Learn how to dye brown hair blonde without bleach using a lift hair dye and other natural methods in this article.
I’ve always wanted to turn my brunette hair blonde, but I’ve been too deathly afraid of damaging my hair with bleach to try this.
So I was looking for several ways to dye brown hair blonde without bleach and here’s what I learned.
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There are several lift hair dyes in the market that work well on lighter brown tones and give turn it the shade of blonde you want. Without you ever having to bleach your hair!
Also, there are home remedies that you can try to dye brown hair blonde without bleach. Although these are very time consuming and might not give you even results.
In this article, I’ve discussed a few of these methods to help you get your fave shade of blonde hair color without incurring any hair damage.
How To Dye Brown Hair Blonde Without Bleach
What Is A High Lift Hair Dye
There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t be bleaching your hair. For one, it can strip hair of its natural oils and leave the protein bonds between cuticles weak.
This leads to weakening of the hair shaft and hair breakage.
If you’re bleaching your roots, there is a chance you might permanently damage your hair follicles, stunting new hair growth.
Also, bleaching hair can leave it with brassy or orange tones which need to be corrected before you can proceed with hair dye.
So the best way to dye brown hair blonde without bleaching is by using a high lift hair dye.
A high lift hair dye is a type of hair coloring formulation that contains a larger amount of ammonia and some hair lift chemicals as compared to other dyes.
Yes, this is harsher than your regular ammonia free hair dyes but it’s still better than bleaching your hair so a lot of people prefer this instead.
This high lift hair dye lightens hair and deposits color in one go! It can lighten hair upto 3-5 levels in one sitting.
Best Lift Dyes To Dye Brown Hair Blonde Without Bleach
Il Salone Milano The Legendary Silver Platinum Hair Dye
SATIN Hair Color High Lift Series, Ash Blonde
Agebeautiful Liqui-Creme Hla High Lift Ash Blonde
Schwarzkopf IGORA ROYAL HIGHLIFTS 12-1 Special Blonde
How To Use A Lift Hair Dye
Once you’ve got the right high lift hair dye for your tresses, it’s time for application! Here’s how you do it!
Step 1: Strip Existing Hair Color: If you have any existing hair color, you need to first use a hair color remover to get rid of it. If you have virgin hair or if your hair color’s faded over time, you can skip this step.
Step 2: Mix Dye With Developer: To make the high lift hair dye work properly you’ll need to mix it with a 40 volume developer to activate the lightening agents. Some boxed hair dyes come with a developer. You might have to buy it separately for salon dye brands.
Step 3: Do The Strand Test: Before you apply hair color to the entire head, it’s best to check how it’ll turn up by using it on a few strands.
Step 4: Apply Hair Dye and Rinse: If the strand test comes out well, you can use the hair dye on your entire head like you would a regular boxed dye. Keep it on for the stipulated time and then rinse it out.
Step 5: Use A Toner If Necessary: Even if you’re not bleaching your hair, the lightening agents can sometimes leave your freshly dyed hair with brassy undertones. If this is the case, you can use a blue hair toner or shampoo to neutralize the orange.
Natural Methods To Dye Brown Hair Blonde Without Bleach
A lot of high lift hair dyes contain a high amount of ammonia. This might not suit a lot of people with sensitive scalps and can even be the cause of hair damage, dryness, and other issues.
So if you’re looking for a more organic way to dye brown hair blonde without bleach, here are a few home remedies for lightening hair using natural ingredients.
Chamomile
Chamomile flowers contain quercetin which is a flavonoid. It decreases the levels of an enzyme in our hair called tyrosinase which is responsible for melanin production.
So chamomile tea can be used (to some extent) to dye brown hair blonde without bleach.
But this is a very, very gradual process, and needs patience from your end.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice contains a high amount of citric acid and this makes its pH levels low. So lemon juice can help act as an oxidation agent, helping you lightening hair.
However, this process might take several months to show results, even if you’re doing it on a regular basis.
Also, lemon juice can lighten hair that is already light to a certain degree. So it can give light brown hair, caramel streaks. But it won’t convert your dark brown or black hair into blonde.
Honey
Honey in its naturally occurring form contains trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide. And this is why it’s considered to be a natural hair and skin lightening agent.
But like lemon juice, honey can lift hair only to a mild degree and can’t really turn black hair to blonde.
There are several ways you can use honey to turn light brown hair to blonde, and some include:
- Mixing honey and vinegar together to make a hair mask
- Adding distilled water to honey to make a mask
- Add honey to your everyday conditioner
FAQs about dyeing brown hair blonde
How can I dye my dark brown hair blonde without it turning orange?
If you have dark brown hair and want to turn it blonde, the easiest way to achieve this is by using bleach to lighten your natural hair color and then dye it the shade of blonde you prefer.
Some of the other tricks like using lemon juice or a lift hair dye might not be as effective on dark brown hair as it is on lighter shades.
So bleach is the easiest way to do it!
However, using bleach might leave brassy or reddish undertones in your tresses.
So if you want to dye your dark brown hair blonde without making it look orange, you should use a blue shampoo after bleaching your hair.
As blue is opposite to orange in the color wheel, it can help neutralize brassy tones and make your hair a perfect blonde shade.
If your hair is dry or damaged, then there are blue conditioners and hair masks too that you can use instead of shampoos.
What would happen if I put blonde hair dye on brown hair?
This depends on two things - the shade of brown your hair is already and the strength of the dye.
If you’re using a lift hair dye on light brown hair, then you can definitely see the results as your hair will go from brown to blonde.
However, if your use a regular hair dye then absolutely nothing will change on your hair. If you have a few stray grey strands, then they might be colored blonde, but nothing else will change.
Similarly, if your using even a powerful lift hair dye, but you have very dark brown or black hair, then there will be no perceivable change.
Can you go from brown to blonde one sitting?
Well technically, yes! If your hair was never dyed before or chemically treated in any way, then you can go from brown to blonde in one sitting by bleaching your hair.
This, however, might leave your hair damaged or at least drier and more fragile than usual. But I won’t recommend it.
Usually, hairdressers recommend at least 3-4 sessions to turn your brown hair completely into blonde.
How can I naturally lighten my hair?
There is no 100% effective home remedy for lightening hair at home. Some of these remedies might take months to show it’s effectiveness.
And even then they might not lighten your hair evenly. But you can still try some of these DIY hacks like:
Adding lemon juice to your conditioner
Rinsing your hair with chamomile tea
Applying a mixture of honey and lemon to your hair
Or using a hair mask made of honey and vinegar
Using a paste of baking soda and water
Bleach is a harsh chemical that can strip your hair color of its protective natural oils and also weaken the cuticles by damaging the protein bonds.
So if you bleach your hair often, it can result in dryness, split ends, and hair breakage.
But there is a way you can dye brown hair blonde without bleach as shown in this article.
However, you need to keep in mind that some of these methods (like the lift hair dye) work only on lighter brunette hair.
And that it might take weeks before you see any results from natural, home remedies.
If you have very dark brown or black-colored hair, then using bleach might be your only option.
In this case, you can consult your hair dresses and formulate a regimen to minimize hair damage during the coloring process.
Also Read:
Best conditioners for color treated hair
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