Lightening with lemon juice

[Pomander_]

I'm leaving for the beach on sunday, and I really want to try lightening my hair by putting lemon juice in it and then sitting in the sun. Has this worked for anyone? Any tips or suggestions?

 

[Gwendela]

How dark is your hair naturally?

 

[CellyCell]

It works. I remember my twin students having it done by their mother.

They had dark, brunette hair and when they came back - it was a brash/brown orange color.

I'd be careful if you have dark hair, the results aren't the best from what I saw in the twins. If you're blonde, I say it would look and work much better.

 

[bebexkhmergrl]

I agree with what CellyCell said. You might want to be wary if your hair isn't already naturally light in tone, otherwise it would either not lighten enough or the results would end up too brassy.

As an alternative you can try Sun-In. (results vary from person to person) But my mother used this on my younger sister's hair, which is dark brown but looks black at times, but is very reflection. It gave her nice, natural looking brown highlights. (But I don't think she even used a lot, my sister's hair naturally lightens by the sun itself quite easily)

In addition, I don't think even Sun-In or lemon juice will drastically change dark hair or lighten as an all over color. I think if you were wanting to achieve sun-kissed highlights that would be a much better option.

ps: I would never advise anyone to sit with lemon juice/Sun-In in the sun for too long. Since it's acidic it can actually promote photosensitivity. And that's never good! And there's also that risk of drying out your precious locks! I would recommend going to the salon and getting professional coloring instead.

 

[Killah Kitty]

I did this a few years ago. My hair is naturally dark blonde though, so I did get some blonde honey like highlights. It was not that great really lol Id really recommend just getting highlights done, which I did a couple years later, and it looked A LOT better.

What I remember doing I squeezed half a lemon or a whole lemon using a juicer or whatever those juice making things are called. I then just used my hands to run it through my damp hair. FYI it acts also like a gel so it will make your hair a little stiff.

I just recommend highlights, lemons not worth the trouble lol and you never will know what color your going to get.

 

[Stylist101]

I would suggest getting a bowl and mixing lemon juice along with a deep conditioner together this way you hair will not completely dry out. You can then apply it to your hair. Try not to exceed 3 hours.

 

[pinksugar]

I wonder how it would go on dyed hair? I dyed my hair quite dark brown (colour called bitter chocolate) and I want to lighten it back up now, the only thing is I don't know how the acidic lemon juice would react with the dye?

Sorry to hijack, just wondered

 

[KatJ]

I never used lemon juice, but when I was younger I obtained streaks in my hair by putting sunscreen in it.

Rosie, I'm not real sure about that idea either. maybe try a small patch in the back and putting the blowdryer on it for a while.

 

[Pomander_]

THanks all for the advice! Naturally my hair is kind of auburnish-medium brown, and it does naturally get golden streaks in the summer. I jsut hoped the lemon juice would bring out the streaks even more. So far I've done it twice and my hair is looking lighter overall, with more prominent highlights. It is drying out a little bit, but i'm okay with that because it actually makes my hair more manageable! I'll do it again today and let you know how it goes!

P.S. My mom wouldn't let me get highlights, so this is pretty much my only option sadly. But it means lying in the sun on the beach, so i'm not complaining!