LeahSierra says…There’s a video on Youtube by Andrea’s Choice. She used honey to lighten up her hair. I haven’t tried but you can watch the video.

The Left Brain responds:

Thanks, Leah, for the link to this video. In it, Andrea explains how mixing honey (either raw or regular) with either olive oil and banana or with just your regular conditioner can lighten hair. She claims the honey contains peroxide that can bleach hair over time. But does this really work?

Hair lightening science

It’s true that honey contains peroxide. More accurately it contains an enzyme, glucose oxidase, that can produce peroxide.  But keep in mind that peroxide is only an effective bleaching agent at the right concentration and at the right pH.

Concentration: how much peroxide is in honey?

How much peroxide do you need to lighten hair?  To fully bleach hair it takes a solution of peroxide at a concentration of 6%;  3% can be used over time to gradually lighten hair. Glucose oxidase in honey can react to release peroxide under the right conditions.  (It’s also important to note that only raw honey contains this active enzyme.)  When honey is diluted with water, the enzyme can produce about 1 milimole of peroxide per liter which is about 1000 times less than the 3% solution required to bleach hair. This is far too little to have a significant effect on your hair.

Okay,  but just for the sake of argument let’s say that you used a LOT of honey on your hair. Would it work then? Only if the pH was right.

The pH required for bleaching hair

Peroxide solutions must be “activated” by increasing the pH because peroxide is not very reactive at pH below 4.  Typically, peroxide is mixed with ammonia because it has a very high pH. The pH of honey is between 3.2 and 4.5 which is far below the range required for effective hair bleaching.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

IF you use the right kind of honey and IF the enzyme is still active and IF you dilute it properly and IF get it to the right pH and IF you get it on your hair before it’s used up by reaction with the rest of the organic stuff in the mixture. then you’ll STILL have only about 1/1000 of the amount you need to lighten your hair. I guess just because Winnie the Pooh was blonde doesn’t mean that honey can lighten your hair.

Reference:
http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agent.html

Image credit: Walt Disney

Victoria is very curious…I bought Renpure Organics body & shine shampoo and according to the bottle ingredients list, chamomile extract is the 6th ingredient. I’ve never dyed my hair and it is a very dark brown, almost black. What are the chances the chamomile flower extract will lighten my hair? I don’t intend to change the color of my hair. I just bought this shampoo to try out a new one and didn’t realize it had chamomile extract until I after I bought it.

The Left Brain responds:

Don’t worry, Victoria, the chamomile won’t have any effect on your hair color. Here’s why:

Chamomile in shampoo isn’t the coloring kind

If you use the right part of the plant, chamomile can have some natural staining properties. It has a light yellow color and if you’ve ever rubbed the flower between your fingers you’ll see it leaves a light yellow stain on your skin. But, the extract used in shampoos doesn’t contain all the colorant goodies required to create that yellow shade.

It takes a LOT of extract to color hair

Even if this was the “staining” kind, you wouldn’t have to worry. It takes a lot of this kind of extract to stain hair and it has to be left in contact with the hair for a while. The amount you would have to have in the shampoo for it to affect hair color is almost staggering. Chamomile is expensive and most shampoos only use a trace amount of the extract so they can claim it on the label.

Bleaching is required to lighten dark hair

Even if this WAS the right kind of chamomile and even if there WAS enough in this formula you still wouldn’t have to worry. You can’t make dark hair lighter just by applying a yellow stain on top of  it. You have to bleach out the natural melanin pigment before you can “top it off” with a blonde color. This shampoo does not have any chemical bleaching properties so you have no worries.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Feel free to use Renpure with out fear of changing your hair color. And dig this crazy bonus fact: Chamomile is the national flower of Russia!

Image credit: StuartWildeblog.com

Jami says…With mom being a retired hair stylist, I normally trust what she says when it comes to hair. She’s always stressed the importance of staying with one hair color brand. And even then never straying to different types within the same brand. So since I use Revlon Colorsilk I should NOT use Revlon Colorsilk Luminista. I can see the point of not using them at the same time. But if it’s been two or more weeks since you last colored, shouldn’t it be safe to try something different? So how bad for my hair would it be to try a completely different brand once in awhile?

The Left Brain responds:

Jami, your mom is right…and wrong.

All reactive hair color is damaging

If your mom says you should stay with one brand because switching is bad for your hair’s health, then she’s wrong. The basic process of using reactive dyes to color your hair is the same across brands. (Assuming that you’re comparing . permanent color to permanent color; or demi perm to demi perm.) The reactive nature of the chemistry makes all the dyes bad for your hair.

Color matching calamity

But, if she’s concerned that switching brands can be bad for your hair’s color, then she’s right. That’s because it’s very difficult to color match across brands. For example, L’Oreal’s “medium gold blonde” won’t be the same shade as Revlon’s “medium gold blond.” Manufacturers have different base platforms for their colors which give them slightly different tints. Historically, L’Oreal colors tend to have just a touch more greenish hues whereas Revlon tends to be a bit warmer and redder. (Simlar differences may even exist between different products in the same brand, like your Colorstay and Colorstay Luminsta example.)

Ulterior motive?

While I’d never suggest that your mom is out to mislead anyone, there is another reason why hairdressers (and the companies that provide training and sell them hair coloring supplies) might perpetuate the ideas the switching brands of hair colors is bad for you: they want to keep your business. If you believe that switching brands will damage your hair, you’ll be much more likely to come back to your stylist the next time you need a touch up. And that means they sell more product

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Changing hair color brands won’t increase damage your hair but you might have trouble matching the exact shade you like. If you’re changing your hair color you should have no concerns at all.

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Sandy says…Talk to me about these new hair color glazes on the market. What do you know? Do you like ‘em?

The Right Brain replies:
Hair color glazes are all the rage these days. We here at the Beauty Brains have taken a look and even tried them and have the following observations.

What’s in there?

Here is John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette Luminous Color Glaze. It’s interesting to note that except for the color of the formulas, the Brunette, Red head, and Blonde formulas are pretty much the same.

Water, Propylene Carbonate, Alcohol Denat., PEG-12 Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Citric Acid, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Xanthan Gum, Dimethiconol, Oleyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, Methylcloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothizolinone, Pearl Powder, Fragrance, Iron Oxides, Mica, Titnaium Dioxide, Orange No. 4, Yellow No. 10, Ext. Violet No. 2.

The first three ingredients are just solvents that just make the product easier to use. The next two are silicones that condition the hair and coat it with a thin, slick film. These are the things that provide the product`s main benefits. The rest of the ingredients are thickeners, solvents, preservatives, adjusting agents, and colorants.

How do they work?

The instructions tell you to put it on AFTER you’ve shampooed and conditioned your hair. Leave on for three minutes and rinse. Essentially, this product coats the hair with a slick film that doesn’t easily rinse out. As an aside, the 3 minute thing doesn’t really matter. As soon as you put this product on your hair it`s done all the work it will do. 1 minute, 3 minutes, 20 minutes, it doesn’t really change anything even though it seems like it does.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Are they worth using? If you are already using a good conditioner (one with silicones) then you won’t see much extra benefit from these products. One Beauty Brain affiliate tested the product and could see no difference at all. The truth is the extra application of product and rinsing will actually contribute to hair color loss. If you want extra shine, your best bet is to use a shine spray that you put in your hair after you get out of the shower. These will work better and are generally less expensive.

Mid Brain muses…

Scientists think they’ve figured out the cause of gray hair. In the June 12 issue of Cell, researchers describe ‘genotoxic stress’ that damages DNA and reduces the amount of melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) in hair follicles.

What kind of stress?

While emotional stress may be one factor, the kind of stress that these researchers are talking about are more molecular in nature. These include exposure to UV light, ionizing radiation and mutagenic chemicals. It’s estimated that cells get exposed to over 100,000 stressors each day.

Can you stop gray hair?

According to researchers, the cell damage is unavoidable which suggests there is little that can be done to stop the gradual onset of gray hair. Sun protection and anti-oxidants may help slow things down but eventually exposure to environmental stress will catch up to everyone. Fortunately, cosmetic chemists have come up with hair color.  So everyone can look like they’ve got the hair of a 20-year-old.

When did you start to go gray?  And do you cover it up with hair color?  Leave a comment below because inquiring Beauty Brains need to know.