What should I do?

[FireFromWithin]

I have been s and ding like crazy but my hair keeps splitting. I took an inch and half off 2 weeks ago and another half inch yesterday but I can't get my ends decent. I also have a demarkation line between my natural colour and my bleached hair (not as obvious in natural light as it is in the photo below).

Should I keep trimming or would a big chop be better. I could cut to shoulder (maybe apl) and take off all the bleach but it would be like starting again for me (it would probably take me 2 years to grow back out to waist) but as it is my ends look awful and keep tangling themselves together just creating more damage.

Would a henna/cassia treatment help? And do you think I would suit a red hair colour (picture below of me with purplish hair from years ago)

http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/Hair%20length%20shots/backhair140313_zps55dd27bd.jpghttp://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/ends140314_zps953f76e3.jpg
http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/hairwithhalfface_zpsb657e83b.jpghttp://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/darkhairnoeyes_zps4940dbd2.jpg

I need some help. My natural colour is an ash blonde in normal light (bathroom was the easiest place to take the pics as I needed a mirror and my room is too messy to show). I worry that since naturally I have little to no red that it won't mix with my skin tone.

I am wearing makeup in the old pic but not in the new one so the blonde pics are my natural skin tone (light, no red, no olive, once described by a makeup counter person as almost gold when tanned it is so neutral).

[Naiadryade]

Hmm. A big chop might solve the problem, but there could be things you could do to protect your damaged hair in order to avoid that until your virgin hair has grown longer.

The bleached hair is damaged and there's no fixing that, but if you treat it really well it might not break off as fast. How much do you baby and moisturize your hair, and do deep treatments? Do you wear it up a lot, or leave it down most of the time? How gently do you detangle, and with what tool? How often do you wash your hair? What do you wash it with, and how do you condition? Have you tried clarifying or chelating?

Since trimming the splits off doesn't seem to be working, I wouldn't waste your time on it, better to just try to ignore the splits--UNLESS you've been trimming with scissors that aren't super sharp, aren't hair scissors or have been used for anything other than hair. That would cause further damage and just make more splits.

ETA: Doing catnip treatments regularly might also help after a while.

[Kherome]

I would cut at the demarcation line, personally. If you don't want to do that then baby it and wear it up until the bleach is cut off. The bleach is just going to keep splitting.

[woolyleprechaun]

I would cut at the demarcation line, personally. If you don't want to do that then baby it and wear it up until the bleach is cut off. The bleach is just going to keep splitting.


I agree with this. If you can't bear to lose so much, micro trimming is an option. Personally I would just get it over with.... but I understand it would be a big chop!

[Lady Mary]

I think your skin tone is lovely, you'd look pretty in henna, however since it's very orange and quite a change, cassia might be the way to go to strengthen the hair that's splitting. I don't think I'd want to lose that much length (however you do look nice with shorter hair too!) If cassia didn't work, you could always cut after that if it seemed like the best option. Best of luck.

[Shebelina]

I would baby it for a while if it were me, and you're rocking the ombre look that is so popular at the moment. Is there lots of splits or is it more of a dry, velcro feeling that you are upset about. When I first became a member here I had velcro ends that was exacerbated by coconut oil and build up. Have you tried clarifying or a deep treatment?

The solution for me was to clarify and change from coconut oil to mineral oil. They are still the same dyed blonde ends as I had before, and they always will be as long as I keep the dye going, but they feel and look much healthier than they have in years.

[lunalocks]

What I noticed about my last trim is that it created MORE splits because it cut through damaged hair and caused it to fray. The hairs from "pony tail damage while vigorously exercising for a year" are at the ends now. (I don't pony anymore). I did a thorough S and D after that, baby oil when damp after washing and every evening and have had it up every day for the past 50 days. I check for splits every few days and find only a few. I plan to do this for a few more months, then trim enough to even the ends (and that might be only 1/2 inch!) so I can wear it down some in the Summer.

I have found, once you get to a certain length (for me that was waist) there are far, far more splits. You will have even more damage if you use heat or dye and wear it down all the time. You will probably have to pick a length and trim and maintain to keep it as healthy as possible.

[Tota]

Damaged or not, your hair is still pretty! I would stick to microtrimming :)

[WaitingSoLong]

Well I am anti-S&D. Even with brand new hair scissors, it seemed my splits would just return the next week. Once I stopped S&Ding I stopped getting splits. When my hair splits, it just tends to break off at the split instead of travelling further up and once it has "naturally" broken off, the splits stop.

I haven't had splits in over a year.

My hair is not "bleached" but I used sun-in on it the summer of 2011. I have a demarcation line, too, but it blends decently since the sun naturally fades my hair close to what the sun-in did. There are lots of people here who bleach and still manage to prevent splits. Then there are those who don't color or heat and they still get splits. Some things are genetic. Some things are environment (water, products, climate, etc.).

I would go to a stylist and get an all over trim of a couple inches. If the splits return, I would consider cutting back to the demarcation line if you are ok with hair that short.

OR, I would leave it completely alone for a couple months and reassess the splits situation while gently caring for your hair with moisture and protein and as little chemicals as possible (like chlorine from swimming).

I am an avid cone user. I just clarify once in awhile. Without cones I feel my hair is more prone to breakage. As I said, I have not had splits in over a year. Good luck.

[Kaelee]

I would cut off maybe 3'', henna and S&D the rest. Then moisturize and baby it like crazy, oiling, protective updos. Keep S&Ding and microtrimming.

Worst case, it doesn't work then you chop.

[Vanille_]

Are you sure your scissors are high enough quality that they aren't doing more damage to your hair? I would probably go to a professional, get the cut out of the way, and be done with it. Then I'd focus on protecting the ends and making sure my scissors were sharp and good quality. I only trim my hair about once or twice a year and it's such a small amount and I don't really have a problem with splits. I don't even S&D. I don't use heat and I keep my hair bunned almost every day. If I wanted to take even an extra step, I might put coconut oil on the ends.

[jacqueline101]

You will have to get rid of the damage or baby it trim it out.

[henné]

Some of my splits were definitely caused by low quality scissors that I used once to trim my hair. I'm about to get 1-2 inch trim at the hairdresser's in order to get rid of most of the splits. If I were you I'd definitely get a trim at the hairdresser's and then either a) cut my hair at the demarkation line or b) henna all of my hair.

From your pics it seems that you would look great with henna, but make sure that it's really the color you want because it is pretty much impossible to get rid of it once you put it on.

Good luck!

[lapushka]

I would just keep S&Ding and slowly cut a few inches off here and there, until all the bleached hair is gone. I wouldn't cut all at once.

[FireFromWithin]

I think I will cut a couple of inches off (ill probably get it done at the hairdresser for peace of mind).

I had switched to cone free but I resently misplaced my shampoo bar so I'll try a clarifying wash. The ends are much coarser than the rest but they don't feel velcroy (they've done that before and I switched to come free, which helped). I wash my hair about twice a week (I don't leave the house much so I pretty much wash it when it starts to separate and become stringy), I put a light oil in my hair every day or my ends become dry. I try to put a heavier oil or a lot of oil in my hair for at least a few hours before washing.

I plait my hair every night for bed and bun or plait it during the day (I have it down if I have a headache). I use a wide toothed comb but I lost my brush so I've been using an older, less kind one, but I don't use it every day.

I've been using my mum's hairdressing scissors instead of mine and hasn't really thought about it, but I realise now that I have no idea if they have been used for just hair and I didn't have this problem before (for the past week I've noticed lots and lots of hairs with multiple splits) so I'm going to make sure to only use my scissors from now on and maybe buy a new pair (they aren't expensive).

My hair has been shedding worse than normal too and I have to empty my comb every time I use it (twice a day).

I will buy some cassia and henna, I think I'll try a gloss of mostly cassia with a bit of henna (I'd rather have read than yellow in my hair so I need that bit of henna). I'll probably try this before cutting.

If it keeps going ill do a big chop to the demarcation line although it pains me to do so. I wish so much that I could go back in time and whoop myself around the head to keep from bleaching.

Thank you all for your help, I can't make the quote thingy work so I can't reply individually to everyone. Thank you to everyone who said my hair was pretty, most of the time I like it, it's just driving me up the wall lately and I've too much else going on to spend hours on it. If I cut to the demarcation line I should still be back at waist when I graduate (3 years) and I should have it up every day anyway.

[Kaelee]

Scissors definitely make a difference. I let my grandmother cut my hair with some old kitchen scissors one time. Oh my goodness, my hair was all splits within two weeks!!!!!

[katiebeans]

I second a nice new pair of scissors. Also, have you considered a catnip treatment? I have yet to try one myself, but all over LHC they seem to work very nicely with preventing split ends.

[cranberrymoonz]

I second (third?) quality scissors, and recommend microtrimming until the bleach has grown out. Furthermore, try to prevent damage: detangle only once a day and wear braids and protective updo's. Maybe try a tangle teazer; it makes a difference, seriously.

I'm wondering if henna/cassia is a good idea because of your colour type. I'd go for more of a golden tone instead of strawberry blonde. Henna/cassia will turn into a permanent bright light copper if you continue the treatments. It'll be great for the quality of your hair, though.

I'm wondering what kind of light oils you use. Your hair seems to behave similar to my boyfriend's hair and I still haven't found any oils that work for him.

[starlamelissa]

id cut to the demarcation line, and grow out my natural color. how many people can say there hair is totally natural?

[goldloli]

I did a thorough S and D after that, baby oil when damp after washing and every evening and have had it up every day for the past 50 days. I check for splits every few days and find only a few. I plan to do this for a few more months, then trim enough to even the ends (and that might be only 1/2 inch!) so I can wear it down some in the Summer.

I have found, once you get to a certain length (for me that was waist) there are far, far more splits. You will have even more damage if you use heat or dye and wear it down all the time. You will probably have to pick a length and trim and maintain to keep it as healthy as possible.

Ahahah! So much this!
MBL+ is split city, then you've also got bleach damage. It's easy to say or think 'okay i'll chop it back to where it needs', then i remember summer is coming and there's no way i'm parting with long hair because I'm lame and fantasize about all the sunny days and swishing my long hair. With that in mind and in your position i'd look into protein and moisture treatments to quell the breakage, then i'd start temp glazing or cassia treatments, perhaps even colour glosses. Many people with bleach damage do this as it 'fills in/coats' the damage and 'protects' somewhat. Then as my hair grew I'd trim out pretty much all new growth, getting new scissors if they are the issue too. If at some point the damage lessens then I might leave it to grow a little. It's more effort than cutting clean but you'd get to keep your long hair and perhaps experiment with colour ends. Wearing hair up when it's not necessary to wear down should also stop some of the breakage

At the vary least I'd do a trim, then do some mega S&D, acid rinses and treatments, maybe catnip too.

[FireFromWithin]

Ok, I'm switching back to using my scissors over my mums and I've book an appointment at the hairdressers for Tuesday where I will probably get 3 inches cut off, not all the damage but I can't stand to lose that much hair unless I have no other option.

I've also ordered some cassia and henna and am planning to do a gloss, hopefully the colour deposit will be minimal and I will end up with more of a tint than a bright orange (if the bleached ends go bright orange I may have to cut them off).

I have no idea where to even start with catnip, but I'm going to get myself down to boots to get a tangle teaser this weekend (stupid online ordering isn't working for me) and some clarifying shampoo. Then after my cut and hennaing I plan to leave it braided or bunned constantly for at least the next 2 months (hopefully it will grow a little in that time as well) and keep piling. I use jojoba oil, it's great on my hair as it moisturises without being too heavy, really defines any bun curls too. So much so that it can look like I've used a curling iron on them!

Hopefully the cut will get rid of more of my layers too (although my boyfriend was almost angry that I wouldn't be getting layers cut into my hair if I go shorter, apparently I would also have to do it gradually so that he can adjust, he has issues with change, but I don't tell him what to do with his hair). My ends weirdly, feel much nicer today and I haven't done anything other than oil (perhaps an extra day post wash does them good, I don't know, but there are still a lot of splits and if I keep s and ding my hair is going to end up horribly uneven.

Thank you for all the suggestions, I'll post pictures after my cut and post hennaing so you can see the results. I think I'd rather have a redish tint than full on yellow colour I'd get from just cassia (gold is all well and good but with my luck I'd go yellow, which is what happened the first time I bleached and the reason I ended up with so much bleach damage - twice in a week! But that was nearly two years ago and I know better now)

[FireFromWithin]

I've clarified and deep conditioned my hair (now I have a lot of fly-aways but the ends are slightly softer). I have also bought a tangle teaser and some new hair scissors and I'm about to do an s and d to see if that helps.

My henna and cassia is going to come on Monday and I think I ordered too much but it's better than too little. I'm assuming it keeps? I'm at a slight loss at to what the best way to put the henna/ cassia on would be. Is a gloss of mostly cassia best, a gloss of a small amount of henna? A full application with a high cassia to henna ratio (and how high a ratio would be needed). I don't want to dye my hair dark red but a strawberry blonde or a red tint would be good. Mostly I want to henna for the improved hair strength/ softness etc.

I am hoping that this will stick and won't turn into another thing I kick myself for later (like the bleach I did because I got board of my hair not growing fast enough).

I will post pictures post s and d

[FireFromWithin]

So I went to do an s and d and couldn't find more than 5 splits! I think my deep conditioning stuck them back together so they'll probably pop back out in a few days but here are the post clarifying and deep conditioning pics.
http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/hairback160312_zpsd8e124b8.jpg http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/hairends160313_zps81961dd6.jpg

and a braided cinnabun just because. It does show the two tone effect of my braids quite effectively.
http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/braidedcinabun160313_zps8afa6bb1.jpg

[Kherome]

Yeah, the last three inches or so look a little thin. I think the cut is a good idea and you'll be happier afterwards.

[FireFromWithin]

That's what I was thinking, I think I scared the hairdresser when I said I might have to cut from waist to shoulder though so they booked me an appointment when she will have a while to go through it with me if necessary. But I'm leaning more towards cutting 3 or 4 inches and hennaing the rest to get it in shape, I can always go back and get more cut off later if it needs it.

Thank you everyone for all the help. I'm doing as much henna research as i can and saving the hair from my brush for strand testing.

[FireFromWithin]

This is me after the chop. It's back to 26 inches and freshly washed in this picture with combing as it dried so it's close to my natural texture too.

http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/FireFromWithin/hairback210313_zps4cf0b6af.jpg

I'm still umming and ahhing over henna, DBF said he thought red would be really good but when I showed him pictures of strawberry blonde he picked the only one that had basically no red in it at all. I'm sure he'll love it if I actually do henna though. My mum is still against it but she is against most things hair related.

[spidermom]

I hate fighting with bad ends, so I would probably get at least half of the bleached ends cut off at once, then 1/2-1 inch off every other month until I was more satisfied with the ends, then drop to 1/2 inch off about every 3 months. I had so many split ends from ??? that I'm doing the 1 inch off every other month right now.

[spidermom]

Duh; that's what I get for replying before I read the whole thread.

If you decide to try henna, please do shed hairs or only one strand first. It's not a pretty color on everybody. I got a garish orange in the sun and kind of a brick color out of the sun, and it looked absolutely hideous.

[FireFromWithin]

I did a strand test and got a copper colour, that was without leaving it for colour release and only having it on for 45 mins with 1 part henna and 4 parts cassia. It was quite pretty but I'm always scared of making big changes. Maybe I should get a ginger wig or something to see if it would suit me. I'm planning to do more strand tests leaving the colour longer and doing varying percentages of henna.