3 Ways to Naturally Dye or Lighten Hair using Henna, Cinnamon, and Honey

Try coloring your hair for a new look this year. Here are three ways you can naturally dye or lighten your hair for a professional look. Thank you to lovenaturalsunshine for sharing these tips!

Henna, cinnamon, and honey treatments are three ways to dye and lighten hair naturally. Henna is created from flowers that have been ground into a fine powder. Adding warm water and oil to Henna creates a paste that can be used to color hair.

Quick facts about Henna…

• Henna can color light-colored hair
• Henna cannot lighten the color of black hair
• Henna should only be mixed with warm water
• Different types of Henna can be mixed to create different colors

Types of Henna…

• Black Henna (indigo)
• Red Henna (henna)
• Neutral Henna (senna)

Cinnamon and honey lighten hair naturally over time. Although cinnamon and honey may not give immediate results, they are great alternatives to chemical-laced dye products. The following recipes may have to be repeated over time for results.

Cinnamon Hair Lightener Recipe via thefusionchronicles

3-4 tablespoons of ground Cinnamon

½ cup of Hair Conditioner (pick your favorite!)

½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil (or your favorite oil)

Juice of one Lemon

Separate hair into 4-6 twists. Wet hair. Apply mixture to each twist. Put on a plastic shower cap. Leave mixture in hair for 5-8 hours or overnight. Rinse and wash as normal.

Honey Hair Lightener Recipe via ehow.com

1 tablespoon of Honey

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive oil

Let mixture sit for 30 min. This will allow the natural hydrogen peroxide in honey to activate; this lightens the hair. Separate hair into 4-6 twists. Wet hair. Apply mixture to each twist. Put on a plastic shower cap. Leave mixture in hair for 5-8 hours or overnight. Spend at least one hour in the sunlight with mixture in hair. Rinse and wash as normal.

Helpful articles…

Pros, Cons & Other Effects of Henna

Henna for Hair

What have been your experiences with dying or lightening your hair?

My Four Worst Hair Care Mistakes

There is the good, the bad, then the ugly side of finding the ideal hair care routine. Since I decided to learn more about how to take care of my natural hair in 2011, I have experimented, researched, and learned several important hair care lessons. Today I am going to share my top five worst natural hair care mistakes. Trust me, you do not want to repeat these! 

via lovenaturalsunshine

1. Putting Peanut Butter in my hair

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the results were disastrous. Peanut Butter is naturally high in protein. At the time, my hair needed a good protein deep conditioner, so I opted to scoop out a spoonful of peanut butter and rub it throughout my hair.

Results: Bad hair day! I had to wash my hair thoroughly to get the peanut butter out of my hair. That stuff sure is sticky.

Solution: Use a Greek Yogurt Deep Conditioner. It is high in protein and gives natural hair lots of slip.

2. Putting Banana in my hair

Don’t get me wrong, bananas are a great source of potassium and they can impart vital nutrients and moisture to natural hair. I wanted to moisturize my hair, so I blended a banana and aloe vera gel together in my blender.

Results: The mixture was smooth and it spread easily into my hair. The problem was that when I washed it out, little bits of banana were left in my hair. Yikes! I had a hard time washing that out.

Solution: Use banana baby food instead of actual bananas, that way you get all the moisture without the food bits.

3. Using the wrong sleep cap

Your natural hair needs to be protected while you sleep. Until a few months ago, I used a scarf to wrap my hair at night. It always found a way to slip off of my head in the middle of the night.

Results: Breakage! My hair suffered lots of breakage on my edges where my hair would rub against my pillow case while I slept.

Solution: I now wear a do-rag and a scarf together. The do-rag stays nice-n-snug on my head during the night.

4. Using headbands to style my hair

Headbands use to be my main go to accessory for my up-do hairstyles. I placed them on my hair and voila! –instant hairstyle.

Results: Breakage on my hairline.

Solution: Stop using hairbands to style hair and research other hairstyle alternatives.

photo from Itsmyrayeraye instagram

Ladies, what are your worst natural hair care mistakes?