Chamomile hair lightening?

[Nicci]

I have medium golden brown hair and when I was younger and outside every day during summer it would go to almost a white blonde from the sun. I have been outside every day for about 1-2 hours for 1 and a half months tanning and have recently sat out with damp hair letting the sun dry it. I don't want any product that will dry out my hair because i am trying to grow it out again.. Can chamomile tea lighten my hair I plan on being outside 1-2 hours every day until august 25th when i start college again. Do you think that is enough time for my hair to lighten chamomile or not? Does anyone have any similar experiences?

[Ingrid]

I've used chamomile before for an extended period of time. It doesn't lighten hair but imparts a temporary golden/yellow colour which can make your hair appear lighter in under certain lighting. Warm colours tend to be more reflective than cool colours and therefore while chamomile won't lift your hair level, it can make it look lighter. Of course it depends on your starting colour, and also the effect will be less obvious if your hair is darker. My advice is to be careful about sun-lightening, it can be quite damaging. I practically leave on the beach and found that during summer my hair (particularly the ends) can get quite fragile. Hair lightening from the sun is a sign of UV damage.

[meteor]

Chamomile can give a bit of a yellow-ish/golden stain, but it can't lighten hair. It works a bit like catnip, cassia and other plants/herbs - giving a golden stain to already very light hair.
The only "natural" things I know that can lighten hair are lemon (drying) and honey.

Check out this article by Nightshade: Hair Coloring with Herbs, Plants & Other Natural Ingredients: http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646
Also, here is an ongoing honey lightening thread that you might like: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148

[Nicci]

Are there any other possible ways to lighten my hair?

[Anje]

Peroxide is the usual go-to. That can be Sun-in, a honey and water solution, blends of cinnamon in conditioner (careful, some people get burns from that one), and so on. I remember people talking about spritzing lemon juice in their hair and sitting in the sun, too, but that might be harsher than peroxide.

If you start with hair that has had coconut oil sitting on it for at least an hour or so, word is that you can really cut the potential damage. Personally, I expect that chelating the hair first would give even better results.

[meteor]

I really agree with Anje on everything she said! For other ways of imparting golden tint check out Nightshade's article on plant-based hair coloring (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51646)

Also, please be aware that all natural ingredients can not only cause some dryness but also give serious allergic reactions, so always do patch-testing! I especially have cinnamon lightening in mind: many people who have tried it temporarily had red, irritated skin from it, so please always test first!

Coconut oiling pre-bleach is an excellent way of reducing damage from bleach if you choose Sun-In or other bleach/peroxide treatment. Also, it's useful to do some hydrolyzed protein treatments before and after the bleach to patch-repair some damage, if you really do choose to take that route.
Coconut oiling pre-bleach: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10495

[Autumnberry]

Sun-in can be quite damaging to the hair, depending on hair texture. A very long time ago, I tried ample amounts of Sun-in on my baby fine hair texture, and I could feel the damage right away. My hair looked and felt stripped for a long time. The sun damages, but it's less strong, in my experience. And 1-2 hours does not seem like a lot of sun exposure for the hair. I don't believe Chamomile tea has a lasting effect on hair color, but it is a wonderful conditioner for the scalp and hair!

[jennraq]

I used to add Chamomile to my Senna gloss and I ended up with a very yellow/gold "Halo". People kept commenting on it. Eventually, I just stopped adding it.