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What is the best hair lightener to bleach dark hair? From organic hair lighteners to homemade hair bleach, here’s a list of the top rated brands for dark brown hair, brunettes and other hair colors, including hydrogen peroxide, honey and chamomile hair lightener.
There are dozens upon dozens of hair lighteners today that you can use to lighten your hair to a lighter shade or highlight it to your style. This article will highlight some of the most common hair lighteners including commercial hair lighteners and homemade lighteners. And oh yeah! If you are a great fan of organic products, we have a list of organic hair lightener that is getting some rave reviews online.
What is the Best Hair Lightener?
Hair lighteners are being marketed all around us online and offline and the brand names and promises are quite as diverse. With dozens if not hundreds of hair lighteners all competing for our attention, the question then is, “What are some of the best hair lighteners?”
Hair lighteners come in numerous forms ranging from hair lightening shampoos to hair lightening dyes (or color) and hair lightening sprays.
For hair colors, we have already mentioned elsewhere that semi-permanent dying products are not ideal for lightening of hair but rather for making the hair darker. Instead you should opt for demi-permanent and permanent hair dyes:
Among the best hair lighteners in the form of hair colors or dyes are:
- L’Oréal Paris Superior Preference
- Garnier Nutrisse
- Revlon ColorSilk
- Clairol Natural Instincts
- Clairol Nice ‘n Easy Root Touch-Up: Formulated for coloring of hair roots
- L’Oréal Paris Root Rescue: Also designed for use on hair roots
- Surya Henna Cream: Natural product
Among the best hair lighteners in the form of hair lightening sprays are:
- John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray: For use by blondes only
- Sun In Hair Lightener: Not recommended for use on color treated hair
- Lee Stafford Su Kissed Lightening Spray: Ideal for any shade of hair
- Organic Camomile Natural Hair Lightening Spray
Ranking among the best hair lighteners in the form of shampoos are:
- John Frieda Sheer Blonde ® Go Blonder Lightening shampoo: For blondes
- Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo: To lighten hair that has been dyed too dark
- Prell clarifying shampoo: Also to lighten dyed hair
- Neutrogena Clarifying Shampoo: To lighten dyed hair as well
Organic Hair Lightener
The name “organic” holds a special place in the heart of many people nowadays and if you are one of them, then you will delight to know that there is an organic hair lightener on the market today called Organic Camomile Natural Hair Lightening Spray.
Organic Camomile Natural Hair Lightening Spray seems to be getting all the rave reviews from its users and has a remarkable rating of out of 4.9 out of 5 on Amazon as at the date of this writing.
This organic hair lightener contains chamomile extracts and is formulated to gradually give you a natural blonde color regardless of whether you are a brunette or a blonde. That is quite a thing considering that John Frieda Sheer Blonde which has a similar great rating is only ideal for use by blondes only.
Homemade Hair Lightener – 3 Popular Options
If you are a fun of DIY home remedies, then you may consider using the following homemade hair lighteners to lighten your hair.
Lemon juice hair lightener
Lemon juice is an important hair lightening ingredient. The bleaching effect of lemon is due to the citric acid that is typically found in significant amounts in lemons (and limes)
Directions
- In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice with ¼ cup of warm water and then pour the resulting solution into a spray bottle.
- Spritz the lemon solution all over your hair if you want to lighten the entire head of hair or on specific sections where highlights are desired.
- Grab a soft drink or a book and some sunscreen and head out into the sun for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Wash out the lemon solution with cold water and then finish by deep conditioning your hair to counteract the effect of lemon juice and thus prevent excess drying and damage to your hair.
This hair lightener gives gradual lightening effect to your hair and you may have to repeat the process severally to see noticeable results. However, don’t use this hair lightening method more than 2 times a week.
Hydrogen Peroxide Hair Lightener
Hydrogen peroxide is yet another common homemade hair lightener that you may want to use to give your hair that sun-kissed look or bring out those highlights that say “fashion and style”.
You will require:
- 3% hydrogen peroxide
- Spray bottle
Steps for Using Peroxide to Bleach Hair
- Mix ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide with ½ cup of water
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle
- Spray the peroxide on your hair as desired and allow 15 to 30 minutes for it to set in
- Rinse your hair with cold water
- Condition your hair as you normally would and allow the hair to air dry (do not use a towel)
- Repeat the procedure if you desire further hair lightening
Honey Hair Lightener
Honey is yet another versatile hair lightening ingredient and there are many ways in which you can use honey to lighten hair. Here is one of them:
- Add a ¼ cup of honey into a small bowl.
- Add enough water to make it light enough to massage through your hair but not loose enough to drip all over
- Apply the honey and massage it all over your hair
- Cover your hair with a plastic wrap or shower cap to trap in heat for 2 to 3 hours
- Use warm water to wash the honey out
- Repeat the process as needed to get the results you like
Chamomile Hair Lightener
Chamomile tea is yet another common hair lightener. Here is how to prepare chamomile hair lightener at home:
- Add 3 cups of water into a small pot
- Drop 2 tea bags of chamomile tea (or a few petals of chamomile flowers) into the pot and bring to a boil.
- Allow the mixture some 30 to 40 minutes to cool down
- Strain the liquid and rinse your hair with it
- After 15 minutes, wash your head with cold water
- Repeat the process 2 to 3 times everyday till you get the desired shade of hair color
You may also want to mix the chamomile tea with some henna powder for more drastic results. If henna is used, you should cover your head with a plastic wrap or shower cap for 1 to 2 hours to allow the mixture to set in more effectively.
Hair Lightener for Dark Brown Hair
If you have natural dark brown hair, you can lighten is to a lighter shade of brown using rhubarb and lemon as follows:
- Blend 2 pieces of fresh rhubarb to obtain the juice
- Add the juice into a spray bottle till one-third full
- Fill another one-third of the spray bottle with freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Add water to occupy the last one-third of the spray bottle and shake the mixture thoroughly
- Spritz the resulting solution on your hair and head out into the sun for 30 minutes
- Rinse your hair with cold water and deep condition the hair before towel-drying it
- Repeat 2 times every week (if necessary) to achieve the desired shade of color
It is absolutely important to condition your hair in order to counteract the drying effect of the lemon juice.
Rhubarb
Hair Lightener for Dark Hair That Is Too Dry
If you have naturally dark hair that feels too dry and would like to lighten it to a lighter shade, what options do you have? Well, lemon juice is typically very drying on the hair and may not be the best option. Hydrogen peroxide is also notorious for resulting into an orange shade when used on very dark hair.
Your best bet for dark hair that is too dry is to use honey and natural deep conditioner as follows:
- Add 2 tablespoons of honey into a cup of natural deep conditioner
- Stir thoroughly to ensure that the mixture is well blended
- Use the deep conditioner on your hair as you normally do after shampooing
- Repeat the process as is necessary to achieve the desired results
The honey helps to lighten the hair while the conditioner helps to moisturize the hair.
Hair Lightener for Brunettes
What are some of the best hair lightener options for brunettes? Before we answer the question, let’s mention once again that dark hair is notorious for turning into an orange or brassy shade when lightened. So, it is advisable to test the hair lightener you use on a small section if you are a naturally a brunette. Some good hair lightener options for brunettes are rhubarb, honey and chamomile tea. You may also want to try Lee Stafford Su Kissed Lightening Spray.
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