How to Lighten Your Hair Without Color

Lemons alone won't lighten hair.

Teenage girls enjoying the summer sunshine of California beaches learned long ago that it was possible to lighten their hair without a trip to the beauty shop or with the assistance of commercial hair color. All they needed was fresh lemon juice and the California sun. Lemon juice alone won’t lighten hair, but the citric acid in lemon juice opens up the hair cuticle making it more sensitive the UV sunlight, allowing it to bleach the hair naturally.

Things You'll Need

• Spray bottle
• Concentrated lemon juice
• Sunblock
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

Instructions

1. Fill a spray bottle with concentrated lemon juice.

2. Rub sun block on your skin before you go into the sun, to protect your skin from the sun’s rays.

3. Spray your hair with the lemon juice, as you would hair spray.

4. Stay out in the direct sun for about an hour.

5. Wash your hair and use conditioner. Lemon juice will naturally dry out your hair. The lightening may require repeated sessions in the sun.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of using concentrated lemon juice, some prefer to rinse the hair with a water and lemon juice mixture, before going into the sun, with a ratio of 1 tbsp. lemon juice for 1 gallon water. This requires a longer time in the sun.

• Depending on your hair color, lightening can turn your hair a brassy shade of red or orange. It can also dry the hair out significantly.

References

• “The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious”; Lisa Drayer; 2008