Tag Archives: hair

Natural Hair Lighteners: Do They Really Work?

Posted on by
6

A common beauty myth out there is that foods like lemon and tea can naturally lighten your hair by themselves. Zelo has been dedicating quite a bit of time to blondes, researching the latest tips and how-tos to enhance and preserve those golden locks, and one of the biggest foux pas I’ve seen are tutorials that only require combining the incredients to the hair with a 15 min shower cap. These tutorials are missing the most important element: the sun!

Here’s a quick anecdote: A friend of mine has been volunteering in for Peace Corps in Peru for a little over a year. When she left America she had dark “dirty” blonde hair. When she came home this Christmas, she had bright, golden, ultra blonde surfer girl hair!

While we all know a year of sunlight can lighten your hair like a bottle of 40 vol developer and powder bleach combined, understanding the science behind it can save you A LOT of time and money. Simply put, Sunlight breaks down the melanin (color) in your hair.

So where does lemon juice come in? And what about chamomile tea? “Lemon juice contains citric acids that open your hair cuticles up,” (Health Mango). This makes the hair more receptive to sunlight and basically accelerates the suns natural bleaching process (oxidation), giving you months worth of sunshine in about 30 minutes.

This is why natural bleaching methods don’t work without sunshine. They’re accelerating what the sun does naturally. BUT, lemon is really bad for your hair and terrible for the skin in the sun. So if you’re planning on having a lemon sun bath, PLEASE, for goodness sake, deep condition and make sure you don’t get ANY on your scalp and skin. Can you say blisters, sunburns, and dark spots? Not cute at all.

Last tip: Squeeze your own natural lemon juice for best results. If lemon juice gives you patchy or overly bright results, try 100% brewed chamomile tea which has been known to give a more natural, all over, lightening affect.

This also works for brunettes too!

Home Concoctions for Oily Hair

Posted on by
1

You are all set to party but you look in to the mirror and realize your hair is just a tad bit oily even though you washed your hair this morning. Definitely frustrating! Oily hair is not only an issue for you but also a problem for millions of women.

Here are some home concoctions that can be an effective solution for oily hair. Try these and soon enough you can say goodbye  to oily and hello silky!

Lemons for Luscious Locks!: Yes it’s true, lemons have the right kind of magical properties that can do wonders for your hair. Squeeze two lemons into two cups of water and after having washed and towel-dried your hair, massaging into your scalp and rinse after 5 minutes.


Egg Yolk with Lemon:  This can be a magical potient to make your hair feel and look silky.  Mix two egg yolks with a few lemon drops and apply to your hair. Rinse after a few minutes.

Alluring Hair with Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera is in many shampoos, however, maybe not in the quantity to make a difference.  Add Aloe Vera to a sulfate free shampoo to get the best results.

These amazingly simple remedies can lead to a refreshingly surprise. Not only is your hair bound to become less prone to oil,  but will no longer look lifeless, limp or dull. So what are you waiting for? Get started!

By Zelo Contributor Sarah K.