How does lemon lightening damage hair and is there a way to completely prevent damage

[juliaxena]

Hello all. I am thinking of trying to lighten my hair with lemon, but I have read it damages hair. How exactly does it damage it? Does it work the same way as peoxide? What if I used some coconut oil with it, or maybe conditioner, would that totally prevent damage? I can't get hold of a decent honey that would work. And most of all, will it work?

[MissBellydance]

On virgin hair I've actually had some very noticeable colour changes using the lemon technique. To be perfectly honest I didn't notice any damage to my hair. From dark brown a couple of streaks at the front turned a bit coppery. It was very brittle feeling when the lemon was in but once I washed it out it felt just like the rest of my hair. I have heard that diluting the lemon juice in water helps to avoid damage, I don't know how true this is or if it drastically slows the lightening process.

Also, I only found the lemon effective if I sat in the sun. I'm not sure why this is, perhaps the heat? Who knows. Maybe I just didn't try it enough out of the sun.

Hope this helps a little, I'm sure other people will have much more to add :)

[sweet*things]

I have a friend with very long, natural blonde hair that uses lemon juice to add highlights. Her hair always looks in perfect condition, and unless she's been holding out on me, she only uses lemon juice, grocery store shampoo & conditioner brands and the occasional olive oil hot oil treatment.

She says she uses diluted lemon juice and then works outside in the sun in her garden for a few hours.

I did it myself a few times when I was a teenager, and I don't remember any damage. I think a blowdryer will work as a heat source too, but sun is best (and probably a lot gentler).

[little_cherry]

Have you considered Honey lightning (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148)? It won't dry your hair out.

[juliaxena]

I can't get hold of a decent honey that would work.


:) and ordering food from abroad is no picnic. I tryed all the honeys and nothing happened.

[little_cherry]

:) and ordering food from abroad is no picnic. I tryed all the honeys and nothing happened.
I use ordinary honey from the store when my henna gets too dark...it's the combination of Olive Oil and cinnamon that really helps boost the lightening.

[juliaxena]

I tryed all sorts of honey in combiunations like you mention and it didn't work. I guess honey just doesn't have enough peroxide to work on my hair. So I don't want to bother with it anymore.


I really want to try lighten hair with lemon juice. I tryed yesterday but I'm not sure if I'm just seeing a very slight lightening effect or is it just that I want to see it. My hair didn't get dry. My scalp felt invigorated too :D.

So no advice, experience from anybody else??

[duh_its_Sarah]

How did you dilute it? Did you blow dry it?

[little_cherry]

I tryed all sorts of honey in combiunations like you mention and it didn't work. I guess honey just doesn't have enough peroxide to work on my hair. So I don't want to bother with it anymore.
It won't show results with one use, though..I do daily treatments for a week and get results, and my hair is so soft afterwards. Sorry it didn't work for you. Lemon juice is so drying, unfortunately.

[juliaxena]

How did you dilute it? Did you blow dry it?

I just put a bit of conditioner in. Yes, I blow dryed it. Unfortunately I'm now pretty sure my hair didn't get lighter. I'll do it a couple more times and see.

[Lianna]

My hair didn't get dry. My scalp felt invigorated too :D.

So no advice, experience from anybody else??


So you had lemon juice on your scalp, under the sun and didn't get any burns? Lemon juice on skin + sun burns the skin. Be careful.

I'm sorry I can help with the lightening, honey only lightened my dyed hair not my virgin roots. Maybe our hair wasn't porous enough.

I plan to grow my natural hair and highlight the front with dyes (not bleach), I think it's cool just like that too. My hair is dark ash blonde/light brown, that color no one knows what to call.

Keep trying and show us results? :D


ETA: the lemon works by maximizing the sun natural bleach effects, so you just blow dried? maybe that's why it didn't work so good

another thing is camomile tea, which deposits yellow pigments, isn't damaging, i've gain a slight yellow hue with it in the past

[juliaxena]

So you had lemon juice on your scalp, under the sun and didn't get any burns? Lemon juice on skin + sun burns the skin. Be careful.

I'm sorry I can help with the lightening, honey only lightened my dyed hair not my virgin roots. Maybe our hair wasn't porous enough.

I plan to grow my natural hair and highlight the front with dyes (not bleach), I think it's cool just like that too. My hair is dark ash blonde/light brown, that color no one knows what to call.

Keep trying and show us results? :D


ETA: the lemon works by maximizing the sun natural bleach effects, so you just blow dried? maybe that's why it didn't work so good

another thing is camomile tea, which deposits yellow pigments, isn't damaging, i've gain a slight yellow hue with it in the past


Nope, no sun, It's practically winter here:D.

I'll try camomile after I'm done with lemon. If I can at least get a golden hue. I'd try cassia for the same purpose, but cassia literally suffocates my hair even with weeks of moisture treatments.

[Katze]

Lemon is drying, and sun bleaching is damaging. IN my many, many years of trying to make my hair lighter than it is (I started with lemon around 1985, if I remember!) I never had any luck with any 'natural hair bleach' methods. So I moved on to Sun-In and drugstore blonde kits. My hair was dry, porous, and very damaged.

Honey did not lighten my hair at all, nor did it do anything besides soothe the scalp and make hair shinier (I suspect this is what people are seeing when they think their hair is lighter). I tried it on my (then dyed) hair and on DH's somewhat damaged, virgin hair. We are both former blondes, but I have noticed that his hair gets lighter in summer when he is not conditioning it (he is a lazy longhair). My hair does not sun bleach any more at all, so I suspect that sun bleaching works best on hair that is already damaged.

So, sorry, in my experience if you want lighter, your best and safest bet is to go to a professional who will use just enough peroxide to damage your hair as little as possible.

hth

[duh_its_Sarah]

yes i use sun in also.

[noellenc]

I used lemon juice on my blonde hair and sat in the sun this summer and my hair did not get any lighter (already lightened about half a shade with a box color) but it did feel like straw for a few days afterward. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have very resilient hair because it will probably take a lot of applications and sun to work. I'm sure it's not as harsh as sun in or peroxide, but I doubt it's very healthy either!

[juliaxena]

Tryed it again, this time undiluted. No change. No bad effects either. Seems it doesn't dry my hair. I have been know for resiliant hair.

[ktani]

What can be damaging with lemon juice are 2 things, its pH, which is about 2.3 and the citric acid, which is an alpha hydroxy acid. Products which a pH lower than 3.5 can damage hair depending on how much and how often they are used. Alpha hydroxy acids can be corrosive. It is about frequency, dilution and amounts used.

UV rays and heat can accelerate the effects of lemon juice for lightening.

More on how lemon juice lightens, which is not damaging in and of itself, can be found here, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1119619&postcount=5.

[juliaxena]

do you have any advice about frequency and dilution ktani?

[ktani]

do you have any advice about frequency and dilution ktani?

For lemon juice lightening, I always keep the thread linked and quoted from below handy as a reference. You should be able to use it as often as you like. It was used with heat. Lemon juice hair lightening does not always redarken. The only reports I am aware of that happening are when it was used to lighten henna.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=42900&postcount=5

UV rays are damaging. The damage is cumulative and may not be noticed right away. It often shows up as lighter, damaged or fragile ends, even on uncolour-treated hair as the hair grows longer, and can be referred to as "weathering".