Kissed by the Sun: 3 Ways to Give Yourself Natural Highlights
You walk outside one day and just like that, it’s summer. Doesn’t that warm air and sunshine make you feel all glowy inside? Get that same summery radiance on the outside by giving your hair fresh highlights. But, you certainly don’t need toxic salon chemicals to give your tresses a sun-kissed glow. These three homemade highlighting methods will get your mane looking beach-ready (even if you don’t live near one) the natural way.
Lemon Juice
The old wives tale of using lemon juice to lighten hair has stuck around for a reason—it works. Giving your tresses natural lemony highlights is easy! Simply squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon into a bowl. Then, use a small brush to spread the lemon juice onto the sections of your hair you’d like to highlight.
Now, get out in the sun! Sunshine acts as a natural bleaching agent, and it will help set the lemon juice. Keep in mind that as a natural method, this lemon juice-highlighting trick will give you pale, airy highlights, not drastic chunks of color. Think beachy goddess, not punk rock queen.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea works similarly to the lemon juice method. And, don’t expect extreme highlights with this one either. Chamomile tea will leave your hair looking fresh and slightly lighter than your natural shade. Even brunettes can achieve golden highlights with this one.
To highlight your hair with chamomile tea, brew a pot and let it cool. Then, pour the tea into a spray bottle. Spritz your hair with the brew in the areas you’d like to lighten (or all over your head). Then, sit out in the sun to set the mixture. Chamomile tea works to gradually lighten your hair, so you may need to repeat this process more than once.
Honey
Want honey-colored highlights in your locks? Then use honey, honey! You can apply honey directly to damp hair and let it sit for two hours. Or, if you want a less sticky concoction, mix equal parts honey, lemon and warm water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to wet hair, and then sit in the sun and let it work its brightening magic. The honey mixture will bring out your natural highlights and, as a bonus, will leave your hair super shiny and bouncy.
With regular applications (and some experimenting), even dark-colored hair should see results with these formulas.
Image: Mario De Carli
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