Is Sun-in Damaging?

[Indigostreams]

That's my question. I've read a few LHCers mention that they use Sun-in. And now I'm tempted...but I'm scared of damaging my hair. Please share your experiences!

[Phalaenopsis]

Yes.

Sun-in is peroxide, it will damage your hair, since it will extract colour and break protein bonds in your hair.

[Kherome]

Oh yes, very.

[browneyedsusan]

I've used it on my henna with no problems. I did a test strand behind my ear first, though, knowing that if it DID damage my hair, I could slap another henna on it to beef it back up. My results are subtle, and I concentrate on my heavily-hennaed ends to lighten them up a little. (I suspect that it's lifting my natural color and leaving the henna, but am not certain.)

[Anje]

Yes. However, how damaging it is can vary considerably from person to person. How much you use, your hair's robustness, possibly even what your water is like can all affect how much damage you get.

ETA: Here's a report (not peer-reviewed, pathetically) about the reduction of damage by peroxides when copper, such as found in the water, is reduced. (http://www.tukad.org.tr/tr/pdf/070%20Marsh.pdf)

[Indigostreams]

Yes.

Sun-in is peroxide, it will damage your hair, since it will extract colour and break protein bonds in your hair.

I guess this answers my question. I was considering using it because I read many reviews on Amazon in which people claim that it didn't damage their hair. But I guess it's not worth the risk. I'm just going to stick to natural sun-lightening for now. Thank you everyone for your wisdom!

[UltraBella]

My hair is rarely damaged and I color, highlight, heat style - but sun-in totally fried my hair several years ago. It was awful.

[AspenSong]

I've seen people it didn't affect *very* badly, but for me....it just murdered my hair. My mother started spraying a bit in my hair when I was about 11 because my blonde hair was getting darker (as happens in my family....) and she wanted my blonde highlights back. *eyeroll* But at some point, like 13....I was using it a lot because I was outside a lot and I wanted that BLONDE back and my hair was really fighting me. I ended up with nice blonde hair again....that eventually had to be chopped off because nothing was saving it and it was snapping off badly. Now, as I said - I know people who use it and it's not too bad on theirs. However my hair is baby fine and thin, so I think I took a worse beating than most over it.

[jacqueline101]

I've seen people damage their hair and others it didn't effect.

[Kaelee]

I've seen people damage their hair and others it didn't effect.

It might depend largely on your hairtype and the way they use it. I wonder how many people just spray it on and go about their business for the day? It seems like that would be something a large number of people would (stupidly) do.

[Firefox7275]

Uv from sunlight is also damaging, it leaves holes in the cortex where the melanin used to be, also destroys the ceramides that glue the cuticles together. Lifting four shades with the sun is broadly as damaging as lifting four shades with a peroxide based dye. Either way coconut oil soaks can protect the hair from associated protein loss.

[Vrindi]

YES! It's damaging! I've used it as a teenager, and if your hair isn't already blondish, it can turn it a nice shade of orange. If you have fine hair, or hair that isn't super-resiliant, I wouldn't recommend using Sun-In. My hair was fried beyond repair. I had a similar experience to AspenSong. My hair was snapping off and had to be cut, all to get my blond back. If you want lighter hair, there are better ways to do it.

[SoulOfTheSea]

As a personal user of Sun-In I can say that it does little damage to my hair. I have light brown hair with a natural ombre that turns a golden color with the sun, so I use Sun-In to help bring out that golden color without going in the sun. Yes, without going in the sun. I spray the Sun-In just on the last 2 or 3 inches of my hair and then run a flat-iron over those sections repeatedly, along with adding more Sun-In, until I get the right color I want. I tried using a blow-dryer, but it took too long.

Yes, it has dried out my ends a bit, but I never heat-style my hair, and I was sure to do a deep treatment with a rich conditioner after lightening. I also only wash my hair every 4 days or so. My ends still feel soft and they don't break off easily whatsoever.

So, in the end, personally it wasn't very damaging to my hair at all, but I think it just depends on how well you take care of your hair. I also wasn't spraying it on everyday and going in to the sun; I think spraying it on everyday like that will do that great amount of damage as opposed to just using it once every couple of months to touch up golden color.

This is my experience with Sun-In, and I hope reading it helps somewhat. :)

[Nightshade]

It depends on two things:

1) how strong your hair is and

2) how light you're lifting

I use it now and again to keep my henna coppery and from getting too dark. With the way I do it, and the strength of my hair + henna I have zero damage from it. No splits, and my hair is nice and shiny yet.

If you're trying to use it to lift your hair several shades it will be immensely damaging.

[maskedrose]

I am also an occassional sun-in user, and like Nightshade, I have zero damage from it. However, I only lightly spray the sections around my face to give very natural looking highlights in my honey blonde hair. Keep in mind that I have face-framing layers, so any damage is chopped off every few months. I would never soak my whole head in it - a light spritz now and again works beautifully.

[spidermom]

Used with moderation on hair that is already light in color isn't too bad.