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queenovnight
June 28th, 2014, 12:31 PM
Greetings! This is a question specifically for those with naturally blonde hair.


My boyfriends mother came to me the other day with a question. Seeing as though my hair is extremely dark, I was unable to help. I thought I would ask you guys, and report back to her with your advice. Anywho! Growing up, she had very light blonde hair. We're talking almost white. Her hair was this shade until she hit about 40 or 50. She was telling me that she's a bit upset by the darkening of her TBL hair, and asked how it occurred or if there was some natural way of lightening it. - She doesn't have very many grey hairs, and it's like the actual color has dropped a few shades.


My question for you guys is.. Have any of you dealt with your blonde hair darkening over time? Is this just apart of old-age or what? Also, is there a natural way to lighten it. - Please don't say honey.

RapunzelKat
June 28th, 2014, 12:45 PM
The only natural method I know of for hair lightening is sun bleaching, which just entails spending enough hours outdoors to let the sun do its work on your hair. I'm dark blonde/blonnette, and I can get some really nice highlights from enough sun time. It can be drying/damaging though, if overdone. I don't think you could bring your hair color up a whole shade this way, though.

Oh, and you can use lemon juice too. It can enhance the sun effect - you'll get lighter more quickly because of the citric acid. Same warnings as above, though - overdo it and it can seriously dry out or damage the hair.

Only other ways I know of are the un-natural :D Sun-in (peroxide) or bleach.

I've used Sun-in before LHC, when my hair was a bit shorter, and it was fine for a while but I'm noticing some damage now. Not all of it is from Sun-in though. A lot of it happened because I just didn't know how to properly care for long hair at that time.

lilin
June 28th, 2014, 04:09 PM
I have known people who had dramatic changes in hair color during puberty -- bright blonde to very dark brunette. And yes, I have seen photographic evidence! But I haven't heard of it happening in middle age, except in cases of hair growing back after chemo, which can change both the color and texture (usually curlier -- i.e. "chemo curls").

I have no suggestions to add to the above -- basically, anything that will lighten hair noticeably will do *some* damage or drying to the hair. Natural routes do much less. It's about what's worth it to her, I suppose.

But it's certainly interesting the way our bodies can just decide one day that it's time for a change!

Larki
June 28th, 2014, 04:31 PM
Oh yes, very common! but I think it normally happens during puberty. Keeping the childhood white blonde is pretty rare. I was white blonde/platinum until I hit puberty and then it very suddenly darkened to my current shade. I'm really hoping it doesn't continue to get darker.

As far as natural lightening, the sun will lighten her hair some without any extra effort from her. Other than that, there's lemon juice.

Feathered
June 28th, 2014, 04:52 PM
Good question! My mother was a white-blonde as a child and stayed very light blonde until having children when her hair became darker with each pregnancy until it became a very light brown. Interestingly enough, my hair also became darker when I had my kids. I've never colored my hair before, but was asked by some family members if I dyed it brown after my last son was born. I was blonde as a child and now have light brown hair-with some gray. I've always wondered what caused the change in color.

chen bao jun
June 28th, 2014, 05:39 PM
This is common just before going gray, only a lot of people do not know it because very, very few naturally stay very light blonde until middle age.
Blonde hair gets darker (according to how you are coded genetically):
1. at age 5 or 6
2. puberty
3. childbirth for women
4. just before you go gray in middle age or in conjunction with going grey.
The vast majority of light blonds go darker during puberty and if you last longer than that, then in conjunction with childbearing, a lot of (but not all) women go darker. Usually if you lasted that long, you go light brown. But a surprising amount of blond kids who go darker at puberty get very, very dark brown hair and as a previous poster said, only the evidence of their childhood photos convinces people that they were once blond!
It really is coded genetically. Your DNA when you are born has keyed into it whether you will go (usually light) brown (the vast majority) or whether you will stay blond longer (this is something like .5% of the whole human population, actually much less than redheads even, in terms of rarity). There is nothing you can do to change what is going to happen--except obviously, start to bleach if you don't like it. although some who go light brown will get blonder to some extent in the summer or if they are out in the sun a lot. usually it won't be that 'towhead' or cornsilk look though--or the hair some kids have that actually looks like gold with the bright yellow tones in it.
Until very recent times, people were not so harsh about defining who is blond. they expected light haired kids to go to light brown at puberty and you were still considered a blonde person if you had the fair skin, the blue eyes, light eyelashes and brows. They were realistic about genetics. You can see this even if you look at photos of movie stars from the 40's and 50's and a lot of women in their 70's and 80's will show you photos of themselves younger and say "i was a blonde' and you see what people nowadays often call 'light brown' hair. the fakery and ubiquitousness of hair bleaching has upped the ante to an absurd extent and what people consider to be blonde is pretty much very bleached hair. Your mother in law is one of a very very small minority of people to be going darker this late and if she would like to stay blond in appearance she now has to take the route most took in their teens and lighten it--I understand that her identity is probably extremely tied in with being a natural blonde by this time of life, but I think the best thing you can do for her is to assure her that she is still lovely and that her haircolor is not 'her'.

Larki
June 28th, 2014, 05:44 PM
This is common just before going gray, only a lot of people do not know it because very, very few naturally stay very light blonde until middle age.
Blonde hair gets darker (according to how you are coded genetically):
1. at age 5 or 6
2. puberty
3. childbirth for women
4. just before you go gray in middle age or in conjunction with going grey.
The vast majority of light blonds go darker during puberty and if you last longer than that, then in conjunction with childbearing, a lot of (but not all) women go darker. Usually if you lasted that long, you go light brown. But a surprising amount of blond kids who go darker at puberty get very, very dark brown hair and as a previous poster said, only the evidence of their childhood photos convinces people that they were once blond!
It really is coded genetically. Your DNA when you are born has keyed into it whether you will go (usually light) brown (the vast majority) or whether you will stay blond longer (this is something like .5% of the whole human population, actually much less than redheads even, in terms of rarity). There is nothing you can do to change what is going to happen--except obviously, start to bleach if you don't like it. although some who go light brown will get blonder to some extent in the summer or if they are out in the sun a lot. usually it won't be that 'towhead' or cornsilk look though--or the hair some kids have that actually looks like gold with the bright yellow tones in it.
Until very recent times, people were not so harsh about defining who is blond. they expected light haired kids to go to light brown at puberty and you were still considered a blonde person if you had the fair skin, the blue eyes, light eyelashes and brows. They were realistic about genetics. You can see this even if you look at photos of movie stars from the 40's and 50's and a lot of women in their 70's and 80's will show you photos of themselves younger and say "i was a blonde' and you see what people nowadays often call 'light brown' hair. the fakery and ubiquitousness of hair bleaching has upped the ante to an absurd extent and what people consider to be blonde is pretty much very bleached hair. Your mother in law is one of a very very small minority of people to be going darker this late and if she would like to stay blond in appearance she now has to take the route most took in their teens and lighten it--I understand that her identity is probably extremely tied in with being a natural blonde by this time of life, but I think the best thing you can do for her is to assure her that she is still lovely and that her haircolor is not 'her'.
Chen, thank you so much for this post! I've always wondered why hardly anyone stays light blonde, and I could never find an answer!

shinyspoon3
June 28th, 2014, 06:00 PM
From what I understand, it has to do with how hormones affect melanocyte hormone receptors, which determine the amount and type of melanin production. Babies/kids produce less melanin than adults. That's why there are so many towheaded kiddos. When hormone changes happen, lots of people produce more melanin which causes their hair to darken. Puberty and pregnancy are examples of events that can increase melanin production because of strong hormonal changes. Some genes will do funny things though, and sometimes melanocytes will produce less melanin instead, or no melanin. The degree of change (if any) is controlled by genetics of course, the OP's friend may simply be to the point where her genetics are telling her melanocytes to produce more melanin, and there is no other external factor. It's just time.

Sources:
being a science geek who reads lots of stuff like this http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2006/10/genetics-of-hair-color/
then finds supporting articles to explain key terms like this http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MC1R

~Abi~
June 28th, 2014, 07:31 PM
My mom's hair has slowly darkened too. She's in her mid-40's. I'm not exactly sure when the darkening began, but I just know that now it's more a light brown with blonde highlights. Her hair dramatically lightens in the summer, but she is also looking to possibly lighten it. i've mentioned the Sun-in to her, but I'll bring up the lemon juice too.

Impulsive
June 28th, 2014, 09:22 PM
Since no one has mentioned it yet, I just thought I'd throw in that it's also possible to lighten hair with honey. There is a thread around here somewhere...

Sorry, missed that you didn't want honey. Anyway, good luck to her.

Crumpet
June 28th, 2014, 09:29 PM
Chen's post is pretty amazing and right on the money (also learned some things!). I'm a natural blonde who darkened over time (mostly with puberty and then it stayed the same). Sun is the most powerful natural lightener for me -- my hair gets very light with sunlight still. I hadn't realized how rare it was to still have blonde hair -- Chen is right. There are so many bleached heads running around these days that I think blonde is normal and that my own hair is really very dark blonde!

LunaLuvsU
June 28th, 2014, 09:34 PM
Darkening is very much natural. My grandfather was born with very very light hair but it soon turned to black when he hit puberty. I was born with very dark hair but it lightened because I was always in the sun as a kid. The only natural way I know of it lemon and sitting in the sun. Maybe she could coat her hair in raw yogurt and lemon then sitting in the sun for a while. Its just a theory.

Seeshami
June 28th, 2014, 11:32 PM
John Freda makes a lightening spray that is Lemon, peroxide and other stuff but most importantly lemon and peroxide. It's damaging. There is no way to lighten hair that isn't. But it works really really well.

lilin
June 28th, 2014, 11:35 PM
From what I understand, it has to do with how hormones affect melanocyte hormone receptors, which determine the amount and type of melanin production. Babies/kids produce less melanin than adults. That's why there are so many towheaded kiddos. When hormone changes happen, lots of people produce more melanin which causes their hair to darken. Puberty and pregnancy are examples of events that can increase melanin production because of strong hormonal changes. Some genes will do funny things though, and sometimes melanocytes will produce less melanin instead, or no melanin. The degree of change (if any) is controlled by genetics of course, the OP's friend may simply be to the point where her genetics are telling her melanocytes to produce more melanin, and there is no other external factor. It's just time.

Sources:
being a science geek who reads lots of stuff like this http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2006/10/genetics-of-hair-color/
then finds supporting articles to explain key terms like this http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MC1R

This is really interesting. Both the men I know who went from bright blonde to dark brown had it happen during puberty.

Puberty for men is usually associated with some skin darkening or increased texture, more so than with women. Maybe this is why I've only see such dramatic changes in men -- women can go darker, but usually not by such a huge degree. Maybe men's hormones cause for more melanin?

queenovnight
June 29th, 2014, 07:08 AM
Thanks everyone! - If anyone else has anything to add, please do.

pelicano
June 29th, 2014, 07:24 AM
This is an interesting thread. Mainly because I was pretty much ash blonde from puberty till my late 30s, then I turned really quite dark.

jacqueline101
June 29th, 2014, 07:43 AM
I've never been a white blonde but as a natural blonde that's seen her hair change. I used to be outside more then I started working nights and my hair got darker so I figured out sun light faded my hair more then I thought. I found out certain oils darkened my hair. My own oil blend darkened it a lot and last summer I used cone spray and no oil it did lighten it up along with the sunlight.

spidermom
June 29th, 2014, 07:57 AM
My very light yellowy-blonde hair got darker in my teens. In my 40s it started lightening up again as the silver grew in.

diddiedaisy
June 29th, 2014, 11:21 AM
I'm at natural blonde and changed from white blonde to honey blonde in puberty then ash blonde and by the time I hit 30 I was very dark blonde. My mum used camomile shampoo on my hair when I was younger, it used to be in a lot of shampoos for blondes. So that be worth a try. In my experience though if it wants to go darker it will. Sunshine is a great lightener but that depends on where you live. I'm now a bottle blonde :)

StellaKatherine
June 29th, 2014, 11:33 AM
This is really interesting. Both the men I know who went from bright blonde to dark brown had it happen during puberty.

Puberty for men is usually associated with some skin darkening or increased texture, more so than with women. Maybe this is why I've only see such dramatic changes in men -- women can go darker, but usually not by such a huge degree. Maybe men's hormones cause for more melanin?

My grandmother had white hair as a child, as white natural as you can think off. When she turn 10 it started to go dark. In the end by the time she turned 15 she had a dark brown (almost black but not raven) hair. I was light golden blond as a child myself and I think that colour was soooo beautiful ....

meteor
June 29th, 2014, 11:46 AM
It's damaging. There is no way to lighten hair that isn't.
Pretty much this.^

Nightshade has a nice detailed article on all sorts of herbal/natural dyes, where she mentions a lot of herbs to enhance blonde like chamomile, chalendula, catnip... but they are deposit-only, so might just give a golden flare rather than lighten the way the sun, lemon or honey can.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646

meteor
June 29th, 2014, 11:47 AM
Maybe she could coat her hair in raw yogurt and lemon then sitting in the sun for a while.
I've never heard of using raw yogurt to lighten hair in the sun. How does it work?

chen bao jun
June 29th, 2014, 11:51 AM
Yeah, I just find genetics really interesting and its a science that's especially fascinating right now as our knowledge grows by leaps and bounds because the technology to study DNA gets more and more accessible and cheaper and cheaper. It has implications of course not only so far as people's appearances are concerned but your genes also show what diseases you are likely to get and even why some people are gifted more athletically or more artistically than others--fascinating. Of course you should never downplay the importance of nurture and environment, but it is amazing how much about us is coded in our genes.
I first got interested when I was in second grade and the teacher showed us that simple Mendelian square about blue eyes and browns (that's completely outmoded now by the way, they have found that eye color inheritance is much more complicated than that) and she mentioned that I was the only person in the class who had green eyes, instead of dark brown (we were all black kids) and she wondered why and I had no idea. (I'm from a country with a lot of mixed race people and black people with green or blue eyes and different colors of hair are quite common there but as a kid, you don't think about this--and frankly, the adults around me weren't thinking about it either, it was not something I was brought up to think was important at all). Anyway, I got interested in the 'why' and have just remained interested, so I do a lot of the kinds of reading that shinyspoon does, and even more interesting than why you 'happen' to look a certain way is the fact that that some things about people's appearances can change so drastically as they age (like hair color, and in the case of black babies as they change into toddlers, skin color, too, some babies get amazingly darker than they started out, for the same reason, melanin doesn't kick in all at once). And that that's genetically encoded too--which people are going to change, and how much and by what ages. It's really a very interesting subject--unless, of course, you take the tack that these genetic differences between people make some people 'better' than others, which of course some have historically done, but the fact that something has been misused sometimes in the past doesn't make it less interesting, nor does it make it something that shouldn't be studied. JMHO


From what I understand, it has to do with how hormones affect melanocyte hormone receptors, which determine the amount and type of melanin production. Babies/kids produce less melanin than adults. That's why there are so many towheaded kiddos. When hormone changes happen, lots of people produce more melanin which causes their hair to darken. Puberty and pregnancy are examples of events that can increase melanin production because of strong hormonal changes. Some genes will do funny things though, and sometimes melanocytes will produce less melanin instead, or no melanin. The degree of change (if any) is controlled by genetics of course, the OP's friend may simply be to the point where her genetics are telling her melanocytes to produce more melanin, and there is no other external factor. It's just time.

Sources:
being a science geek who reads lots of stuff like this http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2006/10/genetics-of-hair-color/
then finds supporting articles to explain key terms like this http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MC1R

PraiseCheeses
June 29th, 2014, 03:44 PM
I was white-blonde growing up until I was about 13, and my hair was pretty suddenly darker. I actually had a demarcation line for a while as my child-hair grew out - it wasn't as stark as if I had dyed it, but it was a couple inches of transition. I turned to Sun-In when I was 14 or 15 (which started a vicious cycle that lasted until I was 20). My hair is still blonde, but definitely towards the darker side of the spectrum. (Don't go entirely by my photos... my camera is horribly inaccurate and tells sweet, sweet lies about my hair color.)

About post-puberty gradual darkening.... I've been saving my shed hairs for a while now and collecting them in a ponytail. The ponytail of sheds contains hair from all over my head - both the lighter canopy and the darker underneath layer at the nape of my neck - yet, when I hold it up to my head, it's distinctly lighter than the hair still growing on my head. I'm theorizing that each new hair that starts growing is slightly darker than the one it is replacing. Also, the last few inches closest to the root bulb is distinctly lighter than the rest of the hair, in some cases nearly transparent platinum. It's like the follicle gives up on producing melanin for the last several months of the hair's life. :lol: So I think that the gradual darkening experienced by so many of us is the result of darker hairs coming in one at a time upon renewal of anagen, rather than an all-over sudden increase in pigment. Hormonal changes, like you've described and like many of us experienced at puberty/childbirth/menopause are different and, like others have mentioned, can instigate a more sudden all-over change.

As far as lightening hair - the only way to remove pigment is through bleaching, which, natural source or not, is damaging. I am sorely tempted to enliven my blonde with highlights or with bleaching a shade. Some hair types can withstand that. My hair is super-fine (as in OMG THERE'S A HAIR WRAPPED AROUND MY LEG AND I CAN FEEL IT BUT I CAN'T SEE IT GET IT OFF GET IT OFF) and I'm shooting for at least classic, so no bleach for me. :) If your BF's mom wants to enrich her blonde, definitely try some of the herbal treatments mentioned in meteor's link. She might not be lighter, but the increase in golden tones can place her firmly in the "dark blonde" camp. :)

Larki
June 29th, 2014, 05:20 PM
I was white-blonde growing up until I was about 13, and my hair was pretty suddenly darker. I actually had a demarcation line for a while as my child-hair grew out - it wasn't as stark as if I had dyed it, but it was a couple inches of transition.

I find this interesting, because mine darkened differently - it went all at once, it didn't suddenly start growing in darker. Like, you can see it in the photos I have from around puberty - the whole head of hair gradually darkened over a period of a few weeks, as if I was dying it slightly darker and darker all the time. No demarcation line at all!

Micayla47
July 6th, 2014, 12:59 PM
Has anyone tried "blond" shampoos? Or the purple shampoo that brightens blond/silver hair? That might boost the color a bit.

CostaRita
July 6th, 2014, 01:03 PM
You could try chamomile tea. That's supposed to lighten naturally.

eadwine
July 6th, 2014, 01:57 PM
My ex husband was white as a child, I have seen the pictures. Over the years he got just as dark as I am, so yep, it happens. What causes it, no clue.

I'd try to encourage her to embrace her natural color though, it's beautiful, natural blonde :)

lunasea
July 6th, 2014, 02:45 PM
My mother told me that I was born with black hair which all fell out and then came in light blonde. In early pics my hair is almost white. It darkened over the course of time. Because I identified as a blonde (blue eyes, fair skin); I started down the sad path to dye. It started with Sun-in (I now consider this a gateway dye). Then I had blonde highlights put in. Then I had all of my hair dyed strawberry blonde with light blonde highlights. From what I've seen of the roots I think my actual color now is medium brown (where it's not gray). I'm now trying to figure out how to stop dying without a root line. Don't know what to say about this other than I've done a lot of damage to my hair because of the blonde thing.

LongHairLesbian
July 6th, 2014, 03:23 PM
I'm pretty sure all natural blondes have experienced their hair colour darkening with age; the differences lie in how much, and at what point in their lives. My hair was white, towhead blonde as a child. Now? It's mostly medium blonde, with dark blonde, light blonde, and rusty-reddish highlights. What is happening to your bf's mum is very normal, and unfortunately, there aren't any gentle lightening methods that have a great effect. Some people have a lot of their identity wrapped up in their blonde, so this is probably a really frustrating thing for her to deal with, so you might be better off reminding her that her hair is beautiful the way it is now, and that staying away from bleach means she gets to keep her hair healthy and long. :)

Larki
July 6th, 2014, 06:45 PM
Has anyone tried "blond" shampoos? Or the purple shampoo that brightens blond/silver hair? That might boost the color a bit.

I have. I've used both non-purple (non-toning) blonde shampoo, John Frieda Sheer Blonde, and a purple toning shampoo (Clairol Shimmer Lights). I loved the John Frieda - it doesn't change the color, but makes it seem shinier and brighter. The toning shampoo also doesn't change the overall color, it just removes brassiness, which both bleached and natural blondes get eventually. Mine was starting to look orange in the sunlight from hard water. :p I've heard people claim toning shampoo will turn warm, golden blonde into cool, silver blonde, though...and that's totally wrong. It does nothing of the sort.