Skitch-I-Y: Naturally lighten your hair!

I know I've hopped on the beauty bandwagon quite a bit lately but I'm a sucker for all things personal care. I'll get back to fashion in a bit. In the meantime...

Quite a while back I stumbled upon a DIY video by Andrea's Choice on You Tube on how to lighten your hair with natural, household ingredients. I've been meaning to change up my hair for quite some time now but since my hair grows so slowly (it took me two years to grow out the last color change I did to it!), I've been quite afraid of doing anything drastic. Also, it's cheap! For under $10 you can get similar results to what a $50+ appointment would be at the salon. I mean, this was a trip to my kitchen and back! Sure, the process takes a bit more than a trip to the beauty salon would, but if you're like me and would prefer to see a gradual process and have the option of stopping then here's what you'll need to do:

The MVP of this process is honey. As Andrea explains, it has small traces of peroxide (yes, that thing your mom and aunt used to lighten her hair with when she was your age) that will gradually lighten your hair unlike the harsh effects of bleaching. So do keep in mind that this will take some time. I have quite greasy hair so I tend to wash my hair every other day. Whenever I'd wash my hair, I'd slather on the honey mask a while before getting in the shower. I did the conditioner and honey mask (1 part honey, 2 parts conditioner). You can also do it with honey, olive oil and maybe half of a banana but I found it was easier to do the honey/conditioner treatment and I didn't want to add more oil to my already grease-prone hair.  I'd slather it on, wrap my hair in a plastic bag, let it process for about 30-40 minutes, wash off and dry.

Now, Andrea explains that you'll start noticing your hair lighten right about at the fourth or fifth try, but I started seeing changes immediately. I was shocked when I rinsed my hair after the first try. It wasn't much, but there was definitely some change! I just finished my fourth mask and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys because this stuff really works. The more you do it, the more it will lighten up so I think it works really nice for the upcoming summertime. It's nothing too extreme but just the right amount of change. Heck, I think this might even work for girls that are still into subtle, ombré tips.

Here's my progress. Every time I did a honey mask I took pictures of the result.They were all taken in my bathroom with the same flash, aperture and velocity so you could notice the difference under the same lighting conditions. Sorry if some are a bit blurry but I always forget to charge my camera and I tend to take these pictures a bit rushed.

1st Mask

2nd Mask

3rd Mask

4th Mask

As you can see, the results are quite surprising for something that is as easy as going into your pantry and applying it to your hair. I'm going to keep on working with this until I get to a desired tonality. Maybe I'll even try out the demure ombré tips. Maybe. Also, go check out Andrea's You Tube channel. She's pretty darn awesome!