Are you ready to go blonde or experiment with a lighter appearance on a budget? You do not need to visit a salon, but you should be cautious of bleach. To learn how to lighten your hair at home without using bleach, we chatted with Jordan Davis, a hairstylist at Roots Salon & Hair Studio in Denver, Colorado.
“As a stylist, I see far too many women and adolescents who come in with at-home catastrophes from self-bleaching,” Davis explains. “Unfortunately, many individuals believe that the larger the development volume, the faster it will rise; this is not the case. Our hair lifts in stages: red, red/orange, orange, yellow/orange, yellow, and pale yellow. Many individuals stop lifting at red/orange or yellow/orange when they are bleaching their own hair, which is typically when I see people seeking my assistance.”
4 At-Home Hair Lightening Techniques
If you want lighter hair without visiting a salon, put the bleach away. At most, you’ll end up with some uneven tones or a whole different tint than you intended. At worst, you risk burning your scalp or inducing hair breakage and/or loss. And then you’ll almost certainly have to spend more money and time at the salon—or perhaps the doctor—to repair the damage.
As a result, Davis cautions, “Unless you are a trained professional with expertise, I do not advocate bleaching your own hair at home.” Fortunately, there are four far safer methods for lightening your hair at home that avoid the hazards associated with bleach accidents.
1. Sunshine
When exposed to UV and UVA radiation, your hair will naturally lighten. To expedite this process, spray your hair with equal parts lemon juice and water and soak up the sun. “The most secure method of home lightening is lemon juice diluted with water,” Davis advises.
“Sitting in the sunlight expedites the process.” Davis, however, recommends this approach only for individuals with naturally blonde hair, as “use on brunette hair may result in a reddish/orange tint emerging from the hair.”
2. Lemon Juice
“My preferred method of lightening hair is using lemon juice and sunshine! As a native of California, this procedure remains the safest and most common method of hair lightening. Additionally, it’s a little bit more cost-effective!”
Remember swimming in the water and seeing how much lighter your hair was as a result? You may add sea salt to your mixture to help it brighten up even more.
3. Chamomile
True, exactly like the tea. Make a strong cup of tea, allow it to cool, and then apply to individual strands for highlights or all over to accentuate naturally blonde and golden tones.
4. Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar is both simple and inexpensive methods of hair lightening. Rinse your hair with vinegar and then with cold water to revive dull strands and boost color. Seal in moisture with a gloss or conditioner—this is critical if you’ve ever had a bleach accident.
“Bleach, like any other color, is harmful,” Davis explains. “It dries out any moisture in your hair. Bleaching your hair continuously might result in dry, brittle hair that is prone to breakage and split ends as a result of the lifting process.”