Esther's Frugal Hair Solution!

[snarkykitty]

Okay, we did this in the 80s when we didn't know any better, but it's 2012!

Esther, Anna of Josh's sister, posted a link for a quick, cheap way to lighten your hair: PEROXIDE! Not diluted, mind you. Some helpful friends chimed in to suggest Sun-In or lemon juice. All three are great suggestions for creating dry, brittle, hair with uneven bleach spots!! :roll: But, hey, it's frugal so who cares??

http://beyondjane.com/beauty/hair/light ... -peroxide/

[MissSeptember]

From the comments:

Jt Says:

September 21st, 2009 at 11:40 pm

Is it safe to use on a toddler? My kid is two, has brown hair, and she wants to have blondish lighter hair like mine.

Athlyn Green Says:

September 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 am

Hi JT,

I would check with her doctor first. Also, if you do decide to use peroxide, just brush it through her hair and place a towel around her neck. Make sure it doesn’t get in her eyes because it would sting. Make sure you use a weaker solution: 3%.

JT Says:

September 23rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm

Thank you for your reply Athlyn. I brushed the 3%HP solution on my kid hair yesterday and it already lightened up 2 shades. Quite amazing! She loves it and has no problem with it.

Athlyn Green Says:

September 23rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm

Hi JT,

This is great to hear. I’ve always found peroxide to be gentle on hair.

:shock:

[snarkbillie]

Um 3% sounds pretty diluted.

[Guest Anonymous]

Dude. I thought the peroxide hair trend went away in the '70s. My great-aunt (born 1912) used to peroxide her hair, and my mom as a teen in the '60s did. And Sun In? Learned my lesson as a teen in the mid-90s with that. Brassy hair ahoy!

[snarkykitty]

Imagine peroxide on top of home perms? Ouch!

[Constance Vigilance]

So we're peroxiding two year olds now, are we? Right.

[prairiemuffin]

All I can think of is Devine in the original Hairspray with Ricki Lake:

"Oh, my God. She's all peroxided up!"

[Jessica]

Imagine peroxide on top of home perms? Ouch!

[Guest Anonymous]

That picture? Oh, wowies. I have to say, Anna is looking quite lovely these days. I'm glad she's softened her look.

[EmmieJ]

No matter how supposedly gentle, I would never have put any type of chemical solution on my two-year old's hair. I remember talking with my hairdresser a couple of years ago about my son's hair growing darker with time and how he wanted it to be lighter again. He was about 11 years old then, but my hairdresser still advised caution.

And YOWZA! on that pic of Anna with a super crunchy home perm look.

[Shoobydoo]

My old roommate from hell used peroxide on her hair, but I imagine it's because she was too cheap to use something better. I don't do anything with my hair, nor do many of my friends, so I didn't realize it was something people didn't do anymore? Lightening a toddler's hair is ridiculous, though. :shock: Even if it's because she wants to look like mommy.

[emmiedahl]

A high school classmate tried to lighten her hair with peroxide and it turned orange. So she bought some brown hair dye to fix it and it turned green. She had to go to a hair salon and pay the bucks to get the color fixed, and her hair was totally fried. No fixing that.

I like dying my own hair, but you have to be prepared to buy decent dyes and spend a little time, maybe have a friend or sister help.

[snarkykitty]

Wow. Okay. I'm so glad she's stopped frying her hair.

My hair is my one vice. I don't get manicures (okay, maybe twice a year, but I otherwise do my nails myself), I don't go shopping for fun, and I don't smoke or drink. But I do get my hair professionally colored every 8 weeks and highlighted twice a year. Because I am growing it out, I only get it cut twice a year.

I used to color it myself but A. I always missed spots and B. the color always looked too flat on me.

[Guest Anonymous]

Peroxide on a 2-year old?! :o

I have no words.

[DarkAnts]

Um 3% sounds pretty diluted.

3% is the strength of hydrogen peroxide that you buy in the grocery store. It is relatively dilute and harmless. It will irritate your skin and I dont think it should be used to lighten the hair of a two year old. Their skin is more sensitive then an adults and you are applying it over a large area.

[Miss M]

Peroxide on a 2-year old?! :o

I have no words.

Right, what 2 year old is that worried about their hair, this one is more likely Mommy wants baby to have lighter hair!

[Rosa]

I'm pretty sure just going to Sally's and getting bleach and developer is going to be cheaper than peroxide, anyway.

[Kitty]

:shock: I have no words. I'm way too young to remember the days of Sun-In and whatnot, but wow. Peroxide on a 2 year old. Holy shit.

Of course, I know older kids who have wanted pink hair and all that, I did too. But a 7-10 year old wanting pink hair and a 2 year old wanting to be "just like Mommy" are very, very different.

Edit: For people whose hair is supposed to be their glory, they do a really shitty job of taking care of it. They dye, bleach, and perm the shit out of it, not to mention the likely harsh dollar-store shampoos, hairsprays, gels, curling irons, straighteners...

[snarkbillie]

3% is the strength of hydrogen peroxide that you buy in the grocery store. It is relatively dilute and harmless. It will irritate your skin and I dont think it should be used to lighten the hair of a two year old. Their skin is more sensitive then an adults and you are applying it over a large area.

I don't think you should use it on a child either, but the OP was all "OH PEROXIDE COMPLETELY UNDILUTED!!!!OMFG!!!!" so I felt like I should say something.

[NurseNell]

I guess because I've always been a natural redhead I've never had to be concerned about such topics. I remember classmates in high school using peroxide, this was early 60's and I thought it made their hair look very unnatural. But they were poring a whole bottle over their head. I suppose using the technique she describes would be OK. Glad I don't need to know though.

[DarkAnts]

I don't think you should use it on a child either, but the OP was all "OH PEROXIDE COMPLETELY UNDILUTED!!!!OMFG!!!!" so I felt like I should say something

Agreed, Its not too dangerous to use undiluted. You just need to be careful not to overuse it. Overuse can cause a chemical burn.

I keep it in my first aid kit. Its a great for cleaning out wounds that have junk in them.

[JesusFightClub]

I shave my head so I am not hair expert ;) but why are they trying to dye TODDLERS' HAIR? Toddlers want all kind of weird stuff, that doesn't mean they should get it! And even if they should, why ask randoms on the Net for baby-dyeing advice?

[NurseNell]

I keep it in my first aid kit. Its a great for cleaning out wounds that have junk in them.

Soap and water is best to clean out wounds. Studies show that using peroxide on wounds delays healing because it damages healthy skin. That said, there are times when you might be away from running water so then peroxide is better than doing nothing.

[Witsec7]

When my kid was about 2 I had violet colored hair, actually a dark auburn with a couple of cellophanes on it. She had the perfect blond hair and wanted to color hers like mommies. So when her dad did my hair he did a small streak in hers. But we would never consider using something as harsh as a peroxide on her hair just for the sake of our own vanity.

[DarkAnts]

Soap and water is best to clean out wounds. Studies show that using peroxide on wounds delays healing because it damages healthy skin. That said, there are times when you might be away from running water so then peroxide is better than doing nothing.

Thats the reason it stays in my kit. You need to have a backup plan incase the water is turned off or something like that. It hurts less then rubbing alcohol.