Advice needed

[MsDiva]

Hi, I am in need of a little advice.
I have been dying my hair for as long as I can remember and eventually went a little to dark trying to get back to my natural hair colour. My hair was almost black, but in good condition.
The dark colour was too harsh and I was trapped in a cycle when my roots and greys came through.

So I went to my hairdresser for advice and she said that stripping it was the way forward and because my hair was in good condition it would be able to handle it.
I took her advice and had it stripped. (It took 3 strips to lighten it enough to take the semi permanent light brown dye.)
Here is my hair after stripping http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg27/scaled.php?server=27&filename=afterbleach.jpg&res=landing



After this I had a semi permanent colour put on it. The hairdresser gave me a protein shampoo and treatment to use but my hair was so damaged and kept snapping :( Here is my poor damaged hair

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg809/scaled.php?server=809&filename=closeupofdamage.jpg&res=landing


I went back when the colour faded and had another semi put on and the hairdresser gave me a protein and mosturising treatment and shampoo to use.
All the while I was using Morocan(Argan) oil on it daily(advice I had seen on here) The condition has improved greatly and 7 weeks down the line my hair looks like this (It isnt quite dy in the pic below)http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg28/scaled.php?server=28&filename=nearlydry.jpg&res=landing

And nearly dry

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg641/scaled.php?server=641&filename=dryish.jpg&res=landing



In this time I havent worn my hair in any tight styles, just loose plaits and ponytails with a cotton alice band holding the front in place to prevent further snapping and damage.

Yesterday I did my 1st ponytail since the stripping and noticed all the short hairs around the top of my head


http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg507/scaled.php?server=507&filename=ponytaile.jpg&res=landing :(


I think this is the damage done previously, but now I am so paranoid of snapping I am scared to do anything with it!


I am using a tangle teezer, argan oil, the treatments and shampoo given to me by the hairdresser. I dont wash it everyday(as I used to before the stripping) But dont know what to do next.

My hair dresser said I could cut it and the hair will grow again but I dont want to lose my length as it has taken an age to grow it :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I appologise for the long and photo heavy first post, but have been waiting so long to get my membership here, I wanted to get it all of my chest:o



http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/27/afterbleach.jpg/

[eros]

I don't think your hair looks damaged at all. Maybe just the ends. Why don't you just trim the ends?

[furnival]

I agree- your hair looks shiny and it's hard to make out any damage. In fact, your hair looks lovely! When I destroyed my hair with dye it went very dull and matt-looking and was stiff and brittle like candy floss. It definitely didn't resemble your shiny mane. It might just be that your hair is really dried out from the dyeing and stripping, and might benefit from some moisture treatments. I would hold off on the chop for now, especially if you don't want to lose any length.
Welcome to LHC! :)

[bekstamonkey]

Your hair looks similar to mine :) Mine was damaged due to years of bleaching streaks, and like you, condition has greatly improved week by week due to the amazing advice found here on LHC. Whilst I have similar damage to the lower parts of my hair, like yours, I have noticed that each week that goes by, with regular oiling and care, protective updos etc, it just gets better and better looking. I know I can't actually fix the damage, but like you, I don't want to chop. I'm taking the route of giving my hair the best opportunity to be healthy and just see what happens.

[hellucy]

I don't think your hair looks damaged or dry, it looks very shiny.... you are obviously doing the right things - keep it up.
Is it possible the shorter hairs at the top are actually newer growth & not breakage?
Don't cut your hair just yet - keep babying it for a while longer & see what happens - bleach/stripping of dye can cause a lot of problems some of which can be at least improved with time & TLC.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think your hair looks lovely. You don't have to do anything to it in a hurry, just keep pampering it and I'm sure it will be nice to you.:)

Welcome to LHC.

[MsDiva]

Thank you for your replies. :blossom:

After reading a lot of the posts on here I no longer trust my hairdressers advice, She did say that some of the shorter hair looked like new hair and as I have been shedding quite a bit, that was a good sign, it was growing back. But I never had the shorter bits of hair before.


I think I am going to get the ends trimmed, after looking at the photos I think they look dry and straggley(sp) then I will continue with the oiling and treatments, but will probably go back to using my tressamme colour shampoo and conditioner soon and see how that goes. (My hair liked those products before the bleaching)

Its so nice to finally be a member of this community and talk to like minded people! I think my family and friends are bored with my hair worries and are thinking I should cut it off and start again :-(

One good thing has come out of this... I will never use a permanent dye on my hair again!:p

[Yosha]

Your hair looks healthy in the pictures! But of course I cannot see what your hair feels like. You did a good job with the oil treatments. If your hair doesn't feel as good as it looks, I agree with the moisturizing treatments. Also, your hairdresser could be right in advising that protein shampoo and conditioner, but for some people it could be too much protein. The protein is for helping out the damage from stripping. Not everyone's hair likes it the same though. Protein could work well for you with moisturizing treatments. But of course you could use your favorite shampoo and conditioner and see if it feels better. I'd say just try it out! And for "cutting", if you want a very neat hemline I guess you only need half an inch off or something, no more. Your hair looks great!

[Yosha]

Btw Semi-permanent dye can be damaging as well. Unless it's a deposit dye. But the ones I'm familiar with also contained peroxide.

[silverthread]

Hi, I am in need of a little advice.
I have been dying my hair for as long as I can remember and eventually went a little to dark trying to get back to my natural hair colour. My hair was almost black, but in good condition.
The dark colour was too harsh and I was trapped in a cycle when my roots and greys came through.

So I went to my hairdresser for advice and she said that stripping it was the way forward and because my hair was in good condition it would be able to handle it.
I took her advice and had it stripped. (It took 3 strips to lighten it enough to take the semi permanent light brown dye.)
Here is my hair after stripping http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg27/scaled.php?server=27&filename=afterbleach.jpg&res=landing



After this I had a semi permanent colour put on it. The hairdresser gave me a protein shampoo and treatment to use but my hair was so damaged and kept snapping :( Here is my poor damaged hair

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg809/scaled.php?server=809&filename=closeupofdamage.jpg&res=landing


I went back when the colour faded and had another semi put on and the hairdresser gave me a protein and mosturising treatment and shampoo to use.
All the while I was using Morocan(Argan) oil on it daily(advice I had seen on here) The condition has improved greatly and 7 weeks down the line my hair looks like this (It isnt quite dy in the pic below)http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg28/scaled.php?server=28&filename=nearlydry.jpg&res=landing

And nearly dry

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg641/scaled.php?server=641&filename=dryish.jpg&res=landing



In this time I havent worn my hair in any tight styles, just loose plaits and ponytails with a cotton alice band holding the front in place to prevent further snapping and damage.

Yesterday I did my 1st ponytail since the stripping and noticed all the short hairs around the top of my head


http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg507/scaled.php?server=507&filename=ponytaile.jpg&res=landing :(


I think this is the damage done previously, but now I am so paranoid of snapping I am scared to do anything with it!


I am using a tangle teezer, argan oil, the treatments and shampoo given to me by the hairdresser. I dont wash it everyday(as I used to before the stripping) But dont know what to do next.

My hair dresser said I could cut it and the hair will grow again but I dont want to lose my length as it has taken an age to grow it :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I appologise for the long and photo heavy first post, but have been waiting so long to get my membership here, I wanted to get it all of my chest:o



http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/27/afterbleach.jpg/

A wise person once told me, "If you don't know what to do, don't do anything." Sometimes when we know something has to be done, but don't know what it is, we'll accept anything. Maybe this is a good time for you to let your hair be. If you have a bunch of baby hairs growing in, it means your hair follicles are healthy and still ready to give you beautiful hair. Let them.

If you feel you must do something, I suggest: give up all coloring; at some point you'll have to give them up altogether if you want the healthiest scalp and hair possible; get regular and frequent trim; make sure you are getting plenty of protein and fat in your diet, which will encourage growth and strong strands; if you can, get rid of all harsh chemicals, and do daily scalp massages.

[Tota]

Your hair looks really pretty. Don't listen to your hairdresser anymore and do what you feel needs to be done. I would suggest you try out some oils, use SLS-free shampoo (or maybe try CO), microtrim and S&D your hair yourself (Feye's Self-Trim Instructions (http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/)) and keep your visits to the salon at minimum.

[Macaroni]

Your hair looks pretty to me. I would do a self-trim of 1/2", though, to freshen the ends.

[MsDiva]

You guys are amazing and so knowledgeable:)

Regarding the protein treatments, i have moved from just protein to protein with mosturiser. I had read on here previous to my hairdresser visit about protein making hair coarse and being a cause for tangle and snapping and mentioned this to her. Thats when she gave me the new treatment to use.


Silverthread, I was going to let my natural colour grow out, but since stripping my base colour appears to be ginger, thats what it keeps fading to. My natural hair colour is similar to the semi colour. I cant be ginger with dark brown and grey roots :o

Self trimming scares the living daylights out of me to be honest, but I will check out the instuctions.

Can I ask what S&D is and SLS free? I have seen posts mentioning silicone free products, is this the same ?

[MelH]

So, hairdressers make their money when you cut/color your hair. Of course they are going to try to pursuade you to do both.
I agree with others, I don't think it looks as horrible as you feel it does. I would continue to baby it, maybe with more protective styling (buns and the like to protect the ends) and ***perhaps*** snip the ends that are damaged.
Otherwise, keep growing!

[lapushka]

Can I ask what S&D is and SLS free? I have seen posts mentioning silicone free products, is this the same ?

S&D = Search & Destroy = Searching amid your ends for splits and white dots to individually snip off, so you won't need a trim but still your damage is taken care of.

SL(E)S free is sulfate free. It's basically a milder shampoo. It can still contain (sili)cones. Cone free is something else entirely.

Wasn't there a thread with all the abbreviations?

[MsDiva]

Thank you, I will check out the thread to familiarise myself with the abbreviations :)
I will give S&D a go when I get some sharp hair scissors... * goes to Google hair scissors*

Mel, my hairdresser wants to charge me £25 to trim the ends!! :mad:
Its outrageous, on top of the £30 to colour it, you would think she could just trim the ends as a matter of housekeeping. After all, when I walk out of there everyone's looking at my hair and judging there skills..

[spidermom]

There are a couple of self-trim methods available to you. I divide my hair into even halves, then comb each half smoothly forward and combine the two sides into a single ponytail under my chin and comb it again. I then close a book over my length and slide it toward the ends. It's very easy to see what to cut, and the only trick is to make sure that each side is combed smoothly forward; kinks or bulges would give an uneven result. It gives a soft U hem.

Right now I'm seeing a hair stylist and my ends are layered, so my signature picture isn't a good representation of the result you would get if you tried my method.

Feye's self-trimming method is good, too, but I couldn't get my sides even, which is why I decided to join them.