How to Lighten Brown Hair

Co-authored by Charlie Adams

Last Updated: August 23, 2021

Sometimes, you want to switch up the color of your normal brown hair to a lighter blonde shade, especially in the summer months. Luckily, lightening your hair can be an easy at-home project involving assorted household ingredients and some general experimentation!

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Chamomile Tea

1
Boil water. Boil 2 cups of water either on the stove or in the microwave. This may take about five to ten minutes if you’re boiling the water on the stove, or about three to four minutes in the microwave.
- If you boil your water in the microwave, you may need to hold the water in a medium sized bowl rather than a coffee mug.
2
Add tea bags to the water. Add two bags of chamomile tea to the boiled water. Let the teabags sit in the water for approximately 10 minutes.^{[1]
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Research source} After 10 minutes, remove the tea bags from the water and allow the water to cool.
- You may have to wait approximately 20 minutes for the tea to cool down enough. The tea should cool down to be on the cooler side rather than the warmer side. For example, the tea should be cool enough where you could easily stick your finger in the tea, and not burn or hurt yourself.
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3
Coat hair with tea. Consider transferring the tea to a spray bottle so you can easily spray and coat your hair with the tea. Separate your hair into sections, and evenly distribute the tea onto your hair. Once your hair is completely covered, let it sit on your hair for approximately 15-20 minutes.^{[2]
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- You could also dip your hair into the bowl of tea, but this does not coat your hair as evenly as a spray bottle.
4
Rinse out the tea. After sitting on your hair for 15-20 minutes, rinse the tea out of your hair with lukewarm water. Consider spraying your hair with tea multiple times before you wash your hair with shampoo to see a significant difference in your hair shade.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Honey and Cinnamon

1
Combine the hair-lightening ingredients. Combine 2 cups of distilled vinegar, 1 cup of raw honey, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon.^{[3]
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Research source} Use a spoon to mix these ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2
Apply the mixture to your hair. Use big clips to section off your hair. Since this is a thicker mixture, scoop out a small amount, and use your hands to apply it to your different hair sections. Once most of the mixture is covering your hair, consider using a wide-tooth comb to thoroughly distribute the mixture to your hair.
3
Cover your hair. Pull back your hair, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Or, pull back your hair and secure it with a clip, and then put on a shower cap. Let this mixture soak into your hair overnight.
4
Rinse your hair. The next day, rinse this honey and cinnamon mixture out of your hair. Shampoo your hair normally to remove the mixture residue.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Lemon Juice

1
Mix together water and lemon juice. Mix 1 cup of water with approximately 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl.^{[4]
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2
Apply the mixture to your hair. Pour the water and lemon juice into a spray bottle. Use clips to section your hair up, and thoroughly spray each section of your hair. After your entire head of hair is sprayed with lemon juice, run a wide-tooth comb through your hair.
- You could also spray smaller sections of your hair for highlights. Simply section off the pieces of hair you want lighter, put a towel underneath that section of hair, and spray that individual portion of your hair.
3
Expose your hair to sunlight. Go outside and let your hair be exposed to the sun. The sun will react with the lemon juice to lighten your hair. The sun will dry your damp hair.
- Be very careful to wear a protective sunscreen while outside.
4
Rinse your hair. After your hair is fully dried, rinse out the lemon juice from your hair. You can shampoo your hair normally, but make sure you condition your hair. The lemon juice is notably drying to your hair.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Vinegar

1
Mix the water and vinegar. Add ½ cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water in a medium sized bowl. Use a spoon to mix these ingredients together.
- Consider using apple cider vinegar.^{[5]
  X
  Research source} The apple cider vinegar smell tends to be less offensive than white vinegar.
2
Apply the mixture to your hair. Pour the water and vinegar into a spray bottle. Use clips to section off your hair, and evenly spray the water and vinegar mixture onto your hair sections one by one. Let this mixture sit on your hair for 15 minutes.
- You could also dip your hair into the bowl of water and vinegar, but this may unevenly distribute the mixture to your hair.
3
Rinse out your hair. Rinse your hair with warm water to remove the vinegar mixture from your hair.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Henna and Chamomile Powder

1
Boil water. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. You can boil this water on the stove, or in a microwave. If you boil the water on the stove it may take between three to five minutes to boil. If you boil the water in a microwave, it may take between two to three minutes.
2
Mix in henna and chamomile powder. Start out by mixing in 2 teaspoons of both henna powder and chamomile powder into the hot water. The powder measurements have to be equal in size.^{[6]
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Research source} The end result should have a paste-like consistency, so if the water and powders are not paste-like after 2 teaspoons each, add in one more teaspoon of each.
- This part will take some trial and error. Remember, you can always add more powder, so add it in small increments.
3
Apply the mixture to your hair. Wait for the mixture to cool (about 15 minutes) and use your hands to apply it to your hair. Be sure that your hair is sectioned off, so you can add the mixture one section at a time. Once your whole head of hair is covered, use a wide-tooth comb to evenly distribute the mixture.
- You may want to wear plastic gloves as you apply this to your hair; the henna powder can dye your skin.
4
Cover your hair. Once the mixture is evenly coated onto your hair, wrap your hair up in plastic wrap or a shower cap. Let the mixture sit on your hair for approximately one hour.
- Consider letting the mixture sit on your hair longer, for two hours, if your hair is a darker shade of brown.
5
Rinse your hair. Remove your hair covering, and rinse your hair of the mixture. Use cool to lukewarm water to rinse your hair, and shampoo like normal to remove any leftover mixture residue.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Lightening Your Hair With Coloring Products

1
Experiment with an at-home treatment. If you have dark brown hair, you will not be able to transition to a light blonde color without bleaching your hair. Bleaching your hair is not recommended for people who are unfamiliar with hair dye and bleach, as the results can be very drastic (not so much in a good way) and highly damaging to your hair. For a fast and simple solution, try using an at-home hair dye with a color that is a couple shades lighter than your actual desired hair color.
- Dark hair generally needs to be bleached and lightened before it can be dyed a lighter brown color. This method comes with assumed risk, but it is an alternative solution for quicker results.
- Whenever you lift your hair color, you're left with a warm hair pigment, like yellow, orange, or orange-yellow—this is known as your contributing pigment. Always factor in this color before you starting lightening your hair.^{[7]
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  Expert Source
  
  Charlie Adams
  Professional Hair Stylist & Board Certified Haircolorist
  Expert Interview. 21 July 2021.}
- Also, be sure to factor how dark your natural hair is as well as how many levels you'd like to lift up the color.^{[8]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Charlie Adams
  Professional Hair Stylist & Board Certified Haircolorist
  Expert Interview. 21 July 2021.}
2
Use lightening hair spray. A lightening hair spray can give your brown hair a lighter tint that builds gradually.^{[9]
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Research source} However, depending on your natural hair color, some lightening sprays have been known to give hair an orange-y coloring, but if you spray you hair with small amounts of the product, any change should be subtle enough to notice the unwanted change in color and stop use.
- Usually, the sun brings out the traces of blonde coloring in your hair even more.
3
Try a lightening cream. Lightening creams work well on un-dyed natural hair. You simply leave the cream on your hair for a designated amount of time, and then thoroughly rinse out the cream.
4
Wash your hair with shampoo for blonde hair. There are certain shampoo brands that offer a shampoo made to lighten your hair to a blonder shade. Some of these shampoos are meant specifically for already blonde hair, but you can try some shampoos out to see if they lighten your hair in any way.^{[10]
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- You may have to experiment with various types and brands to see which shampoo works best with your hair color.
5
Get your hair colored professionally. This is the safest method to change your brown hair color to a lighter shade and get the results you want. Granted, this method might cost more money, but ultimately it can save you a headache in the end.
- A professional hairstylist can offer great advice and give recommendations for colors that would look best on you, while causing the least amount of damage. Plus, their professional background and experience level offers a more reliable setting for coloring your hair.

Community Q&A

Question

Can you activate the lemon juice with a blow dryer instead of the sun?

Community Answer

Yes.
Question

Does the lemon juice have to be freshly squeezed?

Community Answer

Natural lemon juice works better, but you can use bottled lemon juice if you don't have any fresh lemons.
Question

Can I use lime?

Community Answer

Yes, you can.

Warnings

Be sure to test the temperature of the water used in these methods. You always want to be on the side of caution with a cooler mixture rather than a hotter mixture.

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