Mushy hair (after bleaching)

**JustKeramie** · January 18th, 2009, 07:25 PM

Thanks for all of the help you guys, it's much appreciated. I guess I'll look into some henna (I'm definitely not afraid of red). Any kind that's better? Or is it pretty much all the same? I've never used henna before, and I don't know anyone who has

**Addy** · January 18th, 2009, 07:27 PM

Oh my... I'm so sorry your hair is mush.

That black and bleach is

If all else fails, go get yourself a short pixie and rock it out the best you can.

{{{HUGS}}}

**JustKeramie** · January 18th, 2009, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by Addy

Oh my... I'm so sorry your hair is mush.

That black and bleach is

If all else fails, go get yourself a short pixie and rock it out the best you can.

{{{HUGS}}}

haha, I'd look mental with a pixie cut. My best friend told me that I wasn't allowed to cut it above my shoulders because I'd look so stupid. Oh well

**JustKeramie** · January 18th, 2009, 07:30 PM

worst part is, almost all of it that's damaged is my short layers, so I'd end up with a mullet if I tried to cut any more off right now... we didn't bleach the bottom layer of my hair, so it's still as long as it used to be, minus an inch or two of split ends that I got trimmed off

**Anje** · January 18th, 2009, 07:41 PM

I'm going to echo the others out here -- your hair is going to need lots of protein until the damage is cut off. Ideally, that's a "hydrolyzed" protein on your conditioners, since it gets into the hair better, and you'll want to follow with moisture. I've heard good things about the Hask Henna & Placenta treatments, which are quite inexpensive, but conditioners labelled "reconstructor" will likely be the most helpful.

As far as henna is concerned, body art quality (BAQ) is always best, though if you want to shop near home, you might be able to find henna at an asian/indian grocery store. If it comes in different colors, I'd recommend just skipping the brand, as some of the colors have chemicals mixed in to make them more consistent, and these may not get along well with dyes. Real henna (Lawsonia inermis) dyes a reddish-orangish-brownish only.
Good places to start reading are Nightshade's henna article and what Catherine has to say at Henna for Hair.

**chickpea** · January 18th, 2009, 07:50 PM

oh boy have I been there. I tried to bleach out black dye years ago and it really damaged my hair. Aubrey Organics GPB conditioner helped a lot, but I still had to cut off the bleached & dyed bits.

**squiggyflop** · January 18th, 2009, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by JustKeramie

Thanks for all of the help you guys, it's much appreciated. I guess I'll look into some henna (I'm definitely not afraid of red). Any kind that's better? Or is it pretty much all the same? I've never used henna before, and I don't know anyone who has

well im not sure what kind is best for you but i get really inexpensive henna.. its sold in indian grocerys.. dulhan deluxe henna.. i got it for 10$ per kilo.. its actually sold for body art so i figure if its sold mainly for body art then it must be body art quality.. there is no reason to get anything outragiously expensive.. i find that henna from the net is very expensive considering that ive tried net BAQ henna and dulhan henna from the body art section of an indian shop and found them both to be mostly the same.. the only difference is that i found dulhan got a quicker dye release and can dye my hair with it in 20-30 minutes vs 3 hours with the net BAQ stuff..
unfortunatly i learned the hard way that dulhan henna will stain my hair burgundy if left on for more than an hour.. its powerful stuff..

um i found this on dulhan
Dulhan Henna Powder
Agarwals Dulhan Henna Powder
[*]henna powder, henna mehndi powder, mehndi is best premium Quality and tripple refined Henna powder from Marward (Rajastan)[/

if i were you and i wasnt feeling like buying online i would not buy anything that says its henna hairdye.. i would get the powder stuff sold for henna tattoos.. the stuff that says its henna hairdye could have all sorts of bad stuff in it..

**Kuchen** · January 19th, 2009, 01:24 AM

I think Loviatar had something similar and her hair is looking great now. *activates bat symbol to call Lovi*

**Xandergrammy** · January 19th, 2009, 06:21 AM

Sweetie, maybe you could go to one of those websites where you can see what you'd look like with short hair? Sometimes friends mean well, but they aren't necessarily correct in their assessment of what you would look like. The good news is that you're 14 and your hair probably grows quickly and is healthy. And you said you have alot of it. You do what you think is best for you and your hair. (and don't let Mom touch it for awhile!!

)

**brok3nwings** · January 19th, 2009, 06:57 AM

im really sorry that you are in this situation. Really. Most of us know whats like to be in your position... at least you know you wont repeat it. and i know you didnt intend to ruin your hair, but that is what strong chemicals like bleach do.

if you want to grow your natural colour you really should cut, find a nice short style.
if you dont mind with red and you want to keep it try henna it wont make it worst it will only make it better....
avoid shampoo, lots lots lots of conditioner left on for long time.

i must tell you, the time i had bleach on my hair it was a nightmare for me. I tried all the heavy conditioners and nothing made the difference. i didnt know henna back then but people say it can sometimes save your hair from breaking like crazy