing the courmarin source(s) and some people are more sensitive to it than others.

I think that it is good to be aware of it, so that one can assess one's total exposure.

My purpose in posting about it is not to scare people, just to inform.

Coumarin is naturally present in a number of foods and plants and is used in cosmetics. It is absorbed through the skin.

It is about total exposure from combined sources that can pose a risk to health, that fortunately, is not necessarily permanent.

[ktani]

I have added the cinnamon caution to the first post of this thread, and others.

I feel that the caution is timely, given the holidays coming up, and more cinnamon laden foods and treats, that are traditionally prepared at those times.

If I do get a cold, I have the ingredients stored, to try the 24 hour cold chaser remedy.

[ktani]

According to P&G, most of the damage caused by conventional hair colour is from the high pH and free radicals, 2 things absent with honey lightening.

"Current permanent color uses .... combination of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and a high pH .... removes up to 99 percent of the protective, lubricious .... layer of .... hair's surface. This causes irreversible physiochemical changes .... result in dryness, dullness and increased susceptibility to mechanical stress. .... majority of this damage is caused by a very high pH (10-11) and the HO* radical .... undesired by-product of the peroxide lightening system."
http://www.pgbeautyscience.com/breakthroughs-xiii.html

Hydrogen peroxide is a weak acid, altered to make it alkaline (ammonia or another alkaline chemical is added to developers with peroxide) and open the cuticle, for hair colouring and bleaching.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=OCNo...m=10&ct=result

The peroxide remains acid in honey lightening and the free radicals are prevented by the protective flavonoids in honey and the honey lightening recipe ingredients.

Chelants used either as a pre treatment with hair colour applied over it, or added to peroxide/bleach itself, help prevent hair damage. I think that more of the damage is caused by the free radicals, than the pH, and that kind of damage can be prevented.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...4&postcount=11

Coconut oil, used as a pre treatment before hair colouring, with the colour applied over it, has been reported to help prevent hair damage.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...1&postcount=28

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...4&postcount=30

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...6&postcount=55

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...5&postcount=72

[Longlove]

Does using EVOO as a booster in this treatment "yellow" the hair as some people have reported when using it alone on hair?

And can EVOO safely be used with Cinnamon in the treatment?

I looooved the way my hair smelled last time I included Cinnamon in the treatment. But it wasn't enough of a peroxide boost and my hair felt really dry. I'm hoping EVOO can boost and moisturize without the dreaded yellow.

Thanks!

[ktani]

Does using EVOO as a booster in this treatment "yellow" the hair as some people have reported when using it alone on hair?

And can EVOO safely be used with Cinnamon in the treatment?

I looooved the way my hair smelled last time I included Cinnamon in the treatment. But it wasn't enough of a peroxide boost and my hair felt really dry. I'm hoping EVOO can boost and moisturize without the dreaded yellow.

Thanks!

None of the honey lightening ingredients, including EVOO, has been reported to add colour to the hair in a treatment.

If your hair felt dry, that is probably a honey residue result and it is best remedied with shampoo.

I do not understand your EVOO and cinnamon question. Please clarify.

[ktani]

Honey lightening is so much simpler now.

And the reported results have been so much better than with previous recipes.

Now it is just honey, distilled water (unless your tap water is mineral free and pH 7) and the choice of added peroxide boosters (ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil). Everything should be used at room temperature only, with no added heat (body heat is the exception to no heat). Here are pictures of just honey and water results.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=2043

The new dilution is the key to a successful recipe, IMO. 1/8 cup honey (2 tablespoons) needs 3/4 cup distilled water US, (1/2 cup Metric). 1/8 cup honey weighs 1.5 oz x 4 = 6 oz = 12 tablespoons distilled water needed, or x amount of honey to 4 times the amount of distilled water by weight. Here is a conversion link.
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conve...surements.html

Here are pictures of results with the new dilution.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1906

A treatment can be left to sit for 1 hour in advance of application, to produce peroxide (recommended), or used right away if you are in a hurry and it will produce peroxide while on the hair.

The recipes can be applied with a tint, blush or pastry brush, and/or a spray or squirt bottle, then the hair needs to be securely covered with plastic (wearing a swim cap is recommended) and the treatment left on the hair for about an hour. The hair must be completely wet with the treatment both before being covered and during the time that a treatment is on the hair.

With a good peroxide producing honey, the right dilution and method, that is all there is to it. Here is The Successful Honeys List.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ount=856itamin

[Longlove]

I do not understand your EVOO and cinnamon question. Please clarify.

Will using both cinnamon and EVOO at the same time give an even bigger "boost" to the lightening treatment?

Thanks