Simple ways to naturally lighten hair
We all wish to have lighter hair shades to project a whole new touch and appeal to our look. Especially during summer, we wish lighter shades. However, most of us are scared to use those commercially available hair lighteners that are full of harmful chemicals. Such products do lighten hair but do more harm to the hair after every use. Instead of spending money on harmful hair lighteners, we can try easy to use home remedies that can help us to naturally lighten hair and can also be used to naturally highlight them. These home remedies are perfectly safe to use and cause no sort of damage to them. Moreover, these remedies are hardly expensive and most of the products used are easily available at the home. Hair enjoys good health unlike dryness or brittle hair that is caused after using harmful hair lighteners. Below mentioned are some easy methods which help to naturally lighten the hair.
Honey and olive oil
Honey is an ingredient which has naturally lightening quality. Olive oil is added to prevent dryness in hair. Make sure to pick extra virgin olive oil to get desirable effects. Add 1 cup of honey to 2 cups of vinegar. To this mixture add 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon and mix it properly. Damp the hair and apply this mixture evenly on hair using a brush. In the case of highlights, apply this mixture wherever highlights are required. Cover the hair using a towel or plastic wrap. Put on a shower cap above plastic wrap. Leave it overnight. Wash hair in the morning. Cinnamon and olive oil accelerates the lightening process. However, the real work is done by honey. It has hydrogen peroxide in it in small traces. Hydrogen peroxide is a lightening agent and thus the mixture prepared helps to naturally lighten hair when applied overnight.
Lemon juice
Lemon is a lightening agent and thus making use of it to naturally lighten hair is an age-old trick. Dilute it with water and apply it evenly on hair to obtain naturally lightened hair. Most of us fear that it will leave reddish color on hair but it is not true. It is highly effective and thus used widely all over the world for a reason. Apply the mixture of lemon juice and water, sit in the sunlight to dry the hair. Wash it after a couple of hours.
Chamomile tea
Tea is a natural ingredient to use for lightening the hair. Chamomile tea is particularly very useful. Not only it lightens hair but also promotes good hair health. If it isn’t available, one can also choose to use black tea. Boil a cup of water. Let the chamomile tea bag steep in it for 7-10 minutes. After the tea has cooled down, use it to rinse hair. Let the mixture remain on hair for 20 minutes. Repeat it after a few hours if one wishes to have lighter shades. Follow it by a shower.
Henna or Mehndi
Henna in itself is a natural lightening ingredient. It is a boon to naturally black hair or dark brown hair. It lightens them and gives them a reddish color. However, other than these shades, it tends to darken other shades of hair. Mix henna with water and keep it overnight. In the morning, apply it on hair and let it remain for three hours. Wash hair and see amazing reddish tint offered by henna. Henna can also be applied to the hair by mixing with an equal quantity of chamomile tea powder and water. Apply this mixture to hair and let it remain for an hour. If the hair color is dark, let it remain there for two hours. Rinse hair and see the difference.
Baking soda
Over the years we use a number of hair products and most of them have harmful ingredients in them. These ingredients settle on our hair and cause damage. Baking soda is the best natural ingredient to strip those chemicals and get rid of them. Moreover, it is a natural agent for lightening the hair. The process is slow. However, if the purpose is to eliminate the harmful buildup of chemicals from hair as well as to lighten the color, then it is the best product to use. All that is needed is to make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it on the hair. Leave it for half an hour to get good results. Paste should be of proper consistency. If it is too thin, it will be difficult to cover on hair and if it is too thick then it will dry out early.
Cinnamon powder
We use cinnamon in our day to day lives either in the preparation of tea or put its aromatic flavor to the best use by adding it in the preparation of sweets and other recipes. It is aromatic and also has properties to lighten naturally. Thus, it can be used to naturally lighten the hair. Moreover, cinnamon is rich in antioxidants. It offers protection against the harmful rays of the sun. Take conditioner and add some cinnamon powder to it. Use this mixture to coat on hair. Make sure to coat it evenly and in the case where only highlights are required, apply the mixture only to those strands. Leave it overnight and rinse the hair in the morning. Make sure to use natural conditioners. Leaving commercially available conditioners overnight can damage the hair. Natural conditioners such as curd, henna can be safely used and works magic if left on the hair for a longer duration. It not only naturally lightens hair but also makes it silky.
Honey and vinegar
Honey as well as vinegar both has lightening properties and thus both when together applied to hair offers much better and quicker results. Take a cup of honey and add the double amount of vinegar to it. Preferably use raw apple cider vinegar in the preparation. Add around one tablespoon of coconut oil to the mixture and blend all the ingredients properly. Apply this mixture on the hair and make sure to coat the hair well with it. The mixture is safe to be left on the hair overnight. Rinse the hair in the morning and see a remarkable difference.
Magical ingredient salt
Take any kind of salt around 1-2 tablespoon depending on the hair length. Dissolve it in a cup of warm water. Apply this solution on the hair and make sure to do it evenly. Let the solution remain on hair for around 15-20 minutes. Rinse the hair and see the same results which we experience after swimming in the beaches or the ocean. Salt in the ocean naturally lightens and highlights hair. Why wait for the summer to arrive so that we can hit the beaches and get that wavy naturally highlighted look on our hair strands. We can do it on our own within our home by using the magical ingredient salt as and when necessary.
Tablets of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is good for hair health. Moreover, it also lightens the hair. Take a few vitamin C tablets. Crush the tablets and mix with shampoo. Wash hair using the shampoo and vitamin C mixture. Condition the hair as usual. Follow this trick as and when necessary and see the difference.
Apple cider vinegar
Some of us may not like the instant change in the shade. They would appreciate a slow and gradual change. For those desirable of slow change, vinegar is the best ingredient. Prepare a solution of vinegar and water and use it regularly to experience gradual hair lightening. Dilute vinegar by 6 parts of water. Apply this mixture on hair and keep it for at least 20 minutes followed by a rinse. One can use different kinds of vinegar however; apple cider vinegar is better than others and also does not smell bad. It offers reddish color to the hair and it is a good ingredient if highlights are desirable. To get quicker results, dilute the vinegar with an equal quantity of water and leave it on hair for 30 minutes.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Those of us who do not appreciate slow and gradual changes and desire quicker results should go for hydrogen peroxide. This product lightens hair quickly. Some of us are concerned that it will cause hair dryness. However, it is not true. It does not cause damage to the hair like bleaching agents present in commercial hair products. Prepare a solution by mixing equal quantities of water and hydrogen peroxide. Apply this solution on hair and leave it for 15 minutes. One can see the natural lightening in the shade of hair. When one gets the desired shade, do rinse hair immediately with water.
Conclusion
We all have different tastes when it comes to hair color and styling. Instead of making use of commercially available hair color, use natural ingredients which not only lighten hair but also help to boost hair health. They are safe to use and do not cause any harm to the hair unlike chemical agents present in the hair coloring products sold in the market. The only thing to remember is that our hair is different and thus results will vary. The power and rate to which color is absorbed differ from person to person. Thus, the outcomes vary too. It is fun to experiment using the above mentioned natural ingredients.
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