Possible way to protect hair from conventional peroxide damage

[ktani]

All right, ktani, time for my official report!

As you know from my other thread, I have bleached my very red henna to a light orange and will be attempted to tone it back to blonde.

My bleach mixture comprised of Salon Care 30 volume developer cream and Salon Care Quick White Super Strength Whitening Powder (both available at Sally's). The ratio was approximately 3 ounces of developer to 1 once of powder.

For the first bleach, I preoiled with Spectrum Unrefined Coconut Oil and let it soak in for one hour. I then applied the bleach mixture and let it sit for 20 minutes.

I originally planned to let it sit for 50 minutes, because my strand tests showed reasonable lightening with no damage at 50 minutes. However, the heat from my head must have accelerated the bleaching process, because I got more lightening in 10 minutes than I got in the whole 50 minutes of the strand test. My hair also got very hot... and I mean hot! I was afraid my hair was going to melt off, so I rinsed at 20 minutes, and followed with an hour long SMT made with Henna N' Placenta and Garnier Triple Nutrition 3-Minute Dryness Treatment.

I had zero damage, but my color was uneven. However, I do not blame the oil for this, just human error. I likely either didn't mix my bleach well enough or there was more henna build up in some places than others. I have to add, my hair actually felt improved after the first bleach. It was really slick and smooth after rinsing the bleach off, and it felt more hydrated than it has been in a long time after my deep treatment.

For my second bleach, I repeated the same process as above, but this time, my hair did not get hot. I left it on for 20 minutes, rinsed, and followed with my deep treatment for one hour. My hair was still super hydrated afterwards, but I did notice some damage. Nothing major, just a few more splits than usual, particularly the kind that occurs in the middle of a strand of hair and makes a hole. I found a few of these very close to my ends. However, the last 4 inches of my hair is very dry and brittle, and I lost a lot of thickness there before I began hennaing. I went into this expecting that I might lose those last 4 inches, but to my pleasant surprise, they came out mostly in tact. So I still consider it a success, because I think without the pretreatment, the fragile ends would have all broken off.

Thank you so much for the complete report!

You did this following the first bleaching
"and followed with an hour long SMT made with Henna N' Placenta and Garnier Triple Nutrition 3-Minute Dryness Treatment." and the 2nd.

Then you did another heavy oiling before the dye?

The SMT treatment you did was heavy. If you did not clarify that off before 2nd pre-treatment and bleaching and then the 3rd pre-treatment and dye, that may be why the dye did not take. It may also have affected your 2nd bleach results in terms of some damage.

Still the amount of damage reported is minimal but it goes to previously damaged hair being something to take into consideration with this kind of processing and what is on or may be on the hair before pre-treating with coconut oil. The oil needs as much access to the hair as possible to penetrate and saturate it and chelate the iron and copper and help prevent damage.

I consider your report a success too. ETA: I will however, because of the slight damage, place your report in Report Post III. Done!

[shadowclaw]

Thank you so much for the complete report!

You did this following the first bleaching
"and followed with an hour long SMT made with Henna N' Placenta and Garnier Triple Nutrition 3-Minute Dryness Treatment." and the 2nd.

Then you did another heavy oiling before the dye?

Yes, I used the same recipe for my SMT after each bleaching. Additionally, the day after the 2nd bleaching, I washed my hair with non-SLS shampoo and I did another SMT, but I used Ion Effect Care Treatment in place of the Henna N' Placenta. That night I did my heavy preoiling for the dye.

The SMT treatment you did was heavy. If you did not clarify that off before 2nd pre-treatment and bleaching and then the 3rd pre-treatment and dye, that may be why the dye did not take. It may also have affected your 2nd bleach results in terms of some damage.

You make an excellent point! Henna N' Placenta is some thick, wonderful stuff. I was trying to baby my hair as much as possible to help prevent damage that I overlooked the fact that all that conditioning and protein may intefere with both the oiling and the dye.

Still the amount of damage reported is minimal but it goes to previously damaged hair being something to take into consideration with this kind of processing and what is on or may be on the hair before pre-treating with coconut oil. The oil needs as much access to the hair as possible to penetrate and saturate it and chelate the iron and copper and help prevent damage.

I consider your report a success too. ETA: I will however, because of the slight damage, place your report in Report Post III. Done!

I should also add that I did a very similar process to my hair years ago (but without oiling, of course), but instead of bleaching out henna, I was trying to bleach out black dye that was on top of virgin hair. I did two bleaches with a kit, which did a fair amount of damage, and on top of that I stripped the remaining color with some sort of product like ColorFix at the recommendation of Sally employees.

I feel stripping was probably unnecessary, because very little dye came out at that point, and mostly what it did was completely destroy my hair. A lot broke off, and what was left was a horrid mess that I couldn't get a comb through when wet, no matter how much conditioner was used. I did manage to save it until I grew out the damage by using lots of reconstructor treatments, but my hair was ratty until I finally chopped off the damage.

So by comparison, the bleach process this time around is light years better. I will have to report back in about a year to comment on the condition of my hair then. That will be the true test of how much damage was done.

[ktani]

Yes, I used the same recipe for my SMT after each bleaching. Additionally, the day after the 2nd bleaching, I washed my hair with non-SLS shampoo and I did another SMT, but I used Ion Effect Care Treatment in place of the Henna N' Placenta. That night I did my heavy preoiling for the dye.



You make an excellent point! Henna N' Placenta is some thick, wonderful stuff. I was trying to baby my hair as much as possible to help prevent damage that I overlooked the fact that all that conditioning and protein may intefere with both the oiling and the dye.



I should also add that I did a very similar process to my hair years ago (but without oiling, of course), but instead of bleaching out henna, I was trying to bleach out black dye that was on top of virgin hair. I did two bleaches with a kit, which did a fair amount of damage, and on top of that I stripped the remaining color with some sort of product like ColorFix at the recommendation of Sally employees.

I feel stripping was probably unnecessary, because very little dye came out at that point, and mostly what it did was completely destroy my hair. A lot broke off, and what was left was a horrid mess that I couldn't get a comb through when wet, no matter how much conditioner was used. I did manage to save it until I grew out the damage by using lots of reconstructor treatments, but my hair was ratty until I finally chopped off the damage.

So by comparison, the bleach process this time around is light years better. I will have to report back in about a year to comment on the condition of my hair then. That will be the true test of how much damage was done.

Hopefully it will not take a year to truly assess the damage. I think that with what you went through before, your knowledge is excellent regarding your hair and its reactions to chemicals.

The pre-treatment with coconut and argan oils is relatively new. I read and respond all of the reports so I see the patterns in reported results.

Heavier oilings have been reported to yield better results. However, the method, needing the hair to be free of any residue, conditioner and any coatings is not easy to grasp at first. I am used to discussing that more about catnip treatments. It is not something that has been stressed here. I will make more of a point of it in the future.

[FrannyG]

Ktani, I haven't reported in for a long time, but I come bearing very good news.

I've been using coconut oil whenever I dye my roots for 17 months now.

In September of '08, my ponytail circumference was 2.25 inches. I measured it regularly and it never varied much. Also, at the time, my bangs were grown out and were part of that circumference.

As of yesterday, in February '10, my ponytail circumference is just about 3.25 inches. Additionally, I have thick bangs now, so theoretically, my circumference would be even bigger.

I attribute this 100% to the lack of breakage due to dye damage since using coconut oil pre-treatment.

I'm going to have to dig around to find some photos of my old thickness and then take a current photo. When I do, I'll post them here. I am more than delighted.

Thank you once again, ktani, for all of your help and for taking the time to do all of this research that has benefited so many of us.

[ktani]

Ktani, I haven't reported in for a long time, but I come bearing very good news.

I've been using coconut oil whenever I dye my roots for 17 months now.

In September of '08, my ponytail circumference was 2.25 inches. I measured it regularly and it never varied much. Also, at the time, my bangs were grown out and were part of that circumference.

As of yesterday, in February '10, my ponytail circumference is just about 3.25 inches. Additionally, I have thick bangs now, so theoretically, my circumference would be even bigger.

I attribute this 100% to the lack of breakage due to dye damage since using coconut oil pre-treatment.

I'm going to have to dig around to find some photos of my old thickness and then take a current photo. When I do, I'll post them here. I am more than delighted.

Thank you once again, ktani, for all of your help and for taking the time to do all of this research that has benefited so many of us.

This is fantastic news! And you are most welcome. This is the first really long term report. 17 months!

Thank you so much for posting this.

[FrannyG]

This is fantastic news! And you are most welcome. This is the first really long term report. 17 months!

Thank you so much for posting this.

Yes, I was a pioneer on your project. I thought you'd be pleased. I hope to have photos for you within the next few days.

[ktani]

Yes, I was a pioneer on your project. I thought you'd be pleased. I hope to have photos for you within the next few days.

I am more than just pleased. I am thrilled for you! I have always thought that your hair is gorgeous and it certainly has never looked damaged. The fact that your circumference has increased 1 inch while you continued to colour and the difference is the coconut oil helping to prevent damage to that extent is amazing!

I shall add your report to the no damage reports in Reports Post II. ETA: Done! And I would love to see those pictures, which will be added to your report.

[juliaxena]

Is it OK to use cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil? I took the cheaper one of the same brand. I don't know what else the more expencive one "had". Perhaps it was extra virgin? If that exists. Anyway, mine is cold pressed, unrefined, is that good enough?


ETA: I have noticed there is no gallic acid in the ingredients list on my coconut oil bottle???

[ktani]

Is it OK to use cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil? I took the cheaper one of the same brand. I don't know what else the more expencive one "had". Perhaps it was extra virgin? If that exists. Anyway, mine is cold pressed, unrefined, is that good enough?


ETA: I have noticed there is no gallic acid in the ingredients list on my coconut oil bottle???

Yes, that is fine. You just need the pure oil, the less refined the better in my opinion. Gallic acid is a constituent of the oil not an ingredient, which would show on the label as something added to it, like a preservative.

Here is an article on how coconut oil is produced that I have referred to before.
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/wh...oconut_oil.htm

Virgin coconut oil was used in this study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...ubmed_RVDocSum

[ktani]

FrannyG
Your post has set off some questions. To help matters, please list the brand and type of coconut oil you have been using as a guide to help others.

I have not asked this question before. There are currently 45 (including the one by pm) no damage reports using either coconutt or or a mix of coconut and argan oils as a pre-treatment.

If it will be helpful, I will start asking what brands and types of oil people are currently using.