Honey thread - from TBB and bits from old LHC

[ktani]

Since using tea - chamomile - was enough in 1 report to help buffer cinnamon irritation when the cinnamon was well mixed into the honey lightening recipe, I wonder if conditioner might be better off used to CO the recipe out after the treatment or just be used to condition the hair after washing the treatment out with shampoo.

Leaving conditioner out of a honey lightening recipe would increase the odds IMO, of getting the lightening desired and peroxide boosters can still be used.

The honey? A cheap, dark coloured honey blend is probably much easier to buy than trying to find a light conditioner that is the best choice - and honey lightening can be even less expensive with the option of no conditioner in the mix.

[ktani]

Revisiting the results

bizarrogirl's first recipe - 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup V05 Kiwi Lime Conditioner, 6 tblsp cinnamon.

Results on 2 henndigoes with multiple henna layers underneath - 8 hours

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bizarro...7594199905645/


2nd recipe - 1/4 cup honey, 4 tblsp cinnamon, 1/2 c up water, 1/2 cup V05 Kiwi Lime Conditioner for 1 hour.

This time it lightened the henna layers - no burgundy colour.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bizarro...7594199905645/


1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of conditioner will make for a very runny recipe in any case - the results though were even better in this report and others.
IMO, no conditioner at all in the recipe, just water or a herbal tea like Roman chamomile - German chamomile will do - would be the optimum choice.

[ktani]

Recommendations for the 4 parts water to 1 part honey lightening recipes, based on research and the latest reported results.


1. The minimum amount of honey to be used - 1/8 cup or 10 grams

2. No conditioner (it does not contribute to lightening, can contain problematic ingredients and a light conditioner when well diluted, reported to work better that way for honey lightening, will not provide much conditioning), just water or herbal tea - chamomile tea is a good choice because it counters irritation (unles you are allergic to it) and it may contribute to lightening.

3. Honey - use a dark coloured honey blend (it increases the odds of buying a honey that will produce more peroxide) - the cheapest is fine - pasteurizing does not affect a honey's ability to produce peroxide - the plant source determines the honey peroxide level. Do not buy mint or thyme honeys - they contain Vitamin C.

4. I recommend mellie's method of application - using a tint brush to apply the mix and pouring some of it over the hair at the end.

5. No sunlight, no external heat, no lemon or any Vitamin C content ingredient with the exception of cardamom - it has a higher peroxide value to compensate for its small Vitamin C level (UV, external heat, and Vitamin C can all negatively affect honey and lower the amount of peroxide of the recipe).

6. If you use cinnamon or cardamom as peroxide boosters, blend either one well into the recipe before you apply the honey lightening treatment to your hair, to help prevent scalp and skin irritation.

7. If you use extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil as a peroxide booster (EVOO has the highest oil peroxide level), start with about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons - oil can be difficult to wash out of the hair.

8. Make sure that the hair is well covered with plastic during the time that the honey lightening treatment is on the hair (I recommend pinning it up before covering), to provide a constant moisture level, needed to ensure that the honey continues to produce peroxide without interruption (if the treatment dries on the hair, the honey stops producing peroxide).

ETA
9. With the 4 parts water to 1 part honey dilution, a recipe with the spice booster cinnamon, was reported to work even better than a previous recipe without the dilution and the 4 to 1 recipe contained 1/3 less cinnamon. When chamomile tea was used as the water in another recipe with cinnamon, no irritation was reported.

10. A possible method of removing the treatment is CO'ing or using conditioner only to wash it out of the hair. Honey residue can be removed with shampoo and or a weak white vinegar rinse - 1 tsp white vinegar to 24 oz of water, left on the hair for 30-60 seconds and rinsed out.

[firebird]

Thanks ktani for your latest recommendations and making everything so clear I have tried diluting the honey just with water/tea before, it was much harder to apply than conditioner, but if it will give better results I'll try again. I did a treatment yesterday including cinnamon, mixed in well before I applied it to my hair. I think I added more than usual (I don't measure the cinnamon very accurately) and it was fine on my hair until I leant over to clean the shower and drips ran down my face, making it sting really bad and go bright red. It's fine now, but it just proves that even when you do mix it into the mixture before applying, it can still irritate the skin and it's always good to be careful, especially if using a 'drippier' mixture without conditioner!

[ktani]

firebird

You make an excellent point. It is about spice amounts.

However, with the 4 to 1 water to honey dilution, you can use less cinnamon than you did previously.

bizarrogirl’s 2nd recipe, lightened the henna layers under her henndigo, in 1 hour as opposed to 8 hours, removing the burgundy colour they had and she used 1/3 less cinnamon.

I am going to edit in a 9th point. Thank you!

[firebird]

Yes, I will definitely use less cinnamon! I will also try the cardamom instead, when I finally manage to get some

[ktani]

firebird

Just double checking - in this last recipe - did you use conditioner in the mix?

If you did then conditioner did not protect your skin from irritation when it dripped. I think that chamomile tea and less cinnamon might be better for that.

I am pleased for you to read that the irritation was temporary.

[firebird]

ktani, I did use conditioner in the mixture. It was 1 part honey, 2 conditioner and 2 water, with a little EVOO (about 1/2 tablespoon). I will use your suggestion of the camomile tea and less cinnamon next time, thank you!

[LadyPolaris]

ktani!

Today the sky was heavily overcast, so this is not a good picture, but I promised I'd have one today, so here it is!

It's a pity I don't have a real before picture, but I swear, this 1st treatment did manage to lighten my hair a bit. When asked "what's different today about my hair?", everyone noticed that it looks slightly more orange and less burgundy than it did before! So, that's at least one henna layer off! I left this treatment in for 3 hours before washing it off.

I now realize I forgot to comb my hair before taking the picture! Eep. Well, at least you can see how wavy it got after this treatment - it's usually a 1b and it's looking like a 1c right now!





I took notes of my camera settings (I always shoot on manual mode), time of day etc. so I can replicate the same conditions on my next photos.

Thank you again for the marvelous research you're conducting here!

[GlennaGirl]

ktani, with no conditioner, will it be harder to get the honey out of the hair? Would this require shampooing after?