When most people color their hair, they lighten it a few shades, go bleach blond, or at least get highlights. But what if you don’t want to use bleach? What if your hair can’t handle it without getting fried?

There are a few ways to lighten your hair further if it’s already light or give it highlights if it’s dark. I mean the kind of highlights you see in the sun, not the streaks. Hey, don’t expect too much from lemon juice.

Different Ways To Lighten Hair Naturally at Home

So, yes, lemon juice is one method. But you don’t want to just go squeezing this wonderful juice all over your tresses. They will become dry and brittle and could suffer damage. There’s a set way to use lemon juice and all the other things on this list. There are also some no-no’s we’ll talk about that can lighten your hair, but if you use them, you may as well use bleach.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice goes inside the hair strand to oxidize melanin pigments when combined with sunlight. Lemon juice also eats up the hair cuticle, so don’t go putting it into a spray bottle with water. It’s best to mix it with a hair conditioner instead. Yes, it will work more slowly. That’s better than damaging your hair.

Vitamin C

Using vitamin C is like getting the most powerful extracts from the lemon juice and putting that in your hair. Sure, it will lighten your hair, but ouch! The damage. It’s best to dissolve the vitamin C in water and add it to your hair conditioner, just like if you were using lemon juice. Then you can sit in the sun and let the active ingredient do its work.

Honey and Cinnamon

When combined, honey and cinnamon make a natural form of hydrogen peroxide to lighten the hair. But you don’t need sunlight for this one. Mix the two and apply to wet hair. Put it under a shower cap and leave the mask to do its stuff. Your body heat will help it to activate. The mask should stay in your hair for one to four hours.