Honey thread - from TBB and bits from old LHC

[ktani]

For some reason I opted for the cinnamon even though I read all the warnings and saw the pictures! I've never had a negative reaction to anything before so I was overly confident. All I can say is everyone Test on a small area of the skin first regardless of past experiences! My skin does NOT like cinnamon! I looked in the mirror and I had red streaks all down my face! It freaked me out so I washed it all out immediately! Luckily it went away in like 20 minutes.
I think I'll try again tomorrow but with EVOO and honey.

Spun

I am so sorry that this happened to you. It has happened to others too, and thankfully, like your experience, it was temporary.

I would give yourself some time, a day or 2 at least before you try a treatment, to let your scalp and skin fully recover from sensitivity, even though the redness is gone.

Honey lightening with added oil has not been reported to be a problem, however, I suggest that you start with 1/2 tablespoon of either oil, to mak it easier to wash out of the hair.

It is the correct 4 to 1 dilution, the right honey and good water (distilled) that can make the difference for a treatment, plus keeping the hair very wet before and while it is covered.

The boosters are great but they are less important than the honey, IMO.

[ktani]

Going back to the honey research from last year, I found this.

"Although the level of hydrogen peroxide in honey is very low it is still effective as an antimicrobial agent. .... been reported .... that hydrogen peroxide is more effective when supplied by continuous generation with glucose oxidase than when added in isolation ...."
http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/...cal-agent.html

For hair that would mean that more than 1 treatment can be necessary to get desired results in some cases, but it is most fascinationg, IMO.

When a honey lightening treatment is at full strength when applied to the hair, and dries during the time it is on the hair, I do not think that the peroxide has 1. had enough time to work and 2. the peroxide is only effective for lightening hair in solution.

From the results reported, the hair must be kept very wet during a treatment time, whether a treatment has been left to sit in advance of application or used right away to produce hydrgen peroxide while on the hair, in order for the hair to lighten.

"Hydrogen peroxide can disintegrate during transport. Oxygen and heat .... released .... In diluted solutions, the heat is absorbed by water."
http://www.lenntech.com/water-disinf...n-peroxide.htm

[ktani]

GlassEyes honey lightening on naturally black hair with the old recipe and dilution.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...6&postcount=10

GlassEyes recipe and method - 4 or 5 days a week for a month
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...6&postcount=12

GlassEyes on why the old recipe
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...7&postcount=15

Honey lightening has progressed considerably since then.

I think his results would have been much faster and better with the new dilution, distilled water and new recipes but his method was perfect, IMO.

I added the honey the used to the Successful Honeys List here
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ount=856itamin

[ktani]

A breakdown of the newest honey lightening recommendations, which have been reported to be working out very well. This is all in the recommendations post in my signature.

Patch test any of the ingredients not previously used on scalp or skin.

1. Choose a honey - the Successful Honeys List
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ount=856itamin

"If one cannot be found - try a dark coloured honey blend - raw or pasteurized - both have been reported to work equally well. Dark coloured blends were reported in research, to have higher peroxide levels than lighter coloured blends. A dark coloured, single source honey, does not necessarily have a high peroxide value - it depends on the plant source."

Jarrah honey - highly recommended - it has a very high peroxide value. More information and suppliers can be found here.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1266

Some honeys naturally contain higher levels of Vitamin C. Avoid using Anzer, buckwheat, linden flower, locust flower, mint and thyme honeys.

2. Use distilled water only. It contains no minerals. Minerals can deplete the recipe peroxide (so can Vitamin C, see #5). Conditioner is no longer recommended for honey lightening. Its ingredients and lack of water content can interfere with results. The same applies to coconut cream and milk (they contain minerals and can contain Vitamin C, as well as not enough water to properly dilute honey).

3. Use the correct 4 to 1 dilution (4 x the amount of water to honey by weight) - e.g. 1/8 cup honey needs 3/4 cup distilled water, 50 g honey needs 200 ml distilled water etc. (weight conversion 1 g = 1 ml)
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conve...surements.html

4. Do not apply heat to any of the recipe ingredients at any time. Peroxide containing boosters are ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.

5. Do not add lemon juice, or any other ingredient that contains Vitamin C to a recipe, like tomato products, which are no longer recommended. Hydrogen peroxide oxidizes Vitamin C, and is depleted in doing so.

6. Mix the treatment at room temperature and let it sit for 1 hour, also at room temperature, to allow the honey to produce its maximum peroxide value.

7. Apply the treatment to dry hair if there is no aloe gel on it - aloe gel contains Vitamin C, or an unrinsed out rinse with Vitamin C, heavy residue, or a large amount of oil on the hair (a large amount of oil will act as a barrier to the water). If there is, wash the hair first then dry it to slightly damp. You will get less drips on dry hair. The treatment can be applied with a tint, blush, pastry brush and/or a spray or squirt bottle.

Note: A treatment can also be applied to wet hair.

8. Pin up, then cover the hair securely with plastic (wearing a hat over a shower cap or a swim cap is recommended), to keep it out of the way, competely wet (a must) and contain drips. Leave the treatment on the hair for about 1 hour.

[ktani]

Pictures of honey lightening with the correct 4 to 1 dilution.

Jan in ID - on mid-brown virgin hair - with the corrected 4 to 1 dilution and distilled water - after 3 more treatments - with ground cinnamon and only 1/2 tblsp EVOO, no conditioner and the condition of her hair, after 5 treaments
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1721

HalcyonDays - on dark mid-brown virgin hair - with the correct 4 to 1 dilution using tap water - after 1 treatment - left on the hair for 2 hours - just water and honey. The lighting is dark in the before picture, so I requested a replacement picture.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1633

HalcyonDays - on the condition of her hair following honey lightening and a replacement before picture
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1635

soleluna - on hennaed hair (baq Egyptian henna) - the correct 4 to 1 dilution - after 1 treatment - with distilled water and only 1 tsp ground cinnamon - no conditioner
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1375

soleluna - recipe details and the condition of her hair following honey lightening Note: the correct amount of honey used was 2 tablespoons - there was an error made in transcribing the recipe
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1377

Alley Cat - on chemically dyed, almost black, previously hennaed hair (which shows as red) - 4 to 1 dilution - after 9 treatments - 8 with no conditioner - 3 with ground cinnamon - the last 5 with just water and honey, the 3 most recent with distilled water and the correct 4 to 1 dilution
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1492

Aley Cat - on the condition of her hair following honey lightening
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1495

LadyPolaris - on hennaed hair - after 4 treatments - the correct 4 to 1 dilution by weight, with distilled water, ground cinnamon and EVOO - no conditioner and the condition of her hair following 4 honey lightening treatments
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1651

wintersun99 - on henndigoed hair - the correct 4 to 1 dilution, with distilled water and ground cinnamon, new honey - updated results, recipe and the condition of her hair following more honey lightening
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1855

wintersun99 - more on her application to get the final current results
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1912

wintersun99 - on how to secure a shower cap for honey lightening
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1914

[ktani]

Pictures of honey lightening with just honey and water

kokuryu - on virgin, mid-blonde hair - using only tap water and honey, unmeasured - after 3 treatments
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1799

kokuryu - on the condition of her hair after 3 treatments
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1801

HalcyonDays - on dark mid-brown virgin hair - with the correct 4 to 1 dilution using tap water - after 1 treatment - left on the hair for 2 hours - just water and honey. The lighting is dark in the before picture, so I requested a replacement picture.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1633

HalcyonDays - on the condition of her hair following honey lightening and a replacement before picture
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1635

Alley Cat - on chemically dyed, almost black, previously hennaed hair (which shows as red) - 4 to 1 dilution - after 9 treatments - 8 with no conditioner - 3 with ground cinnamon - the last 5 with just water and honey, the 3 most recent with distilled water and the correct 4 to 1 dilution
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1492

Aley Cat - on the condition of her hair following honey lightening
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1495

Alley Cat - more on the condition of her hair following her 9th honey lightening treatment - with Jarrah honey, which has a very high peroxide value
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1596

[Spun]

Okay so I tried it again with cinnamon and EVOO (was extra careful this time). It's still wet so I can't tell if it did anything but I can't get the cinnamon out this time. I spent like 20 minutes trying to get it out. I did shampoo and conditioner this time and it still wouldn't come out. When I towel dried my hair I could see cinnamon all over the towel.

[ktani]

Okay so I tried it again with cinnamon and EVOO (was extra careful this time). It's still wet so I can't tell if it did anything but I can't get the cinnamon out this time. I spent like 20 minutes trying to get it out. I did shampoo and conditioner this time and it still wouldn't come out. When I towel dried my hair I could see cinnamon all over the towel.

Spun

Ground cinnamom has been reported to be difficult to wash out of the hair, though not for everyone.

How much did you use? It is recommended to mix it into a recipe, not add it dry, on top of one (the dry method is in an online recipe).

soleuna used only 1 tsp in her recipe.

soleluna - on hennaed hair (baq Egyptian henna) - the correct 4 to 1 dilution - after 1 treatment - with distilled water and only 1 tsp ground cinnamon - no conditioner
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1375

soleluna - recipe details and the condition of her hair following honey lightening Note: the correct amount of honey used was 2 tablespoons - there was an error made in transcribing the recipe
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1377

I am sorry that you are having such problems.

I look forward to your final results.

[wintersun99]

Spun - I never could get the cinnamon totally out either (I only use a tsp) and generally always had cinnamon bits in my hair after rinsing... for whatever reason, they disappeared when my hair dried... not sure if I just couldn't see them anymore, or if it the bits were "brushed" away... although I don't "brush" my hair, but I mess with it often finger combing and what not.

[ktani]

Spun

Patch test, then try McCormick's ground cardamom if you can get it.

It is cheaper than other brands, and cardamom has been reported to wash out of the hair much easier than cinnamon.