Is there anything natural I can put in my hair to bring out the blonde in it?
By Melissa from Hendersonville, NC
I'm not sure about how good it is for your hair, but I've used sun-in for years, just on or near the ends of my long hair and it always looked great. Don't know that I'd use it all over my head, but if you're somewhat already blonde, go ahead. Just be sure & condition your hair well.
Cassia is an herb that will provide a golden glow to hair that is already light.
Like the other posters, I've used 1 lemon squeezed into a jug with strong camomile tea, this worked better than anything else I tried as the results are more natural looking than if you use peroxide. Ive tried that in the past and you can end up looking strange if you're not careful.
Lots of time in saltwater and sunshine (like surfers), lemon juice and sunshine or heat, chamomile and sunshine or heat. Short of that you could use peroxide but unless your hair color is close to blonde the peroxide might make it look brassy.
Any of you who are using the lemon juices, or vinegars, the reason your hair is drying out, is because these are an acid. - As is the Beer. The Chamomile is not. I am a Naturopath. Here's a suggestion:
Take your formulas:
half cup water
half or quarter cup hydrogen peroxide (9%)
two lemons
Then: Boil the half cup water on the stove and add 1-2T Chamomile - let boil on low 10 min (kills bacteria) turn off the heat and steep one hour.
Strain through cloth into your bottle. Then, add 1 and a 1/2 tsp avocado oil. Most health food stores carry this. The oil will nourish your hair.
I sometimes will use cornstarch and make a paste and comb the mixture through my hair because the cornstarch is inactive and will not do anything but provide a carrier. Let this sit on your hair for up to 45 min or until you like your tone. Wet in the shower and condition with coconut milk, rinse again. If you need to adjust your tone, follow below:
For a deeper brown-red, use a paste with black tea instead of water
For Deep Red- Substitute Logwood chips that have been decocted (boiled) in water for an hour.
If you want to go darker red, add 2 Tablespoons Cloves, (I added Cayenne) myself. I'll let you all know HOW that one turns out! You can also use red wine as well. (I do a lot of experimenting with color!)
You can use sage for brown. Make sure you infuse this as well in the water, and you can use 2 Tablespoons of cloves, I also added 1 tsp. of comfrey!
Walnut brown: Boil the walnut hulls in warm water until the water is a rich, dark brown. Make sure you strain the hulls. Use the infusion to mix your paste.
Auburn: You can use the Chamomile flower infusion for the water. Again, I mixed just a PINCH of cayenne and comfrey with this, and a touch of Oat Grass and Goldenseal to get a "natural" tone.
Remember that the Native American had to mix all of their colors from the plants around them. The same is true for us. We still have this available today. Have fun with it.
MaxiSpeaks, I need to clear up that acid on a PH scale regarding hair is not drying but rather it's the alkaline on the scale that is drying to hair. Hair is a dead appendage and does not react exactly the same as the living cells in our body. Your recipes are good though because the ingredients (alkaline, neutral (water) and acid) balance out PH values close to neutral. ;-)
Deeli
Retired (after 35 years) Cosmetologist
Using coconut oil in your hair before chemically lightening it can help protect it against damage. This is a page about use coconut oil for hair lightening.
This is a page about lightening your hair with hydrogen peroxide. When you want to lighten your hair without going to the salon, you may consider using a hydrogen peroxide recipe.
