Honey Lightening Help! Potential Emergency!!

[YesitsReal]

So I'm in the process of doing a second honey lightening treatment, and I decided to add about a Tbsp of cinnamon to the treatment. I put it in my hair, wrapped it in plastic, and then wrapped that in a towel. I'm about 20 minutes in, and my scalp is beginning to burn. Is this normal with the cinnamon? Should I rinse it out immediately, or just stick it out? Is all of my hair going to fall out?

Sorry if this is already posted somewhere else. I just need an answer quick!

[CherrySilver]

I've done the cinnamon thing before -- I have light and sensitive skin, and boy did I burn! However, I left it on overnight -- my skin around my neck and ears where it touched were quite red for about and hour or two after I washed it off. But, no worry, my hair didn't fall out. I did give some great golden highlights to my hair, more so than if I used honey alone.

[Unofficial_Rose]

If it burns, I'd wash it off if I were you.

There were some pics on here a while back of someone who used cinnamon on their hair and where the hair had touched their arms the skin had gone really quite red. I've used it on my scalp and it was OK, just depends on the person.

[Marjolein]

I've had redness and burning sensations too. It doesn't cause any permanent damage, the redness was indeed gone after I had washed the mix out of my hair. But if you find it too painful, just wash it off. No need to be in pain, right?

[ktani]

Sorry that I was not around when this happened. There have been no reports of any permanent or lasting problems from such a reaction but it has been reported before. I would also have said at the time to rinse it out immediately.

Aloe very gel has been reported to help ease the symptoms. I have said frequently to patch test ingredients in honey lightening recipes before using them. However, with cinnamon it is the amount used reported for some people that has made the difference in their getting a reaction or not.

Too much for one person has not been reported to be too much for someone else. There are those who have reported using much more than you have with no negative reaction and those who have used less than you have with no problems who then did react when they used more.

Regardless of the amount used I see no point in suffering through any treatment. I am so sorry that you went through this.

[YesitsReal]

I should have patch-tested this before I did it. Silly me. I didn't think cinnamon would actually irritate my skin! Now I know where the 'hot' effect comes from in Big Red! Lol.

The burning sensation never got really bad, as I thought it would. In fact, after a few minutes it stopped burning. I don't see any major lightening effects from using the cinnamon in conjunction with the honey, so maybe I'll just stick to plain honey from now on.

[YesitsReal]

However, my hair did smell wonderful after the treatment!

[ktani]

However, my hair did smell wonderful after the treatment!

I am very glad to hear that your symptoms did not last too long and that you are ok.

A good honey for honey lightening should produce more peroxide than a honey lightening booster, like cinnamon. What recipe did you use? The water can make a difference too. Distilled is recommended and so is keeping the hair very wet during the treatment. There a number of factors that can affect results.

[xoxophelia]

Yes, this should be normal. If you chew cinnamon gum as a kid most people have tried taking the wrapper, licking it, and seeing who could keep it on their forehead the longest :S

Haha.. If you use it again, just start lower on the hair away from the scalp and you should be fine.

[flutterbudget]

I still have a patch of skin on my neck that is red and itchy and irritated after I used some cinnamon in a honey lightening recipe 10 days ago or so(?). I should have known better, that part of my neck gets irritated by most anything, but not usually this bad.

Personally, I loved the smell when I first put it on (I also had some coconut oil in there and DH said it smelled like something I should bake), but after several days of not being able to get the cinnamon washed completely out of my hair, I was totally over it.

In short, next time I'm leaving the cinnamon out.