going blonde- is their an easier or cheaper way?

Uniscots97

Hi, I normally get blonde highlights in my hair but due to lack of funds I'm struggling. My natural hair colour is quite a varied mix from mid brown, light brown, dark blonde and light blonde. The front section of my hair naturally used to be a mix of light brown and dark blonde but after treatment a few years ago it now comes in quite dark and it needs done (I have about 1-2 inches of regrowth).

Is there any natural and/or cheap things I could try? looking for something that is easy to do. I tried the blonde shampoo from Lush but it didn't make a difference to the darker brown or the grey I have coming in now. Can anyone help? I normally use a salon colour mixed with 9% peroxide.

hethmar

Would it be worth thinking about changing to a darker colour?

jenniewb

The John Freida shampoo is supposed to lighten hair, but I doubt it can make brown change to blonde- more dark blonde turn a shade paler, if it was any stronger you wouldn't be advised to use it every day- it would cause too much damage!

Have you tried beauty colleges and looking for salons who need models? otherwise finding cheaper salons like Supercuts would be another option. I have my hair dyed, I let the roots get that bit longer then most people (dye hair every8-10 weeks by which time the roots are way more then an inch or two!) its something I've gotten used to as I cannot afford hair colour every 6 weeks. I wear my hair up with clips when the roots get too much to notice! (Only ever had one person comment on it, 3 yrs ago and that was a school kid retaliating when I asked him to stop messing around on the train and knocking into me.)

I get my hair done as a model about half the time and my mum does a DIY kit for me every other time. DIY kits are not so easy to do as I think its easy to get an uneven result.

Uniscots97

Because my hair is such a mix of colours, dark all over doesn't take well to my hair hence I went to highlighting my hair. My hair naturally now has a dark fringe and a mix of colours elsewhere (think reverse skunk its weird!). I might have liked this in my younger days but for the kind of professional job I do it doesn't look great!

Uniscots97

jenniewb wrote: »

The John Freida shampoo is supposed to lighten hair, but I doubt it can make brown change to blonde- more dark blonde turn a shade paler, if it was any stronger you wouldn't be advised to use it every day- it would cause too much damage!

Have you tried beauty colleges and looking for salons who need models? .

Its a student that does my hair at the moment but they take £30 to do my hair (yep this is a college they REALLY bumped up their prices). I might try the John Frieda shampoo, would you need to use the matching conditioner?

Griizelda

How about those "Sun-In" sprays? I knew someone once who had used it and it definately lightened her hair. As it's a spray, I assume you can use as little (or a much!) as you want?

cattkitt

I've read of a few people inadvertently lightening their hair by a few shades by using cinnamon oil over a period of months. They were trying to condition their hair, but also accidentally turned blonder!

shandyclover

I'm a bit like you - I've a mixture of light brown hair all the way up to very blonde streaks, mainly because as a child a grew up abroad in a hot country. I've very long hair and tried growing out the blonde bits and going all brown, but it looks so drab and uninteresting - hubby asked me to go back to the muti toned look. A year in Spain and I didn't have to worry about highlights again, but now being back in the cold north I have to figure out how to get those streaks without it looking very fake or spending alot of money. I've used Superdrugs own multitones dye, where you dye the hair then put tiny highlights on top, worked very well. In summer I've used Sunsilks custom highlights mousse, which is a bit like sun in spray but it comes in a mouse form. I've just added bits using an old toothbrush to apply. Both are fairly inexpensive.

I'm trying to go 'all natural' bit by bit, I've been googling this topic a fair bit so next I think I'm going to try the methods described here...


Lemon Shampoo:
You can make a daily highlighting shampoo by simply adding 6 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice to 1 cup of your regular shampoo and mix well. Depending on the length of your hair and how much shampoo you use within a 2-3 day period, you may want to half this recipe. It also helps to extend the life of the shampoo to store it in the refrigerator. I like to reuse a smaller shampoo bottle to store this blend in, as it fits on my refrigerator door nicely.
Honey Hair Treatment:
Massage about 1/4 to a 1/2 of a cup of Honey into your hair, depending on length, you may want to add more or less. You want to cover your hair completely, without having the honey drip all over your face and neck. Cover your head with a plastic bag and leave on for 15 to 30 minutes. When you are done, it actually rinses out very easily. Follow up this treatment with your normal washing and conditioning routine. Honey is also a great conditioner and your hair will feel great after this treatment.
Olive Oil:
You can condition and highlight your hair at the same time with a few tablespoons of Olive Oil. Comb it though your hair and spend about 1/2 hour to an hour out in the sun. As with the honey treatment, you only want to add just enough to cover your hair without having it drip. You can add lemon juice as well. Mix 2 tablespoons Olive Oil with 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and massage into your hair. Comb through your hair and head out into the sun.
Chamomile Tea:
Chamomile is a great finishing rinse to add to the end of your shower routine. Before getting in the shower make a cup of Chamomile tea using 1-2 tea bags and let it steep while you are in the shower. After you have washed and conditioned your hair, pour the tea over your hair as a final rinse. Do not rinse out with water, you want the tea to stay on your hair all day.
A few tips:
~Have patience, all of these techniques take a bit of time before you see results, but once they start, you will simply be maintaining them.
~Lemon juice will give you the fastest results.
~Olive oil takes the longest to see results, but is a great conditioner, so it is well worth it to add to your routine.
~With both honey and olive oil, start by using less than you would think for your hair length, once they warm up from your natural body heat, they spread easily.
~Don't heat up the honey or olive oil before adding it to your hair, you could burn your hands or scalp...believe me on this one!

Uniscots97

cattkitt wrote: »

I've read of a few people inadvertently lightening their hair by a few shades by using cinnamon oil over a period of months. They were trying to condition their hair, but also accidentally turned blonder!

I have cinnamon oil in the house, I'll look into this thanks!

Uniscots97

shandyclover wrote: »

In summer I've used Sunsilks custom highlights mousse, which is a bit like sun in spray but it comes in a mouse form. I've just added bits using an old toothbrush to apply. Both are fairly inexpensive.

Thanks for the lemon, honey and chamomile methods I think I'll try them. Where do you get the sunsilks highlights mousse? I didn't live abroad as a child but I did spend a lot of time outdoors and had family down by the sea. If I go anywhere really hot and sunny the majority of my hair will go almost white blonde which looks weird in the photo album next to dark hair.