Can you lighten hair with lemon juice

Honey is a natural lightener and can also help condition your hair. Replace the nozzle and give it a good shake. Proceed as your normally would. Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow.

Laura Martin Licensed Cosmetologist. Laura Martin. Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer. Not Helpful 9 Helpful Not Helpful 7 Helpful Ashley Adams Professional Hair Stylist.

Ashley Adams. Not Helpful 15 Helpful Not Helpful 32 Helpful Gina Almona Professional Hair Stylist. Gina Almona. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2. Not Helpful 12 Helpful Swimming in pools with chlorine should be avoided, but swimming in freshwater or ocean water will be fine.

Not Helpful 26 Helpful It's possible to have light brown highlights. Just drench your hair and sit in the sun. Before you apply the lemon juice to your hair, should your hair be wet or dry? Dry would be ideal, as your hair would be better able to absorb the lemon juice. Not Helpful 11 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Continue this process on multiple days if you don't have much time the first sitting. Helpful 37 Not Helpful 8. Helpful 21 Not Helpful 5. If you apply the juice to only your natural highlights, you will get streaks. If you saturate your whole head, it will lighten with full coverage. Helpful 18 Not Helpful 4. Don't use bottled lemon juice. Helpful 47 Not Helpful Helpful 27 Not Helpful Risks, Benefits and What Works.

How to. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: I was actually surprised at how much my hair lightened after such a short amount of time in the sun. I definitely felt like it was brighter and blonder, especially halfway down my strands. Going in to this, I was nervous the juice was going to make my chemically colored hair yellow.

And my hope was that since it was a natural process it would deliver natural results The change was slight and minimal. But I imagine if I had spent more time out in the sun, over a longer period of time, I would have seen much lighter hair.

It did end up feeling drier than usual after day two. So, I just put a little pre-styling cream in, and my hair was smooth and soft again. And just like Nick and Joe Jonas are making a comeback , it's nice to know that lemon juice will always be here to bring back the nostalgia with bright, blonde summer hair. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

A few things you should know before going on a squeezing frenzy. What about good, old-fashioned Sun In? After serving two years as beauty assistant at Harper's Bazaar and SELF, Emily went full-time freelance covering health, beauty and lifestyle. When she's not testing out the latest beauty trends or researching skin care ingredients, you can Read more. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance.

Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Remember back in the 90s when one of the most beloved beauty products was Sun-In? Maybe you had your own bottle or maybe you snuck spritzes out of your sister's. Whatever the case may be, there was nothing quite as satisfying as spritzing your strands with a seemingly-magical solution only to look noticeably blonder and, okay, often brassier after just a few hours in the sun.

The lightning effect achieved by Sun-In actually occurs because of one of its key ingredients: lemon juice. Which begs the question: Can you lighten your hair with a simple spritz of lemon? It's important to dilute the lemon juice with water, as the fruit's natural acidity can damage the hair strands if it is too strong. To avoid damage, you should aim for roughly one part lemon juice to two parts water.

If your hair is prone to being particularly dry, then you can opt to add a small amount of conditioner to the mix. Some people like to use coconut oil here in place of conditioner but be aware that this does tend to make hair quite greasy. Lemon juice is very drying and can leave your hair prone to breaks and split ends, so using a conditioner at this stage can help to keep hair moisturized and prevent damage later on.

Once mixed, use the spray bottle to apply the liquid to dry hair. This fine mist spray bottle is ideal for covering your hair without getting it too wet. Depending on the desired outcome, you can spray the ends of the hair only to achieve an ombre effect or evenly cover the whole head for an all-over color lift. Make sure to use enough so that the hair is damp but not entirely soaked through.

To get the most effective results, expose your hair to sunlight for one to two hours immediately after applying the lemon juice mixture. The fruit's bleaching power becomes activated by heat and UV rays, so this will speed up the lightening process and make for more obvious results. Don't forget to protect your skin with sunscreen when you're out in the sun.

If you're short on outdoor sun, using a hairdryer on a warm temperature to dry the lemon juice in your hair can also help to activate the process, but it is less effective than exposure to sunlight. Your hair will feel sticky and might have a crunchy texture as it dries. This is normal, but when your time in the sun is up, you want to make sure to wash your hair thoroughly to get out any residue and stickiness.