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?

@Pascal80

The only thing that lightens hair is bleach (or sun exposure). Nothing else will lighten hair, only change the tone of it . Your hair already has some warm tones. Honestly your hair is beautiful and I don't believe for one minute that honey will either lighten it or change the tone. if it does change the tone, the result will be patchy. Henna on virgin hair is magnificent, if you know how to apply it properly, but you already have a wonderful shine.

What henna do you recommend?

@froggy1811 Id say that picture at 13.10 is light blonde. Wouldn't you?

@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.

Exactly. Just buy a highlights kit and do it yourself. Chances are it will have some type of peroxide in it, and the longer you leave it on, the lighter the highlights will be, but be aware that as the dye colour fades (which it does, even with "permanent" ones, despite claims on the box), you will just be left with bleached hair.

Hang on, even with a bit of lighting discrepancy are you saying it's gone from the colour on the left to the colour on the right after one go? In my screenshot- Or did i miss something?

I just want to know how you get your hair so shiny?

@AngusThermopyle

Hang on, even with a bit of lighting discrepancy are you saying it's gone from the colour on the left to the colour on the right after one go? In my screenshot- Or did i miss something?

Yes I asked that and response was in what way was her hair blonde

It's not blonde, it's brown washed out with lighting.
This is like that bloody dress all over again...

I don’t understand this two photos. One is brunette the other is light blonde. If your hair is the hair in the second one you’re not going to get it much lighter than it already is

Hi everyone,

The photo taken in the daylight seem to have caused such confusion, and for that I apologise! I have no idea why it looks so different on the daylight pictures, but I'm assuming it's the camera/light/flash? Anyway, my son confirmed that the dark hair taken in the bathroom is the most accurate! I then sent the pictures to everyone I know, and of the 4 people who have gotten back to me, all have said the true likeness is the dark hair! When the sun came out this afternoon, I took another photo, and yet again it has come out a completely different colour! This time it's almost ginger! I will attach this photo for your reference. In the future though, I am going to take 'update' photos in the bathroom, under the artificial light in the evening - seeing as how the daytime pics appear not to be a very reliable representation of my actual hair colour!

Thank you to everyone who has said such lovely things about my hair! And no, I have not put any honey on it thus far. To the person asking how I get it shiny - I use a Nicky Clarke hairdryer! It used to be shiny without my having to do anything, however, these days it's dry from heat frying it! I also have to use conditioner, because the ends would be tangled otherwise! In my experience though, conditioner adds a film to your hair that slightly reduces shine, so if you can get away with not using it, don't use it!

So, here is the picture I took when the sun came out this afternoon. Totally inaccurate in terms of my real colour!

This is the colour everyone agrees is my real hair colour!

This is a load of nonsense 😂

@IamGusFring you’re not wrong there

@IamGusFring

This is a load of nonsense 😂

If you are referring to the honey as hair dye, then you're probably right! Still, I'm always up for an experiment!

Your hair is gorgeous OP - I'm envious, and if my hair was that colour I would leave it alone!

Seriously, the honey thing sounds a bit tedious to me if you have to keep doing it.

The reading comprehension on this thread is shocking

OP has clearly stated she hasn’t done anything to her hair yet and the photos are just comparison shots under different lighting conditions.

Does nobody else’s phone camera make things wildly different colours depending on what the focus is? According to my phone I can go from deathly pale to a healthy tan in 3 seconds depending on the lighting and surroundings.

@ForkedIt

The reading comprehension on this thread is shocking

OP has clearly stated she hasn’t done anything to her hair yet and the photos are just comparison shots under different lighting conditions.

Does nobody else’s phone camera make things wildly different colours depending on what the focus is? According to my phone I can go from deathly pale to a healthy tan in 3 seconds depending on the lighting and surroundings.

No, not from dark brown to ash blonde. I've taken pics in all sorts of lighting and that has never happened.

They are hugely different though and it’s not just on a bit of the hair where the light is shining, it’s on the whole picture. And OP specifically chose those two pictures to attach to show them as her natural hair colour when anyone would see the lighter picture and assume it to be someone with either very light natural blonde hair or hair that’s been bleached many, many times.

@ForkedIt

The reading comprehension on this thread is shocking

OP has clearly stated she hasn’t done anything to her hair yet and the photos are just comparison shots under different lighting conditions.

Does nobody else’s phone camera make things wildly different colours depending on what the focus is? According to my phone I can go from deathly pale to a healthy tan in 3 seconds depending on the lighting and surroundings.

Thank you! It's what happens when people only read part of a thread. 😅

I just wish I hadn't put the daytime shot on now! What went from a thread posted by me out of interest, has turned into an interrogation about the colour of my hair!

@WillThisUsernameDo

They are hugely different though and it’s not just on a bit of the hair where the light is shining, it’s on the whole picture. And OP specifically chose those two pictures to attach to show them as her natural hair colour when anyone would see the lighter picture and assume it to be someone with either very light natural blonde hair or hair that’s been bleached many, many times.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what you think would be in it for me to mislead you about my hair colour? It's not like I'm claiming that I've used the honey and it's dyed my hair! I've been perfectly honest throughout.

Re-reading through this thread today, it has occurred to me that I've tried really hard to explain - almost asthough I'm trying to justify myself , when all I've actually done is take genuine photos of my hair. Unfortunately, my hair has been washed out by the light on a picture, making it appear lighter; and for reasons unknown to me, this has raised people's heckles!

Thank you gofg! 😊

Get on with the experiment**@froggy1811** 😂😂😂
My hair is darker than yours and I want to see if it lightens with honey 🙈🙈

I used to use Johnson's baby chamomile shampoo, especially after I'd been on holiday. Mine is a bit lighter than yours anyway OP but goes conker-coloured after sun/sea/swimming pool and I love it. After no holidays since 2018 it is very much just brown at the moment!

@ParkheadParadise

Get on with the experiment***@froggy1811* 😂😂😂 My hair is darker than yours and I want to see if it lightens with honey 🙈🙈

Will do! 😉 Amazon delivered my raw honey and distilled water, (apparently you need this too! Something to do with a chemical present in tap water cancels out the lightner in honey...) So, I am going away for a few days, but will start on Monday! This gives me time to do an allergy test. Apparently, this is necessary as the raw honey contains pollen and bee venom!

I'm only going to do a few streaks, A: So I'm not using a ton of precious honey, as someone quite rightly pointed out! And B: Because I think if it does work, it will be more obvious if there are streaks contrasting with my dark hair!

Did the Johnsons shampoo actually lighten it Polkadots?

I'm interested in why you want to use honey rather than just using a small amount of hydrogen peroxide? It's the same thing and will be a lot cleaner, quicker and easier. It's not better bceause it's "natural". Unless you are just experimenting for fun?

The honey will not be any better or worse for the condition of your hair than hydrogen peroxide as long as you use a good conditioner after.