7 replies to this topic

[Kawatche]

Long time no see, 

 

 

 

I've been bleaching my hair for a while now  - not a full on bleach, just a gentle one to even out the darker undertones (joy of having ash blond hair <.<) - and much to my annoyance, I notice that I probably need to keep touching it up twice a month so it'll look even. 

So I trawled the internet for some time now, trying to figure out if there was a way to lighten the hair either through diet or less peroxide-related ways. Aside from a few, old, old, threads about MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) that reported some users experiencing lighter hair (although they mostly take this for the skin), there doesn't seem to be one. There doesn't seem to be a variant of forskolin (which has some history of darkening skin and hair, melatonin etc).

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Cheers

 

Kawatche

[lemonhead]

If I were you I would try a vitamin C serum. It will lighten your hair without as much damage as bleach (though it can damage a bit so be careful and start slow). It also seems to pull out more pheomelanin (red tones) than bleach or peroxide, so less brassiness (you are lucky to have ashy undertones). If you apply it to the scalp, it may lighten the new growth and perhaps delay graying. The easiest way to apply a solution to the scalp is to put whatever it is in a shot glass and use a q-tip.

I don't use vitamin C on my scalp since it will also strip out hair dye, even permanent dyes.

[Kawatche]

Hm, interesting. I'll do some research on this (I had stumbled upon vitamin c before, but I assumed people ate it).

[lemonhead]

Vitamin C can be taken in high doses along with reduced glutathione for skin lightening. Enough people claim that it works that there may be something to it. Some people say oral vitamin C and glutathione can also lighten their eye color; I am skeptical on that one. However, glutathione injections can lighten skin and I would not be too surprised if they can also lighten eye color. Hair, I can't guess...

[snas]

Sorry New here, Lemon do you mean Vitamin C as a Cream? 

[lemonhead]

In an aqueous solution, around 15%, or a DIY vitamin C serum:

http://www.essential...d.php?tid=11902

 

I've also heard of people mixing vitamin C with Head and Shoulders shampoo and leaving it on for a while in order to strip out hair dye.

[Kawatche]

Hm, that sounds almost like a bleach bath: very little bleach, developer and then a lot of shampoo. Used primarily to strip out hair dye.

Lemonhead, have you tried the vitamin c serum yourself and if so, would you suggest a DIY or a storebought one?

[lemonhead]

I noticed the stripping effect when I used DIY serum around my hair line, then looked it up on the internet and found lots of other people have been using vitamin C for this purpose in various ways. My serum is just 15% C (or sometimes 20%) in distilled water with some glycerine (~10%)  and propylene glycol (~5%), weight / weight. I've used it deliberately to strip out dye gradually. Spray it on, comb through, what a while (30 min or so), shampoo it out.

 

A simple DIY serum is fine for hair lightening, though for skin anti-aging (including scalp skin) a serum with ferulic acid might be better. I've been thinking about switching back to store bought or the Lotioncrafter kit since I do wonder about stability when it is actually on the skin (with DIY you don't need to worry about shelf stability that much since you make it up frequently; it turns yellow when it starts to go bad). On the other hand, DIY is so cheap you can spray it all over yourself (but since it can stain the walls, best to do it in the shower stall).