Monday, December 9, 2013

Beauty Buster: Does honey and olive oil really lighten your hair?

This post is the first in the new section of my blog called Beauty Busters. I will take myths pertaining to beauty such as "Does mayo really make your hair shiny?" and do them. Then I'll post them here! I'll take suggestions from Twitter (tweet me @kennyista), Facebook posts, and comments on these posts! 

The first myth I will be testing is Does honey and olive oil really lighten your hair? Here's what you'll need:


You'll need Olive Oil (I used extra virgin), Honey (raw works best, but you can use any), ground Cinnamon, a jar with a lid, a splash of water, and a fork.


So we are going to 1 part olive oil to 1 part honey. Put about as half as much olive oil you'll need to coat your whole head into the jar. It doesn't have to be exact! Olive oil brings out the natural peroxide found in honey, which will help lighten your hair without damaging it like normal peroxides would.


Next put about the same amount of honey in the jar. Small traces of peroxide are found in honey (more in raw honey than in processed honey).


Add a tablespoon of cinnamon to the mixture. Like olive oil, the cinnamon boosts the levels of peroxide in the honey.



Now, add a splash of water. This will thin out the mixture so its not so sticky in your hair. Mix up the ingredients until they are smooth. Put the lid on your jar and let it develop for 10-15 minutes.



Smooth through out your hair, making sure its gets evenly coated all over. Clip it up and let it sit for 30-40 minutes. The longer you let it sit, the more it will lighten. You can leave it in longer than 40 minutes because it doesn't harm your hair! Rinse it out thoroughly (you may need to shampoo 3-4 times).

After I washed out the treatment (I left it on for about 40 minutes) my hair wasn't noticeably lighter, but you could see it a little bit. This process is suppose to be gradual and used frequently. I really like how this treatment makes my hair feel and smell. It does seem to be lightening my hair a little bit. I will have a follow up post to this in a few week, showing before and after pictures and my review and opinions from there.

18 comments:

  1. That's awesome! I've only tried doing this with lemon… I'll have to do this some time!

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  2. I'll have to try it this way, I've tried this but with conditioner. I read somewhere the conditioner kind of cancels the peroxide out. I've done it a bunch of times and don't see a big difference. Thanks for this!

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  3. i really wanna c b4 n after pics

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    1. Right! Like what if w see a noticable difference

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  4. will it work for dark hair ??

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    1. Yes it does.Mine is ridiculously dark,but with one treatment my hair has started to turn really dark brown.

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    2. Yes it does.Mine is ridiculously dark,but with one treatment my hair has started to turn really dark brown.

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  5. Hi, this process shows results with couple of sittings.. And works best with water.. Using conditioner instead of water makes hair soft but is not as effective for noticing brown shade.. I noticed nice shade of brown with my naturally black hair in a month of doing it 4 times.. I also left it to soak in hair overnight for about 8 hours with shower cap.. I read it in another source that cardamom powder can be substituted for cinnamon.. Which is what I followed. It's working much better..

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  6. Thanks for the info, I just wish I could pin this article!

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  7. It also works for lightening henna (in some people). I've used henna on my hair for a couple of years, but the darker mahogany color just isn't doing it for me. So, instead of chopping it all off, I've been using this recipe (more or less) and while it's a slow process, it does actually work. My hair has gone from a dark (though very rich) burgundy brown to a lighter, less "purple" dark red/brown.

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  8. Can I leave this in my hair overnight or only for 40 minutes?

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    1. Since its non-damaging to your hair, I'd say you could leave it on over night!

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  9. Thanks for the artical. I was so fed up of bleaching my hair the damage is unreal :(
    Its nice to know there is a healthy alternative. :)

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  10. My hair is black and I used this honey and olive oil method. How long will it take to reach a brown colour?

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    1. it took me only 3 times for a very small change. I am Chinese with jet black hair and now I have an ombre after using it 5 times. the less you do the less noticible and vice versa

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  11. Does it work on dirty blonde hair??

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  12. Can you use other kinds of oil?

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