To be considering lightening my dark hair using honey

[froggy1811]

So, I really want to lighten my medium brown hair for Christmas, but I don't want to damage my hair or change it too dramatically, as I like the rich goldeny tones that are in my hair naturally. Put simply, I just want to 'emphasise' this by lightening to a shade or two lighter - although, I'm not sure if I want to lighten the entire base or just add highlights.

Lately, I've watched numerous videos on YouTube where women have dyed their hair using honey! Some have just mixed it with conditioner, while other add cinnamon (apparently this intensified the lightening - something to do with the chemical combo of cinnamon and honey!) Apparently, you need to do this several times until you achieve your desired colour. Some have used highlighting caps, while others just smeared it all over their heads!

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone here has tried this, and if so did it work? Do you think the whole thing is a silly old wives tale, or is it worth a try before reaching for the box die?

Honey…..??

(Runs off to ggoogle)

By all means leave a strand or two of hair in some honey but for the love of god don't put it all over your hair!

You could eat if afterwards

Crikey, who knew, apparently it IS a thing!

Google says having to leave it on for 4 hours though!

@PragmaticWench

By all means leave a strand or two of hair in some honey but for the love of god don't put it all over your hair!

Perhaps I should try a few 'streaks' first to see if it even works! If it does, that would be amazing!

Wow honey and cinnamon.. if nothing else your shower will smell amazing.

How light can they make you go?

Well, the girl on one YouTube video who had similar colouring to me went from a medium brown to a gorgeous sun kissed dark blonde/light brunette! But, she did say she had to do it twice a week for a whole month! Apparently you can't tell the first couple of times you do because it's a gradual thing!

In the end it will probably work out more expensive than buying a box dye for under a tenner, but if it does work and I can keep my hair healthy I'm up for it!

I must be absolutely bonkers for considering this! 😂

This reminds me of my friend who tried to lighten her hair using Vitamin C tablets and something else (can't remember what she mixed with it) anyway it didn't work and left her hair like straw😂😂 and her bathroom had vitamin c everywhere.

Need some before and after pics!!!

Any old honey, or raw honey?

But surely it’s just the same as lemon juice or anything else ‘natural’ that bleaches the hair. It’s bleaching, whether it’s something you’d eat or something you wouldn’t. I can’t see how it’s any better to use a painfully slow, messy ‘natural’ process than to just use something designed for the purpose.

Just curious - why not use something like the John Frieda "Go Blonder" range? It's got a v small amount of lightener in it.
DH is dark blonde but goes very blonde in summer due to the sun. He uses the John Frieda stuff to stay lighter over the winter (& definitely doesn't tell anyone )

@ParkheadParadise

This reminds me of my friend who tried to lighten her hair using Vitamin C tablets and something else (can't remember what she mixed with it) anyway it didn't work and left her hair like straw😂😂 and her bathroom had vitamin c everywhere.

I've seen videos for this too! I have far too much time on my hands...😅

@pastypirate

Need some before and after pics!!!

I will gladly provide them!

@Taoneusa

Any old honey, or raw honey?

Well the advice seems to be a little mixed on this one! Some are saying raw organic (the darker the honey the better) while others are saying any old honey will do!

When I was a teen someone told me she "knew" the best conditioner for hair is raw egg.Beat up a couple of eggs, wash your hair, work in the eggs all over, leave for half an hour and rinse it out.

Well, it's not true. Oh, and don't EVER use hot water to rinse raw eggy hair.

@TheProvincialLady

But surely it’s just the same as lemon juice or anything else ‘natural’ that bleaches the hair. It’s bleaching, whether it’s something you’d eat or something you wouldn’t. I can’t see how it’s any better to use a painfully slow, messy ‘natural’ process than to just use something designed for the purpose.

You are probably right! But I'm really nervous about dying my hair, and as I replied to a previous poster, I have far too much time on my hands! Lol

@AwkwardPaws27

Just curious - why not use something like the John Frieda "Go Blonder" range? It's got a v small amount of lightener in it. DH is dark blonde but goes very blonde in summer due to the sun. He uses the John Frieda stuff to stay lighter over the winter (& definitely doesn't tell anyone )

I looked at this option! Apparently this turns medium brown hair orange, and is not much better than sun in! 😰

Good luck @froggy1811
I think you might need it 🙈😂🙈

I have tried the egg hair mask 2bazookas! Not a fun day in the bathroom haha. Mind you, I have also used egg as a mask for my face and while dreadfully messy, that one works and makes your skin glow!

Thank you parkhead! I will be the guinea pig for all you lovely mumsnetters!

Here is a picture of my virgin hair. Hasn't seen any dye in over 20 years - hence my nerves about putting harsh chemicals on it! This was taken last year and it was just going dark outside the restaurant and the lights were shining on it, making it appear lighter than I think it actually is. Please ignore the ratty, flicky ends (no matter what I do I can't get rid of them!) Anyway, I shall also add another photo taken in daylight over the next few days before I start my "honey hair dye experiment"!

Your hair is a gorgeous brown - you'll probably need to tone it after lightening whatever you use as it's likely to lift orange/yellow.

I’ve never heard of this…not sure how it works as effectively you need a chemical reaction to remove the melanin pigment from your hair to make it lighter. Hydrogen peroxide (bleach) is the common chemical used to do this, which probably balances speed of the lightening process vs the damage caused. Obviously too much bleaching will damage the hair but in limited amounts it is fine. So even if honey works to lighten the hair it must be the same chemical process taking place (albeit slower maybe) and if you’re needing to do it weekly to actually lighten the hair you might find it will be more damaging? No one would advise bleaching your hair weekly for example.

Aside from that it’ll cost a fortune won’t it, honeys not cheap and not sure how I feel about the poor bees producing that gorgeous honey just to be rinsed down the drain. But that’s just me.

It doesn't work. DD did hers 3 days a week for a month. No change.

Reminds me of us putting lemon juice in ours then sitting in the sun