My hair is a very dark brown. It is not thin, but not thick. I am thinking of dying my hair with 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 water in a spray bottle. I would spray it all in my hair, stay in the sun for a hour and wash it out. What are my chances of it turning into a disaster or it becoming orange?
By Nicole
I used to do that to my hair back in high school (80s) and while it is effective, even for brown hair, it is very damaging.
If you want a decent, but less expensive way to lighten your hair, spend the extra cash and go for a trusted hair color kit from a drugstore instead. I have my own favorite hair color brand and as a dark blonde, I use it rather than homemade types of things to color or lighten. There's only one brand I have had bad luck with (starts with a G).
Keep in mind that lightening your hair is not as reversible as changing colors to dark or to add reds. Also, there's the upkeep to any permanent change of hair color. Sometimes just adding highlights is a great way to brighten up anyone's hair without a dramatic change or potential for disaster. (07/01/2009)
By LizO
I have brown/dark blonde hair and I used to lighten my hair with lemon juice years ago. It did not damage my hair though. I never had any problems with it. My sister has had green hair and my friend has had orange hair, but those were from commercial coloring and my sister's was the combination of color and perm.
(07/02/2009)
By Kristy
Oh, and also, when I was younger and used the lemon juice to lighten my hair, I would often braid my hair, then "paint" the lemon juice on the braid before laying out in the sun. It had a highlighting effect. (07/02/2009)
By Kristy
You won't get orange, but if your hair is dark brown you may get auburn rather than blonde. If you dilute the lemon juice and wash it out after an hour you may not get anything, depending on where you are (how hot and strong the sun is). I used to soak strips of my dark brown hair in undiluted lemon juice and leave in on all day. It would change some, but I can't say I was excited about it. The lemon juice does dry your hair some, so make sure you use some conditioner, at least on the ends. (07/02/2009)
I was born strawberry - golden blond, over time my hair darkened to chestnut brown. 3 weeks ago I highlighted my hair with Garnier Nutrise gold ash blond. The highlights were not as clear as my natural highlights so I decided to enhance them with "lemon juice". I have used lemon before and it works fantastically.
I didn't have yellow lemons, but I had key limes, they're like mini lemon-limes. The "lime" aspect ensures they are not as strong or drying as a straight lemon - which is good.
Initially, I squeezed 2 - 3 key limes into a cup and added a little water approximately 3/4 of a cup (mainly key lime juice) and brushed it through my hair. It immediately turned bright orange, where I had previously chemically hi-lighted. I cringed.
Not to worry. The same principle which turns the hair orange if continued will turn it blond if continued. So I continued combing a little "undiluted" key lime through my hair daily to every other day for a week starting underneath my hair (flipping it over and combing the length of my hair) and combing around the frame of my face and leaving it in until my next regular shower-rinse.
Today approximately 1 week later my hair is exquisite. There are numerous shades of natural blond hi-lights of gold, red gold, bronze gold, ash gold, all mixed throughout in varying degrees of shine on a light chestnut infused base. It's beautiful and looks exactly like the hair I was originally born with. Frankly, it may look even better. Also, it's completely conditioned.
So don't fret if it initially turns red or orange, that's the first color phase keep combing undiluted juice on specific areas and it will continue to lighten (gold) per your preference.
Blessings in Christ. (07/05/2009)
By Magnificent
My natural hair is dark blonde with some lighter, natural, highlights. To lighten my hair in the summer, I usually mix lemon juice with water and some leave in conditioner (the leave in conditioner is so my hair doesn't dry out from the lemon juice). When I just put lemon juice with nothing else, my hair gets extremely dry. (07/20/2009)
By Mary
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