Hairstyle World Article for Women

A Dash of Sun, a Pinch of Lemon

June 2nd, 2006

By PAULA SCHWARTZ
A spritz of lemon juice will help the sun lighten your hair.
“It’s an old wives’ tale from back in the day when they didn’t have bleach,” said Joel Warren, a colorist who is an owner of the Warren-Tricomi salons in Manhattan and Greenwich, Conn.

“Probably some blond girl went out, put it in her hair and it got lighter and, you know, it started a tale.”

Lemon juice is just not strong enough to make a difference, Mr. Warren said. “I mean, it takes a lot to change your color,” he said. “You need peroxide or ammonia.”

But Roger Clemens, professor of molecular pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Southern California, said the acid in lemons, combined with oxygen and the sun’s UV rays, causes acid oxidation, which highlights or lightens hair. “It’s not an old wives’ tale or myth. It’s scientific fact,” he said.

Of course, going out in the sun without lemon juice can lighten your hair, too. But the acid in the lemon juice serves as an accelerant, he said.

The active ingredient is the limonene in lemons, which is most concentrated in the rind, said Dr. Francesca J. Fusco, a dermatologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center. “It acts as a weak bleaching agent when exposed to sunlight,” she said.

It is most effective on lighter hair, the experts said. “The results with darker hair may not be so desirable, such as orange or orange-red,” Professor Clemens said.

While lemon can get the job done, it’s not powerful enough to harm the hair — at least not enough that it cannot be reversed with the use of a good conditioner, Professor Clemens said.

But Mr. Warren said hair color should best be left to the professionals.

“I can’t promote stuff,” he said, “that doesn’t say, ‘Come to my salon and get your hair done.’ “

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