How to naturally lighten hair? Help!

[iSuperHeroic]

I dyed my hair a dark brown almost 4 months ago and it ended up being black. I dyed it such a dark color because I was told it would fade during swim practice.

Wellll, it didn't and my light brown roots are beginning to show and it's really nasty looking.

I was wondering if you guys and gals had any HOMEMADE remedies to lighten hair, I'm trying to be kind to it.

I heard lemon juice lightens hair, how would I use that?


Thank you!

[Mairéad]

Have you considered Color Oops? It's far from natural but it works pretty well and shouldn't damage the hair if proper measures are taken to remedy to dryness it causes. I've used Color Oops numerous time and even succeeded in removing my henna completely with it.

[iSuperHeroic]

Have you considered Color Oops? It's far from natural but it works pretty well and shouldn't damage the hair if proper measures are taken to remedy to dryness it causes. I've used Color Oops numerous time and even succeeded in removing my henna completely with it.


Would it strip my hair completely of the color or only a few shades? I might look into it, especially if it gets rid of all the color or at least lightens it to a point my roots aren't noticeable.

[Littlewing13]

Generally, from what ive heard, anything that lightens hair will open the cuticle & dry your hair out. There are a few natural ways, ranging from not drying but also not really doing much if anything, to really drying but effective. Lemon is probably the most drying, but effective of natural substances. Honey is a popular method on here as it lightens slowly so minimal damage. Also I've heard people using cinnamon, & other spices, olive oil. Theres some info in the articles section on some of these.

Or of course theres peroxide, lightening tints & bleach. tints usually don't lighten permanent colour, but in my experience if you get lightest blond sometimes you can lift a shade if you have bleached/lightened your hair previously. I wouldn't home bleach unless you are 110% sure you know what you are doing as most cases end up having to go to a salon anyway to fix it, and it costs much more.

[Mairéad]

Would it strip my hair completely of the color or only a few shades? I might look into it, especially if it gets rid of all the color or at least lightens it to a point my roots aren't noticeable.

Since you ended up with such a dark color, it probably won't lift all the way. The hair underneath the dye is going to be lighter than your regrowth because dyes have developers in them that lift the natural pigments in your hair. So, if you do Oops, keep in mind that the color underneath the dye is not going to be your natural. Recoloring after doing an Oops (I would let my hair rest for awhile though) could be used to correct the tone brought out by the developer and blend into the regrowth. Following the directions for Color Oops is extremely important to its success.

[iSuperHeroic]

Generally, from what ive heard, anything that lightens hair will open the cuticle & dry your hair out. There are a few natural ways, ranging from not drying but also not really doing much if anything, to really drying but effective. Lemon is probably the most drying, but effective of natural substances. Honey is a popular method on here as it lightens slowly so minimal damage. Also I've heard people using cinnamon, & other spices, olive oil. Theres some info in the articles section on some of these.

Or of course theres peroxide, lightening tints & bleach. tints usually don't lighten permanent colour, but in my experience if you get lightest blond sometimes you can lift a shade if you have bleached/lightened your hair previously. I wouldn't home bleach unless you are 110% sure you know what you are doing as most cases end up having to go to a salon anyway to fix it, and it costs much more.


Since you ended up with such a dark color, it probably won't lift all the way. The hair underneath the dye is going to be lighter than your regrowth because dyes have developers in them that lift the natural pigments in your hair. So, if you do Oops, keep in mind that the color underneath the dye is not going to be your natural. Recoloring after doing an Oops (I would let my hair rest for awhile though) could be used to correct the tone brought out by the developer and blend into the regrowth. Following the directions for Color Oops is extremely important to its success.


Would it make my hair color look funny? Like brassy or ashy or anything?

I don't want it to look like I had a failed attempt trying to bleach my hair, if it even gets it that light.

[morrigan*]

What about vitamin c mixed with shampoo and left only for 10 minutes on hair ?

[iSuperHeroic]

What about vitamin c mixed with shampoo and left only for 10 minutes on hair ?

o: I'll look into that.

[Amber_Maiden]

I used honey to lighten my hair after a dye job gone wrong. My hair went black as well, and I managed to lighten it CLOSE TO the hair colour I had before.

[Mairéad]

Would it make my hair color look funny? Like brassy or ashy or anything?

I don't want it to look like I had a failed attempt trying to bleach my hair, if it even gets it that light.

Yes, if your hair is naturally light brown, then hair dye developer probably lifts to an yellowish-orange color. There is a possibility this kind of undertone can be revealed when removing hair dye, though lightening it in another manner could do the same. That is why a corrective color may be necessary if any course of lightening is taken. No matter what solution you choose to pursue, test it on shed hairs collected from a brush or comb. This way you can decide which solution is best and what other course of action you may need to be taken to get a color you like.

If a corrective coloring is desired or necessary, read up on doing a coconut oil soak prior to chemical dying. I color my hair strawberry blonde, and this pre treatment has kept my hair feeling like it was never colored. (Mileage may vary though.)

How long ago did you dye your hair? Keep in mind it may fade a lot more in the months to come.

[iSuperHeroic]

Yes, if your hair is naturally light brown, then hair dye developer probably lifts to an yellowish-orange color. There is a possibility this kind of undertone can be revealed when removing hair dye, though lightening it in another manner could do the same. That is why a corrective color may be necessary if any course of lightening is taken. No matter what solution you choose to pursue, test it on shed hairs collected from a brush or comb. This way you can decide which solution is best and what other course of action you may need to be taken to get a color you like.

If a corrective coloring is desired or necessary, read up on doing a coconut oil soak prior to chemical dying. I color my hair strawberry blonde, and this pre treatment has kept my hair feeling like it was never colored. (Mileage may vary though.)

How long ago did you dye your hair? Keep in mind it may fade a lot more in the months to come.

Thank you, I'll definitely look into it, I'm kind of scared though haha.

I dyed my hair at the end of February, right before swim team started up and was in a chlorinated pool three days a week up until yesterday when team ended, it hadn't faded at all.

[iSuperHeroic]

So I've decided I'm going to try honey lightening. I found an article from a former LHCer and since I don't have the time to go to the store for Color Oops I'm going to try it.

Here's the article: http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-4-of-4-on-innovativee-approaches.html

How long can I leave the honey in for?

[MonaMayfair]

So I've decided I'm going to try honey lightening. I found an article from a former LHCer and since I don't have the time to go to the store for Color Oops I'm going to try it.

Here's the article: http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-4-of-4-on-innovativee-approaches.html

How long can I leave the honey in for?

If you do the dilution as ktani suggests in that article, you only need to leave it for one hour. That was the dilution and time frame that she found (after LOADS of research!) gave the best results.
I did about 18 treatments like that (to lighten up henna) and it really made a big difference. It made my hair feel nice too, I've just stopped for a while because although my hair's a lot lighter, it's still pretty red!
Hope it works for you!

[amylou]

I have experience with lemon and chamomile. There are some other things like honey and olive oil that are supposed to lighten hair. I think since your hair is dark, lemon may not work. Lemon is more for like dirty blondes or strawberry blondes to get natural highlights. If you want to go from really dark to light, you might want to consider honey.

I'm not quite sure of how to do it but if you search for honey lightening there is a whole thread about it.

[DayDreamerDani]

I really like the honey lightening. It seems to make my hair very soft and shiny and a little bit lighter :) good luck to you!