Get Summery Highlights With This All-Natural DIY Method
Ditch the hair dyes that promise a beach-y, summer look but end up ruining and drying up your hair in the long run. Did you know that lemon juice and chamomile tea is nature’s way to effectively lighten your hair? The cool thing about lemon and chamomile is that the highlighting process is gradual and gentle and won’t bleach your hair all in one go. So you can choose how light you want your hair to get. All the more reason to try this simple method (no matter your hair color – that means brunettes too!) to bring out the natural highlights in your hair using ingredients you may already have at home!
How to bring out the highlights in your hair
You will need:
– 3 large lemons OR about 1/3 cup of lemon juice
– 2 bags of chamomile tea
– 1 tbsp of almond oil OR 1/4 cup of conditioner
– 1 spray bottle
Steep the tea bags in 1 cup of boiling water. While they steep, squeeze the lemons into a measuring cup. Pick out any seeds that may fall. As soon as the tea bags have steeped, remove the tea bags and pour the chamomile tea into the measuring cup with the lemon juice. Stir and pour into the spray bottle. Then measure 1 tbsp of almond oil, (or, you may measure 1/4 cup of conditioner) and add it into the spray bottle with the other ingredients. This is to ensure that your hair remains nourished, especially if you are prone to very dry hair. If you opt to use a conditioner, try to obtain an organic one that does not contain harsh chemicals that damage hair by stripping it of its natural oils, which only leads to more dryness.
Once you have added all the ingredients into the spray bottle, screw on the nozzle and shake it! Shake it until all ingredients have mixed well.
Next, decide which areas of your hair you want to lighten. Some women prefer the tips, others do their entire hair. Once it’s clear where you want the highlights to show through, spray those areas with the mixture until your hair is very moist. Another lovely thing about lemon juice and chamomile is that your hair will retain some of the highlights and color depth even when your roots grow out. So you can still rock those highlights well after summer!
Time to enjoy the summer sun!
After spraying those specific areas of your hair generously, go out in the sun for an hour or so, and let your hair dry and catch some rays. Together with the lemon juice and chamomile, the sunlight will help embellish and bring out your highlights. Don’t forget to protect your skin with sunscreen! You can do this ritual for twice a week, or even up to four times a week if you find the time. Be sure to wash out the lemon-chamomile mixture from your hair really well and condition it after being outside in the sun. You may start to see changes in roughly two weeks, depending on your hair color and how often you do it. Remember, the change is gradual and gentle, this recipe will not bleach your hair! So you can choose how light you want to go when you begin to see your highlights shining through.
And if you want to swiftly speed up the highlighting process in addition to the lemon-chamomile mixture; just after showering, rinse your damp hair with a strong cup of chamomile tea (steep 3-4 tea bags). NOTE – do not rinse the chamomile out! Chamomile is extremely gentle and will not damage your hair. It serves to gradually bring out highlights even without being in the sun, so it’s safe enough to leave in your hair.