Hi all,

I was just wondering....

Would any of you lighten your hair with hydrogen peroxide?

No, I wouldn't use peroxide. I have lightened with honey treatments though! Here's some pics:

Before:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9743

After 1 honey treatment:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9747

After 2nd honey treatment:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9753

Let me know if you want the recipe!
Mellie

I would not lighten my hair at all.

Yes, I would like the recipe!  Honey sounds like an interesting remedy.  I've also heard that lemon juice and vinegar is a good lightening remedy too.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my hair is relaxed.

Sakina, I bet you wouldn't lighten your hair at all.  You don't need to lighten your hair anyways.  ;) It is already light.  Mine is sooooooo dark like a medium brown.  It's more like brown with blondish highlights.  It's a beautiful color don't get me wrong but I do get pretty bored with it, and I always like to change up.

Blondie35, have you checked if your local area has a hairdresser that only uses organic dyes and even then, can they lighten hair without chemicals, I wonder?

I wouldn't lighten my hair with anything. Ever. Period.
There is no way to lighten hair without damaging it, sorry.

If I were to color my hair at all, I'd go darker and redder. But that's just me.  ::)

Hi there!!

I actually DID lighten my hair once with a mixture of Clorox and hydrogen peroxide.  YES it was blonde, but it had the consistancy (and sound - really) of straw.  Seriously - like around Halloween in the corn maze?!   :o   I had to cut it off, and the inch or two above the "blonde line" to get healthy hair again.

I also have very, very dark hair and get bored with the color.  I use Manic Panic Ultra Violet color on it, and it gets a purple tint to it.  Manic Panic is totally vegan, and works as a sweet conditioner!  My hair responds well to -cones, so that might be a factor (?).  :-/

I have given up on lightening my hair.  I go for the dark color changes.  I've also used Manic Panic's Vampire Red - that turned out really really pretty.  There is a girl on their website that was my inspiration to try it! :)

Please do NOT use peroxide on your hair if you decide to lighten it - the damage is really depressing!!

Luc

Here is the recipe:

1/4 c. alfalfa honey
3/4 c. herbal tea (I use a combo of chamomile and mullein) - let it cool off before adding the honey

I spread it on my hair with a tint brush first, then pour the rest over. Cover with plastic and a towel. Leave it on for an hour then rinse out.

It is not damaging and actually was very conditioning for my hair, as you can see from the photos. It is very gradual, so you may not notice anything with the first treatment.

Mellie

mellie wrote on Jun 18^th, 2008 at 7:32am:

Here is the recipe: 1/4 c. alfalfa honey 3/4 c. herbal tea (I use a combo of chamomile and mullein) - let it cool off before adding the honey I spread it on my hair with a tint brush first, then pour the rest over. Cover with plastic and a towel. Leave it on for an hour then rinse out. It is not damaging and actually was very conditioning for my hair, as you can see from the photos. It is very gradual, so you may not notice anything with the first treatment. Mellie

How often should one do this?  How often?  I may  not see results at all but it sounds like a good thing for your hair.

You can do it as often as you'd like, since it's not damaging. I've done it once a week, for a few weeks in a row till I got the lightening that I wanted.

Mellie

I've already tried it, and my hair is still nice, soft, and healthy.  It didn't end up like straw at all.  Now, Clorox and hydrogen peroxide?  That's  a no no for me....lol.  Hey, it's very strange that before I applied the peroxide on my damp hair it felt just like straw and damaged hair but after I did the peroxide thing it left my hair feeling nice, soft, and healthy.  Now, afterwards and for the last 2 days I conditioned, conditioned, and conditioned.  Then I deep conditioned as well.  I can remember there was a time about 10 years ago I had applied some color devloper on my hair, and it didn't do a thing to my hair.  And as you know, the color developer definately has hydrogen peroxide in it.  I've even checked the lightening products ingredients, and it also has hydrogen peroxide as well.  So, I felt....."What's the difference between using products that has hydrogne peroxide in it rather than using just straight up hydrogen peroxide itself?

Drear, no I haven't checked my local hairdressers to see if they use lighteners or any chemicals that won't damage your hair.  Oh, I have found an excellent natural lightening product over-the-counter.  It's a discontiued product  but it can be bought from ebay.  It is called, "Lemon Lights Beach Blonde Lightener."  It says that you can apply it to your damp hair, and either go out in the sun, and let the sun lighten your hair.  Or, let the heat from the blow-drier lighten it.  I have done that several times on my already lightened or bleached hair, and it didn't damage or break my hair off at all.  I didn't have any problems with breakage.  It's just that some people can lighten their hair with natural lightening products, and some can't.

Drear, I don't go to any hairdressers.  I do my own hair.  I have been all of my life.  I don't trust anyone touching my hair.  I feel that if my hair is gonna get damaged and messed up, I'd rather be the one doing it.  Well surprisingly, I went on ahead and experimented with the hydrogen peroxide anyways, and I got some really nice results!  It didn't damage my hair at all.  Now, I've read stories on the internet that said that hydrogen peroxide dries your hair out but I didn't let it dry out mine.  What I did was I sprayed some on my hair, went out in the sun for a day, and the next day I deep conditioned it.  A few days after I did the process I conditioned, conditioned, and conditioned.  Plus, I kept it moisturized with different kind of oils too.

Angel Spun, I can understand how you feel about lightening your hair.  Before I first started lightening my own hair I was skeptical too, nervous, and scared but then I went on ahead and did it, and afterwards my hair came out beautifuly without looking dry, dull, lifeless, or damaged.  I really don't have any problems with coloring or lightening my hair.  I don't suffer any damage at all.  I think the reason wh people suffer sooooo much damage from coloring is because they over-do it tooo much.  Like one day they'll color it, and then if the color doesn't come out the way they desired it to be then they'll color it again the next week or so.  In other words, instead of some people following the instructions of coloring every 4-6 weeks they'll color it every 2 or 3 weeks, and that's entirely too soon.  That's what causes the damage.  Over-processing but when I color, highlight, or bleach my hair I always wait until the 4-6 weeks period is up.  Or, sometimes I'll even stretch the time period out to 2 or 3 months.  That's because I also have permed and relaxed hair too.