Lemony Hair

Lemon. A refreshing citrus which has benefits for both inner and outer sides of our body thanks to its acidity. The vitamin c is no doubt beneficial for our health. Lemon is also used in skincare and haircare. Specifically, this post is closely related to haircare since one of the side effect of using lemon on hair is lightening its color. Without further ado, let's get to my experience of using lemon for hair.

I initially used lemon because of my issue with dandruff. I squeezed an entire lemon and poured the juice into my shampoo. In the following year, I found out that it can lighten hair color. So I tried it. I squeezed out the lemons and poured the juice into a spray bottle. I sprayed it on my hair and leave it for several minutes. Sometimes later, I found that sunlight can accelerate the lightening process; so I got to my balcony to get some sunlight after I sprayed it onto my hair. I continued this process but my black hair stayed the same. The dandruff issue was gone and my hair got more shiny, but I was disappointed when the color stayed. I even used honey too which worked kinda quickly for my senior year classmate who used it for split ends, but it didn't work for me either. Maybe my virgin hair was just too stubborn.

Eventually, I dyed my hair around three years ago. I only dyed my hair again when the color faded. The last time I dyed my hair was last year in December, and the result was uneven although it was spread evenly to my hair. Probably cause it's not the usual hair dye that I used. My hair gradually had dark brown ombre highlights after that. I soon got bored again with my hair color; and after thinking about the current situation, I decided to try using lemon again with my hair conditions at that time.

I purchased four lemons from a nearby supermarket. With my current hair length and thickness, I only need half a lemon for my hair. I also used different method this time. I preserved the half and the other lemons in the fridge, while the half that I'm using for the day is cut into four tiny pieces. Then I squeezed the lemon straight to my hair and scalp. After that, I sat in my balcony for an hour. With a timer, of course. When an hour has passed, I rinsed it with water (and I rinse it with sulfate-free shampoo only during my scheduled shampoo-ing days). I'm pretty satisfied with the result that I decided to do it again. Four lemons, half a lemon a day, an hour in the sun, and wait for the magic to come.

Based on my experience, I've noted the pros and cons of lightening hair with lemon (and sunlight as its accelerator).

Pros	Cons
A natural source of hair lightening	Not recommended for impatient people, cause it's a  gradual progress
May not be as expensive as getting your hair colored in a saloon and/or buying the hair colorant kits (hair dye, bleach, etc.)	May not lighten hair, or it can take longer time for the result to show if the hair is too dark (like how my virgin hair was)
No burning sensation during the process, compared to using hair dye and bleach	Due to the high level of acidity, it can dry the hair and result in split ends if the juice stays too long; especially with the exposure to sunlight as the accelerator to lighten the hair.
Natural anti dandruff agent
Hair looks shiny
Promotes hair growth (my bangs noticeably grows faster)

I also listed two other things that may take into consideration when using this natural hair lightening agent:

1. Black/brown hair turns orange-ish, not blond (which I personally don't mind as long as the color changes)
2. The result might be uneven (only shown more prominently on the outer layer of hair or the strands which are exposed to the sunlight) which may be fine for those who don't mind with getting highlights but may not be fine for someone who wants even hair color

Here are my before and after photos, during my second time using the current method since I didn't think about sharing and writing this during the first time.

After

Before

I'm glad that my hair color is lightening. Some parts near my scalp is also lightened slightly, although it may not shown properly from my phone's camera. I think I'm gonna stop using lemon for awhile until either I get bored again or my split ends disappear.

So, this is my experience in changing (or lightening) my hair color using lemon with the help of sunlight. If anyone is interested in trying it, you can try what's the best method and precautions since it depends on your hair color and its conditions. Besides, there's not harm in exploring natural ways to change hair color (with several precautions, of course). Oh, and try not to cut yourself when cutting the lemons. You definitely don't want a stinging pain which is slightly more painful than using rubbing alcohol on your wound.