Honey thread - from TBB and bits from old LHC

[meteor]

^ That's kind of my situation, as well, kt2062.

My hair seems to look only a tiny teeny bit lighter right after a successful honey lightening, but it doesn't seem to last, I don't think it really works for me long term... I wonder if it's just because honey might possibly have some chelating abilities? For example, according to ktani: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ead.php?t=2402 :

I was wrong about honey having no chelating abilities.

Honey contains gluconic acid, which is a chelator.

However, I found no references that referred to honey as being a chelating agent.

See "Description" for gluconic acid
http://www.foodbs.org/foodb/additives/show/824

See "Occurance and uses"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconic_acid

Like molasses, honey can leave a residue.

It was recommended by a food chemist, quoted in a post in an old thread, that molasses be followed by a vinegar rinse when it is used on hair, to remove its residue.

In the Honey thread, shampoo or a vinegar rinse has been reported to work well to remove honey residue.

The gluconic acid content of honey varies.

This source says that honey has a gluconic acid amount of ".3%"
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200209/000020020902A0230313.php

This source says that the D-gluconic acid range varies from "3.91 to 11.71 g/kg" in selected honeys.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgiGluconic /jafcau/1997/45/i09/abs/jf970012c.html

I can't find any solid research on this though, especially linked to hair, so I don't know for sure if honey is really an effective chelator that can remove some mineral deposits from hair, but if it can, that might explain the lightening effect from the point of view of simple removal of brassy tints (caused by iron in water, for example) or dulling effect of calcium, etc... from hair that is light enough to show it.

[kt2062]

Well, I have been doing the honey one day, rinsing it out well (no shampoo) and then the cassia the following day. The honey alone (with distilled water and cardamom, no oil--weighs my hair down too much) does not seems to have any more lightening effects. I seem to get the biggest bang from the cassia. But I stopped using so much conditioner, which I think has been really weighing down my hair....have to try the cone-free conditioner for my fine hair...

[Hailwidis]

Has anyone tried using honey for a highlighted/gradient effect? Reading through the application process I started to wonder about doing a stepped wedge application.

You could pre-section out the front, using the hairline at the top of the ear as a static point, clip away the wedge to be dyed then put up the rest and cover it carefully with saran wrap before applying the lightening mixture. I'd imagine 5-6 sections would do it, but then it'd be touchy getting the timing right so the front doesn't go off. Guess I'll be saving the hair from my brush for the next few weeks...

Any links to non-whole head applications would be appreciated.

Any success with this, thelaundress?

I don't want to lighten my whole head but I'd love to get some natural highlights. I was also wondering if this was possible.

[Larki]

I tried my first honey treatment this morning! Two tablespoons of raw orange blossom honey, 3/4 cup room temp water and a tablespoon of ground cinnamon, left on for about 80 minutes. My hair hasn't dried completely yet, so I don't know if there's any color difference yet, but I'm not expecting a difference until at least the second or third time. I loved the smell though! My hair smells divine. No real difference on softness, but it does seem shinier than usual!

[kt2062]

I gave up on the honey treatment. Just didn't see any lightening effect. I guess I will stick to the cassia, but even that does not make a big difference in color, more conditioning.




"I tried my first honey treatment this morning! Two tablespoons of raw orange blossom honey, 3/4 cup room temp water and a tablespoon of ground cinnamon, left on for about 80 minutes. My hair hasn't dried completely yet, so I don't know if there's any color difference yet, but I'm not expecting a difference until at least the second or third time. I loved the smell though! My hair smells divine. No real difference on softness, but it does seem shinier than usual!"

[Larki]

No color difference after the first time, but I like the extra shine and sleekness enough to do this just as normal deep conditioning if the color doesn't change. I'm betting I'll see a bit of difference after two or three treatments - not in a hurry, I really just want a very slight lightening. I hate color maintenance.

[Larki]

Second treatment in the books!

[NimbleNut]

I did my first honey treatment today and loved it! I did just honey and water and let it sit for an hour prior to applying. I left it in my hair for an hour. I seemed to rinse out easy enough and my hair smells nice. I don't know how much it actually lightened my hair but it definitely toned down the coppery tones of my henna. It is more dark blonde/brown now. My hair is shinier than it's ever been though and feels a little thicker. Maybe not thicker but certainly healthier. Regardless of whether this lightens my hair or not I think I'm still going to try to do it once a week just because my hair seemed to love it!

[vampyyri]

I'm curious about doing this to try and impart some natural highlights into my bangs/down to ear-level. During the wintertime my hair goes back to its dark golden blonde, and I'm really missing the sunkissed/natural highlighted look that I get in the summer.

[Fallingin28]

Hi newbie here,

I have previously amla and hennaed hair then dyed dark brown over it and then black. I miss my lighter coloured hair sooooo much. I found here and decided to give this honey a go as my hair is currently long and the thought of bleaching it and making it brittle made me want to cry.

I bought some distilled water and jarrah honey, pure evoo, and ground cardamom. I mixed it together well, waited an hour and applied. I made quite a lot. I kept it on 2.5 hours and just washed it out in the shower.

The smell is lush! I used a little tiny shampoo on my roots up front only. My hair feels coated but conditioned if that makes sense. I blowed it dry and can't really tell anything happened...in fact it looks as though my roots have lightened (virgin hair) only at this point, which doesn't help my cause. I'll look in the light tomorrow and hopefully something...

But my question is...

Was anyone in a similar position and their hair lightened? After how many honey applications did it happen for you?

I understand hair varies greatly but if it really isn't going to lighten the black dye at all I'd rather know now and save the money.

Thanks