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Lighten Your Hair Using Hydrogen Peroxide

by Athlyn Green, Apr 25, 2008

Do you want to change your hair color? Many people want to give their locks a lift but worry about the chemicals in dye. Coloring roots every couple of weeks can be expensive and visiting a salon or coloring your hair at home can take up valuable time.

There's a Safer way to lighten your hair using 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.

Peroxide is simply water with an extra oxygen molecule and when used in a weaker solution is quite safe to use on hair.

If you are a blond and want to lighten your hair color, you can use hydrogen peroxide to do so
If you are a brunette and want some lighter highlights, you can achieve these using peroxide
If you are a redhead and want a strawberry blond look, peroxide may provide just the right amount of lightening

How to Lighten Your Hair with Peroxide

Purchase a bottle of peroxide from your local pharmacy. These are usually available in a 3% solution. You will be pleased at the cost. A bottle is inexpensive.
Buy a spray bottle and fill it with peroxide

Applying Peroxide to Lighten Hair

Spray peroxide on hair and brush through with a comb. Allow hair to dry. Some people choose to wash their hair after applying peroxide; others just spray it and go.
If you want greater lightening, harness the power of the sun by sitting or walking outdoors after applying peroxide to hair

Continue using peroxide until you achieve desired hair lightening.

Maintenance

Once your hair color is where you want it to be, maintaining it is an easy matter. Treat dark areas with a quick spray and you are good-to-go.

Lightening your hair with peroxide is one of the easiest and most inexpensive methods I know of. You can use as much or as little peroxide as you wish depending on the desired effect you are striving for.

Further Reading:

* 10 Neat Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

* Olive Oil Beauty Tips

* Natural Treatments for Exzema

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#1 by amanda, Jul 7, 2008

if you just wanted to do the ends of your hair, like the tips.. how would you do that?

and also.. my hair is fairly dark brown, what color will it come out to be? are there things you can add to the peroxide to make different colors?

#2 by Athlyn Green, Jul 14, 2008

Hello Amanda,
If you just want to lighten the tips of your hair, you can, 1: spray them (pour peroxide into a spray bottle) and brush through with a comb. The comb will create nice streaks or, 2: pour peroxide into the cap or lid and pour on the ends of your hair.

(I find that if I go out in the sun, after applying peroxide to my hair, my hair really lightens--but I'm very blond naturally.)

If you have brown hair, it will lighten depending on the undertones. If you have reddish undertones, it may go on the reddish side.

It can be fun to experiment and if you want the color lighter, just keep applying peroxide and allowing it to dry on your hair.

I'm not aware of other things you can add to peroxide; however, there may be.

Let me know how your hair turns out.

#3 by aliyah, Jul 25, 2008

i was just wondering would this have a any side effects like hair loss :s :s

#4 by aliyah , Jul 25, 2008

i heard you can add 50/50 water is dat better or it is ok to use by itself

#5 by stacey , Jul 25, 2008

i can only find 6% solution is that ok to use still ????????????

#6 by Athlyn Green, Jul 29, 2008

Hi Alijah,
I checked with a hairdresser and she said it was perfectly safe. I've been using this in the winter months when my blond hair darkens (for many years) and have a very thick head of hair.

#7 by Athlyn Green, Jul 29, 2008

Hi again Alijah,
If you are using a 3% solution, you shouldn't need to weaken it with water; however, if you were trying to conserve your peroxide you could try it. Then I would just allow it to dry on your hair.

#8 by Athlyn Green, Jul 29, 2008

Hi Stacey,
It should still be safe but if you have any concerns check with a hairdresser. I seem to remember using 6% years ago; however, I can\'t state this with certainty.

It also might depend on any skin sensitivities. You could try a test on a hair cutting or on a small area of skin but please check before trying this--just to be completely on the safe side.

#9 by Emily, Aug 7, 2008

I\'ve heard about the SUN accelerating the desired lightening, but what about a hair-dryer? Is it the HEAT that expedites the high-lighting? Brunette in CA - Emily

#10 by Athlyn Green, Aug 7, 2008

Hi Emily,
I can't answer about heat activating peroxide. You could try it and see if it makes a difference.

#11 by Cherry Jazline, Aug 9, 2008

Heyy so im kind of confused on how you would go about this.
What if you have brown hair and you want to out blonde streaks underneath it like peek a boo highlights.
would you be able to use the peroxide?
or what?

#12 by Athlyn Green, Aug 9, 2008

Yes, Cherry,
Just apply the peroxide to the hair strands you want to lighten--either combing through or spraying on; then allowing to dry.

You could even try one of those caps they use for streaking hair. That way you could pull out the hair you want to treat.

#13 by Marie, Aug 17, 2008

This sounds like a great idea! Can it be used to lighten arm hairs?

#14 by Athlyn Green, Aug 19, 2008

Hi Marie,
You probably could do so, if that were your inclination. Remember, that with darker hair, the lightening will be different from that achieved on blond hair.

#15 by jamie-lynn, Aug 19, 2008

i have just used a 40% volume peroxide on my hair all over to get rid of unwanted black hair dye and the results are incredible, you can pick up a little bottle from boots for 99p just ask someone to show you where the creme peroxide is = ]

#16 by Athlyn Green, Aug 19, 2008

Hi Jamie,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I find it gives my hair a nice shine,too!

#17 by Trisha, Aug 24, 2008

Is there an issue with perming your hair afterwards like dye?? Like is the two week time period still and issue?

#18 by Luisa, Aug 26, 2008

Thank you for the great tips. my question is can i use peroxide on hair that has previously being colored with hair color?

thank you!!!

#19 by Athlyn Green, Aug 28, 2008

Hi Trisha & Luisa,
I would answer yes to both questions. If you are concerned, just wait a bit between hair treatments.

#20 by Stasi, Aug 28, 2008

Right now I'm trying out the peroxide. I have bleached parts of my hair before with an actual hair bleaching thing, but it seems to me that my already bleached parts are changing faster then my regular hair. (By the way, I'm a brunette.)
So, do you think that since I have less pigmentation in my already bleached hair that it it bleaches faster?

#21 by Athlyn Green, Aug 30, 2008

The lightening will be different for different shades of hair but from what you are describing, that seems likely.

#22 by Bubbles, Sep 1, 2008

Lol..my hair is dark brown ..i mean \"was\"..i bleached it with hydrogen peroxide and it turned out a blondish brown with some red highlights..i really like it ^_^

#23 by Athlyn Green, Sep 3, 2008

Hi Bubbles,
That\'s great news! What I like about using it is that your hair doesn\'t look dyed or brassy, as can happen with some of the hair products available. It\'s also nice to use something that doesn\'t contain lead or other harmful substances.

You might be interested in my latest beauty article: http://www.beyondjane.com/Beauty/Olive-Oil-Beauty-Tips-10-Neat-Uses-for-Olive-Oil.239273, which discusses how you can use simple olive oil as a healthful beauty booster. A friend of mine, after consulting with a hair dresser, used the warm towel trick and her hair became shiny and beautiful.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

I invite others to comment, too, as to their experiences using peroxide.

#24 by Athlyn Green, Sep 3, 2008

I checked with a pharmacy today and the fellow there told me that you can use up to a 6% solution for hair lightening; although he cautioned that the fizz would be bothersome if it got in the eyes.

So, for those with darker hair, the stronger solution may render increased lightening while for blonds the 3% solution may be enough to further lighten already pale hair.

#25 by Kate, Sept. 9, 2008, Sep 10, 2008

I had natural black hair but it was getting gray so I've been dyeing it with Natural Instincts (Midnight Black) for years but I would like to lighten it up a little but I tried using a dark brown and my roots show a different color. How can I lighten it to look more natural dark brown without the lighter roots?

#26 by Athlyn Green, Sep 10, 2008

It sounds as though the bottom part of your hair has some residual dye left and that may be why you are getting a lighter color up by the roots. You may have to wait for some time to pass before the dye takes evenly.

#27 by Rae, Sep 11, 2008

When I was much younger, we used peroxide to make our hair blond. However, we ended up with orange hair........what makes it different today? I was a dirty blond in my younger days but have darker hair today.

#28 by whitney, Sep 13, 2008

i'm only 13 and i want my dark brown, almost black, hair light brown, can i do this with just hydrogen peroxide, or should i go to a salon, i have had my hair highlighted and they tured out to blonde, they said my hair changes fast, what should i do?

#29 by Athlyn Green, Sep 14, 2008

Hi Rae,
When I was younger, I, too, used products that claimed to lighten hair with peroxide as one of the ingredients. I found my hair went brassy so stopped using those products.

Using straight peroxide, however, gives me natural highlights that look as they should.

I would think the difference is in the ingredients.

#30 by Athlyn Green, Sep 14, 2008

I would try a 3% solution and see what results. If you don't achieve enough lightening, simply go up to 6%. Each time you use peroxide it will lighten your hair further, so if you are happy with the color, just leave it and treat new growth; if you desire greater lightening, treat the already lightened hair.

#31 by Toya , Sep 19, 2008

I have really dark hair almost jet black i used the peroxide but it hardly got any lighter does it work on all hair or just some.

#32 by Athlyn Green, Sep 19, 2008

Hi Toya,
It depends on the amount of pigment in your hair. You may have to use a stronger solution, if you can find it. Or, just keep applying it and it will keep lightening over time. A good method is to spray mist it.

I had a friend who had brown hair and she would mist her hair and leave it to dry. When I saw her some months later, her hair had gone quite blond.

You would probably end up with brown hair, if your hair is really dark.

Peroxide will lighten hair but it won't act the same as a dye; however, if you keep applying it, you should see a difference.

#33 by Val, Oct 16, 2008

My hairdresser used 10% for the tiny blonde highlights in my hair. I would think that even 6% will burn the scalp as if mkes my hands flake if I accidentally get any on. The hairdresser did not let it (the liquid) go quite to my head when doing it. A friend used to have a haordresser put hydrogen peroxide in with her setting lotion but I do not know which % this would have been.

Any ideas what % is best for grey hair to look a natural blondish?

#34 by Athlyn Green, Oct 18, 2008

If your skin is sensitive, I would try the 3% solution. If that doesn't cause any flaking, you can always continue with it until you reach the desired lightness. I don't know if grey will turn blondish or whiter. It will depend on your hair.

#35 by Angel., Oct 21, 2008

I tried using the old-fashioned lemon method. but it only lightened my hair a little bit, and I have natural highlights so it just blended in. Will the peroxide actually stand out if I used it only once, or will i have to use it a couple times?

#36 by Athlyn Green, Oct 22, 2008

The peroxide does a wonderful job, so it doesn't look dyed, which, when you think about it, it isn't.
What I like is that you can apply it once or as many times you want until you reach the desired lightening.

I'm already blond and bleach out in summer. I usually just spray peroxide on my hair in the winter months, when it tends to darken.

#37 by Saby, Oct 28, 2008

Hi i dye my hair quite often from time to time my original colour is black hair and after dyeing it a few times its dark brown but recently i went to the hairdressers and my scalp started burning btu this was for the very first time ever however,now i want to lighten my hair and then dye it to a dark rich auburn since it doesnt work if i just apply the plain dye on to my hair.What percent hydrogen peroxide should i use and after how long can i apply dye to it.Because i heard that you can lighten your hair and then after few hours dye it on the same day.
Please help and thanks alot xx

#38 by cooper, Nov 25, 2008

Hi, I\'m trying to get my hair a really really light blonde color and I\'m currently a strawberry blonde, blonde, and red, my hair is all different shades of color. I was wondering., I Have 10% Peroxide will that work on me hair?

#39 by karen, Dec 20, 2008

All Boots had was 12% creme peroxide. I have been using sun-in, but missing some bits of hair. I thought with the creme I could get it all a bit better. My aim is to stop being salt and pepper hair to cinnamon and sugar coloured. How long should I leave it on to achieve this and should the creme touch the roots? Thanks

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Lighten Your Hair Using Hydrogen Peroxide

Do you want to change your hair color? Many people want to give their locks a lift but worry about the chemicals in dye. Coloring roots every couple of weeks can be expensive and visiting a salon or coloring your hair at home can take up valuable time.

How to Lighten Your Hair with Peroxide

Applying Peroxide to Lighten Hair

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