Hi everyone, I'm Kathleen.

My natural hair is very fine, straight and blond.  When I was younger it used to be to the small of my back, but when I was twelve my mum told me hair looked nicer short and cut it off to below my ears.  Then when I was fourteen I had it layerd, and then at sixteen and a half I didn't get it cut, and it stayed that way untill yesterday (I'm currently ninteen and a half) when I cut of two inches to get rid of dead and split ends.  The layers seem to have dissapeared, which is strange because it was VERY layered, some places three times as long as others.
My hair is currently just below my breasts... is there a nicer way to put that? but thats where it is, and I want it to the small of my back again.

One thing though, I've noticed in the past few years is that my hair is going grey.  Not grey grey, but it is much duller than when I was little, it was so blond back then!  It has darkened a bit too.  When I wear it out it looks nice and blond, but the scalp's the worse, so when I even put it in a loose braid it looks grey!  I've looked closley at my hair, and as well as blond hairs there are fine white ones, and really thick black wiery ones, which could be it.  

I was actually corn with black hair, but it naturally went blond while I was a baby, just as the nurse said it would (my mother thought she was an idiot... lol)

apart from getting foils (which I used to do when it ws shorter) is there any way I can return my hair to its natural blondness?

Welcome aboard Kathleen! :D
I'm dark haired myself, but I seem to remember that chamamelis or lemon help lighten blonde hair.
Someone will surely answer that :)

[glb]HELLO & WELCOME!!![/glb]  ;D

Howdy!  Your hair sounds really pretty.  Got pictures?

Don't know if I can help much with the color problems... lemon juice is ringing a bell somewhere.  If it helps, I think grey can be pretty too if it's healthy.  Adds a frosty shimmery thing.... but it does get frustrating when the scalp's a different color (I'm dark brown at the scalp, fading more dark auburn at the ends, currently waffling between henna or resignation to the Way Things Are).  

Um...  yes, not very helpful...  But welcome!

thanks everyone!

I do have one picture of my hair, but its from two years ago, and it's been curled, put up, and curled again.  Oh, and it had about half a can of hairspray in it.  I wish I had naturally thick and curley hair (though if I did I'd probably want it straight, or thats what I've been told by a guy-friend of mine who used to have hip long black curley hair)

The lemon juice thing makes sense, as if you want to bleach linnen naturally (ie, from its natural colour to white without using bleach) you wash it in lemon juice and put it in the sun on the grass to dry. Something about the sun, grass and lemon juice... should work on hair too.

The grey it is isn't a nice silver grey, just what happens to blond hair when all the colour goes dull.  well, its not blond, and I suppose it's not really grey, it depends how long after I've washed it. If hair could me colourless, that'd what it would be.  but it looks blond when I have my hair out, but if I pull it back into a pony, so I don't have my part it can look black!

Welcome Kathleen.  I, too, have heard about chamomile or lemon juice to lighten hair, but I've never tried it.  I think the chamomile was also put in than the person sat in the sun for awhile to help the lightening process.  It is true though that alot of us have had our hair darken in our teens to twenties.  Maybe that is what is happening here, and if you used to use foils some of that color may still be in the length making a greater discrepancy in the color from scalp to end ???  

Hi Kathleen, and welcome!  I hope you get your hair color the way you want it.  As to chammomile and lemon... here's a natural "hair care recipe cookbook" that has recipes for using both of those (i think). http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm

Welcome!

Blondes have the most noticable changes in hair color.  As you age, the color typically darkens and looses the luster.  Chamomile can add yellow to the hair, lemon (like vinegar), will remove product buildup that can leave your hair dull looking.  I was amazed at how much lighter my hair looked after I started using vinegar rinses (and shiny!!)

I seem to remember something about people washing their hair with vinegar back forever ago, now when was it?

Ah! I remember, a tv programe, when a family went to live as a 1900's family they washed their hair with vinegar as they didn't have shampoo.  they tried washing it with soap, then with eggs, but finally tried vinegar.

Thanks for the link Braider!

Hi, Kathleen and welcome!
My hair was invisible when I was born, then it was brilliant auburn red, then light blond. All of that was before I was a year old.  Yep, it got darker as I got older (I'm 35 now and it's almost brown) and mine is ASHY.  I think that's what's happening to you.  There's a grey cast to the hair.  I have noticed that my hair is brighter when I use lemons.  I have thick wavy/curly hair and the lemon works better than vinegar for me.  Avalon Organics makes a shampoo and conditioner from Lemon Verbena that I really like to clarify my hair without drying it out too much.  Wavy/curly hair tends to be dryer than non.
I am bummed that my hair isn't as bright as it used to be, but at least I'm wiser ;D
Good Luck!