How to Lighten Your Hair

Most of us have dark brown or black hair and there are times when we tend to get bored of the colour. It is quite obvious that Asian hair, albeit very beautiful, has lesser scope and range when it comes to colours. Usually our natural hair colour is so deep and dark, that even bold colours like red don’t show much on them.

So what do we do if we’re getting a little desperate for some lighter shades?
You could go about it in natural ways if you have lighter variants of Asian hair such as brown. Most of the natural methods will not really work on very black hair. The black-haired beauties will have to opt for more brutal chemical methods.

Natural Methods to Lighten Hair

1. Lemon
Just as lemon is particularly useful as a skin bleach, it is also a preferred method for lightening hair. You can dilute lemon juice in a bucket of water for your daily rinse.

For intensive lightening, lemon juice concentrate may be applied all over strands before you decide to head to the beach or out shopping. The sun will dry out the lemon and lighten the colour of your hair. However, beware that this is a very drying procedure, so you need to get home and condition your tresses well. Regular hot oil treatments are a must for people trying out this.

2. Chamomile Tea
Brew strong chamomile tea and cool. Squeeze half a lemon into it and use as a regular rinse.

3. Lemon Juice Mixed in Hair Conditioner
Mix some lemon juice in your choice of hair conditioner and apply all over your hair. Put sunscreen on exposed parts of your skin and sit out in the sun for half an hour. Wash hair as usual and notice the lightened effect.

4. Honey
Honey contains natural traces of hydrogen peroxide, which is a bleaching agent. Mixing honey with lemon makes an excellent moisturizing hair mask which will lighten hair.

5. Black Tea
Black tea has the strange property of darkening light hair and lightening dark hair. Brewed as per normal concentrations and cooled, it can be used as a regular rinse with a dash of lemon added to it.

6. Swimming
Swimming in chlorinated water in the sun will cause your hair to become significantly lighter over time. But swimming in the sun will tan your skin, so sunscreens are important. This method will also cause hair to become very dry, so you need to deep condition it regularly at home.
light

Chemical Approach To Lightening Hair

The best possible way to dye black or dark brown hair to lighter blonde shades is to visit a professional salon. This way you minimize the damage done to it and your hairdresser has the situation in control.

1. Buy peroxide and bleach which have been specifically formulated for use on hair. These are also known as ‘strippers’. Preferably look for one that says it conditions the hair while it strips it of pigment.

2. Wash your hair with moisturizing shampoo and deep condition it. Blow dry.

3. Mix peroxide and bleach in equal proportions. Start applying from the end up to the roots. This way you get a more even colour all over, because the warmth from your scalp will not bleach your roots faster than the tips.

4. Sit before a mirror while you wait. Do a strand test after every few minutes by lifting a strand up, wiping away the bleach and checking the colour. When it is a little darker than the shade you want, it’s time to wash. That’s because dry hair comes out looking lighter than when it is wet. Do NOT leave bleach in your hair for longer than an hour unless you want to severely fry your hair.

5. After washing, use a heavy duty conditioner to return moisture to your stripped hair. Invest in a thick hair mask treatment for weekly use.

deep conditioning mask

Deep Conditioning Hair Mask

6. Do not use too much shampoo, because shampoo will dry out bleached hair even more.

7. Using apple cider vinegar as a conditioner will make your damaged hair soft and silky. Frizz will reduce and damage will be less evident.

8. If your hair comes out looking green or orange, don’t panic. You can now buy a blonde shade of dye and dye your lightened hair with this colour for a more natural look.

9. In worst case scenarios, if your bleaching experience has turned out to be a complete disaster, don’t think twice about rushing to a professional and confessing your crimes. A salon should probably know how to colour correct the weird hair and will also advise on rescuing it from the damage it has suffered.

Are you still brave enough to do it?!

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9 thoughts on “How to Lighten Your Hair

  1. Contrary to the article, I want to darken my hair, I use amla for that, any other tip?? Please anyone write an article on how to darken hair, I want gorgeous black hair ! 😀

    1. Even i wud never opt for lightening my hair. :nababana: :nababana: i like it dark…
      however i heard that frequent use of lemon on hair aids in premeture greying.. 🙁 😕

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