Chamomile Hair Lightening | Step-by-Step Guide

Everyone wants to avoid using harsh commercial chemicals in their hair care routine as much as possible. So, if you’re looking for a DIY way to lighten your locks, check out chamomile hair lightening at home.

Chamomile Hair Lightening: A Summary

Chamomile has a natural power to lighten and brighten dark hair, so you should consider trying it out. Plus, it’s gentle and soothing, so it’s completely safe to make a simple tea and use it in your hair as a rinse. 

In a nutshell, you’ll:

1. Prepare your chamomile tea in a bowl.
2. Clean and condition your hair as you usually would.
3. Apply the chamomile tea to your hair. 
4. Work the chamomile deeply into your hair. 
5. Rinse your hair very thoroughly.
6. Re-apply a conditioner or moisturizer to prevent drying your hair out.

That’s it! In just six quick steps, you can lighten your hair at home quickly, easily, and without using harsh commercial chemical products.

You won’t get instantaneous results, but your hair may even appear brighter and healthier too! But for best results, follow this guide step by step. Otherwise, you may risk doing a bit of damage to your hair.  

How to Lighten Hair with Chamomile in 6 Easy Steps

Here’s how to lighten your hair using chamomile. It’s easy, but you need a little bit of patience and know-how to get it right.

1. Prepare Your Chamomile Tea

To make about four cups of chamomile tea hair rinse, you’ll need about six tea bags. If you have loose tea flowers, measure out about 1/2 cup. Now, boil your four cups of water in a kettle. Once it’s boiled, pour it into a large bowl. 

You could also just boil your water in a big pot, but a kettle’s whistle will let you know it’s actually boiled, and you want the water quite hot for the best steeping. 

Add your chamomile tea directly to the steaming water, and stir it thoroughly once. Be careful, because you want the water to be very hot, and it could be easy to burn yourself. Let the tea sit and steep in the water for at least ten minutes. Thirty minutes would be better.

If you add loose tea to the water, you’ll want to strain the water into a new bowl after it has cooled down. Or, if you used tea bags, just remove them and toss them in the garbage. 

2. Clean and Condition Your Hair

While your tea is steeping and the water is cooling, you’ll want to wash your hair to remove any impurities or buildup. Alternatively, you could wash your hair beforehand, but doing so while the water is cooling is a time saver. 

Using shampoo and a strong rinse of water to clean your hair will not only wash your scalp and your luxurious locks, but it will make it easier for the chamomile rinse you’ve prepared to penetrate your hair.

It’s up to you if you want to do so, but it’s helpful to use a little bit of conditioner as well so that your hair stays moisturized. It also helps prepare your hair for the drying effect that chamomile may have. 

Just make sure to rinse it out well. You don’t want to have globs of conditioner in your hair for the lightening treatment.

It’s also up to you if you want to let your hair dry a bit before you apply the chamomile. Letting it air dry may make it a bit frizzy, so it might be best to move right to the next step, even if your hair is sopping wet.

Or, give it a quick rub with a fluffy towel. But don’t blow dry it or let it dry completely. You don’t want to beat your hair up too much before a chamomile treatment to lighten it. 

3. Apply the Chamomile Tea to Your Hair

Now you’re going to want to apply your chamomile rinse. The easiest way to do so is to dip your hair into the bowl of chamomile tea that you made in step one. Thirty seconds to a minute should do it.

Then, do another dip, and repeat as many times as you want. Four or five times should be more than sufficient. Alternatively, you can also store some chamomile tea in an empty shampoo bottle and bring it into the shower or bathroom with you if that’s your preference.

Some people like to make a big batch of chamomile tea and save it for many treatments. It’s up to you how you want to go. You can even do the whole treatment standing over the kitchen sink and using a faucet sprayer.

It’s essential that after you apply the chamomile to your hair that you don’t rinse it out right away. Letting it soak is key for getting the hair lightening effect you want. 

4. Work the Chamomile Deeply Into Your Hair

Keep the chamomile rinse in your hair, but don’t rinse it yet. Using your fingers, massage the chamomile tea into your hair thoroughly. There’s not much risk in letting it sit for up to an hour or so.

And, since chamomile also has soothing properties, massaging it into your hair and scalp will help condition them and may relax you a bit as well. Continue working the chamomile tea into your hair and scalp for about ten minutes.

You can re-dip it into the bowl or add some more from your bottle as you go. It won’t do any damage to apply more.

You can let it stay in for a while longer if you want, and you can even hop out of the shower and pin it up for a bit if you really want a deep soak. But we don’t recommend leaving chamomile in your hair for an extended period due to the risk of drying your hair out. 

5. Rinse Your Hair 

Now, it’s time to rinse out your chamomile hair lightening treatment. If your shower has a sprayer wand, now’s a good time to put it to work. 

Rinse your hair from all angles, tossing it around and letting the water rinse it all away. Leaving chamomile in your hair for a long period may dry it out a bit. So, don’t leave it to soak too long, and don’t neglect your final rinse – the more thorough your rinse, the better. 

The fact that leaving chamomile in your hair for a long time leaves it susceptible to drying out is why we don’t like to recommend using it as an application that you leave in for a long time.

You can get good hair lightening results by applying it as an overnight mask or even as a leave-in hairspray. But doing so will damage and dry your hair, even though it will also lighten it. 

Also, consider that chamomile might stain things that it’s left in contact with for too long.

Chamomile tea isn’t likely to cause major staining problems, but it could mess up a nice white towel or pillowcase. It won’t do any harm if you miss a spot rinsing it out, but a complete rinse is best to prevent both staining and overly drying out your hair and scalp.  

6. Re-Condition and Moisturize

Your hair won’t yet be visibly lighter, but it may be brighter and healthier looking. The enzymes in chamomile will take time to work, as they limit the production of melanin and slowly lighten your hair and your skin.

You can perform your chamomile treatment more often to accelerate the effect. But you still have a little bit of work to do. Apply your conditioner and any moisturizing hair products you use.

This will help your hair and scalp recover from the treatment and keep your hair looking its best for days to come. 

One trick you might want to try is to apply your conditioner while your hair is very wet and then skip rinsing it out. It doesn’t do any harm, and it lets the conditioner penetrate deeply. But it may leave a minor residue or stain on your pillowcase or the back of your shirt. 

Chamomile Hair Lightening FAQ

Now you know how to lighten your hair with chamomile. But these questions still come up all the time. 

Does Chamomile Actually Lighten Hair?

Chamomile tea rinses will lighten your hair over time. It’s not as fast-attacking as commercial chemical solutions, but it’s much safer to use. It can also be quite soothing and relaxing, and the smell of your tea will permeate your home with its sweet, comforting, and pleasant scent. 

Does Chamomile Lighten Hair Without Sun?

Chamomile is hair and skin-friendly. And it will effectively lighten your hair over time, even without exposing it to the sun. The effects take longer than with harsh chemicals, but chamomile is much less damaging. 

Does Chamomile Tea Make Your Hair Blonder?

Chamomile tea won’t take you from a dark brunette to a bleach blonde overnight.

But it will absolutely and effectively lighten your hair by limiting the production of melanin, the body compound that colors each strand. So, with a little bit of patience and a quick rinse or two, chamomile tea will make you a bit blonder. 

Does Chamomile Ruin Your Hair?

Chamomile has a tendency to dry hair out, especially when it’s left in for a long time. So, using a rinse is preferable to using it as a soaking treatment, a hairspray, or in an overnight application.

You can dip your hair into a bowl and work it into your hair with your fingers, or you can do it right in the shower. As long as you moisturize and condition your hair afterward, it won’t ruin your hair. 

Is Chamomile Tea Drying For Hair?

Chamomile tea is really good for a lot of things, including lightening hair and mellowing you out before bedtime. But one thing it’s not so good at is treating drying hair. In fact, it has a tendency to dry hair out even more than it already is.

So, if you are suffering from overly dry hair or an itchy scalp, try a revitalizing and moisturizing conditioner. Make sure you’re also using a gentle shampoo. 

So, How Do You Lighten Hair with Chamomile?

Chamomile hair lightening is pretty easy. Now you know all the steps that it takes, and you even know how to get the best results. Brew your chamomile tea hair rinse, apply it thoroughly, and rinse it out of your hair completely after a short period.

Then, make sure to moisturize and condition your hair and scalp to prevent them from becoming dried out. That’s all it takes to perform chamomile hair lightening, so give it a try today!