Natural ways to dye dark brown hair without bleach

BY GARRI CHAVERST

As the old adage goes, we always want what we can't have — and for some of us, that's perhaps never more evident than it is when we see someone with hair so beautiful we've only ever had it in our dreams. 

For some, though, achieving the hair they want is easy. Refinery29 notes that blondes wanting to go dark don't necessarily need bleach, and they also have a host of natural ways to lighten their hair even more. Brunettes, on the other hand, have a much more difficult time going lighter. 

Huffington Post spoke to Ni'Kita Wilson, cosmetic chemist and CEO of Catalyst Cosmetic Development, who said, "In order to get the color that you wanted, your current color has to be destroyed." So achieving the luscious strawberry blonde locks you've always wanted means saying goodbye to your natural hair color. But what if there was a way for us to naturally lighten our dark strands? While vivid color changes aren't possible without bleach, there are several natural options to gradually alter the tone of dark hair.

Honey and cinnamon are a match made in heaven for those with dark hair

Luckily, we're not the first ones to ask how we can achieve lighter strands without irreversible damage. People have been testing natural lightening techniques for years, and while there are several options out there, only a few will work on dark hair. 

Vlogger Sarah Nagel, a registered holistic nutritionist, revealed her natural method for lightening her hair. She uses a mixture of honey, cinnamon, and olive oil. Honey contains a natural hydrogen peroxide, and according to Nagel, the cinnamon and olive oil work together as natural hydrogen peroxide boosters. While the method won't produce instant results, repeated use over time will gradually lighten the hair.

Henna is a centuries-old method of dyeing hair

Another option is henna. Henna has been used for centuries as hair dye, eyeliner, and of course, for body art. Happily for brunettes, henna is a great, natural way to add tone to your dark hair. You can create your own mixtures by mixing henna powder and water, or purchase pre-made dyes from retailers — one Youtuber had a great experience with a Lush option. 

When purchasing from a retailer, just be sure to look at the ingredients and make sure you're getting what you want. Natural henna will only produce a red tone, and keep in mind that any options for other colors, like browns or blondes, have had other ingredients added to them (via L'Oréal).

No matter which way you go, it's nice that you do have some choices for lightening your dark hair.

SOURCE: THELIST