Brightening Lemon Hair Rinse

I love to rinse my hair with rosemary, but rosemary darkens hair overtime. While I love the exoticness of my dark brown hair, I also love my blonde and gold streaks. 🙂 In order to keep my blonde streaks as bright as possible, I started rinsing my hair with this lemon rinse after applying any rosemary.

Brightening Lemon Rinse
Lemon oil is a great hair tonic as lemon is good for making hair shiny and removing dandruff. Lemon oil also has bleaching qualities, so it helps to lighten blonde hair and counter-act the effects of rosemary rinses (which darken hair). This rinse leaves your hair shiny and smelling of lemons.

1 16oz bottle
10-12 drops lemon essential oil (or 2 tbsp fresh pressed lemon oil)
16 oz distilled water

Pour lemon essential oil and distilled water into bottle. Shake well. Use to rinse hair after washing.

Rosemary Lavender ACV Rinse

Rosemary Lavender AVC Rinse

I have to make a confession: I’m a product junkie. I LOVE to get and test new hair and skin products. So much, in fact, that reason is what started me making my own beauty products – to keep some chemicals out of my system and some money in my pocket.

That being said, in the course of a regular week my hair usually gets slathered with whatever product on my radar at that time. Oils, creams, leave-ins, moisturizers – they’re all invited to the party. All this partying can lead to some serious product buildup, however. This is where apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinses come in. ACV rinses are great for removing product build up and they are especially great for your hair after a deep conditioner or protein treatment.

One of my favorite ACV rinses is my rosemary lavender rinse. I love the smell and the color created by the mixture of herbs and ACV. I also really like the way it looks. In order to get better photos, I made this rinse using a clear plastic bottle, but you can use multiple types of bottles. Clear or translucent bottles work best, however, so you can visually check the readiness of the rinse.

close up

Rosemary Lavender ACV Rinse
Rosemary helps prevent thinning hair and hair loss. It slows premature graying and can gradually darken existing gray hair (or any hair!). Rosemary is also beneficial for dry, flaky scalps, and dandruff. Lavender stimulates hair growth and degreases hair. Rinsing with apple cider vinegar will help balance the pH of your hair and remove buildup. An ACV rinse can also help to close your hair cuticles, enhance shine, and to (temporarily) reduce the porosity in the hair.

Note: Rosemary darkens the hair over time

2 sprigs Rosemary
2 tbsp dried lavender
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (ACV)
25 oz distilled water
Applicator bottle

Put rosemary, lavender, and ACV inside of applicator bottle. Boil distilled water then pour into applicator bottle (make sure bottle is heat-resistant and will not melt). Allow to seep until water is cool (1-2 hours) – one sure way to be sure that the rinse is ready is to watch the lavender. The dried lavender will float, at first. After an hour or so the flowers will start to sink to the bottom of the container and the liquid will start to turn a beautiful pale purple. Once about 50% of the lavender flowers sink, the rinse is ready for use. Pour over hair as a rinse. Rinse out after 3-5 minutes.

floating Lavender