The Two-Toned Problem

[meteor]

I am growing out my blonde highlights in medium-brown hair, and I am very happy with the ombre effect I am getting. However, my waist-long hair has very different needs in the highlighted area (dry, tangle-prone) and the virgin hair area (silky, but on the oily side). It feels that my bleached hair should be washed only once every 2-3 weeks, and the virgin hair needs to be washed twice a week. I am certain that many people growing out dyed / bleached hair have similar issues. So how do you guys handle this challenge? Do you just condition and oil the dyed area MORE? Or do you actually use different products on your virgin vs. processed hair?
(I really don't want to cut off the bleached, damaged area, I would rather prevent split ends and breakage.)

Thank you!

[door72067]

I have 18 months of virgin growth (my hair is just brushing waist-length) with dyed reddish ends and as the virgin hair gets longer, I take care of my hair the way the virgin hair prefers because even tho I like the length, I know the dyed part will eventually be getting cut off anyway

the virgin hair is what I want to keep healthy

that said, I do tend to add a bit of extra baby oil to my ends to keep them happier

[WaitingSoLong]

Hmm, I am 2.5 years into it and have not had this issue. I treat all my hair the same and my hair likes/wants moisture mostly.

[meteor]

Thank you, door72067 and WaitingSoLong! Do you have a special approach to combing? The virgin hair is super easy to comb or brush, but the dyed hair is just so, so tangly. I almost feel like I need different tools for the processed hair or just finger-comb it...

[Vrindi]

I have hair to my hips with virgin hair to my shoulders. I put extra oil on my bleached/dyed ends. When I wash, I put conditioner on the ends first thing, then just shampoo the roots, then condition again. I've stretched washes to 4 or 5 days, so my scalp isn't as oily now as it used to be (took a long time though), but my roots do feel like they need to be washed long before the ends. Right now I have lots of almond oil up to the virgin hair, and I'll keep it in overnight and wash tomorrow. I just make sure to keep it all well-moisturized and snip off the splits as they come. It helps to avoid sun damage too. Most people don't think about that too much, but it will destroy hair.

[WaitingSoLong]

Hmm, I am not sure if my virgin hair is less tangly, it is not long enough to tell yet.

I use a tangle teaser and a wide tooth bone comb. If my hair tangles excessively, it is likely I need a good clarify.

[ladylowtide]

I have bleached and processed ends. I stretch washes on all of my hair and CWC. I do deep treatments on my ends twice a week with sheamoisture deep treatment masque. That seems to help with tangling and dryness.

[Iaine]

I don't have very much virgin hair, but I've noticed that the virgin hair is considerably shinier and silkier than the dyed hair. My virgin hair needs a lot less looking after than the rest, so I just focus on keeping my dyed hair from breaking, since the virgin hair seems to be taking care of itself. I'm working on doing weekly oiling sessions since the dyed hair is so dry and tangle prone.

[jacqueline101]

I agree a tangle teaser is good for tangles and braiding helps prevent tangles in mine.

[door72067]

Thank you, door72067 and WaitingSoLong! Do you have a special approach to combing? The virgin hair is super easy to comb or brush, but the dyed hair is just so, so tangly. I almost feel like I need different tools for the processed hair or just finger-comb it...


I generally only use a wide, thick-toothed pick to run thru my hair since I am also curly by nature

I don't get very tangly, usually

[meteor]

Thank you so very much, everyone! :) Great advice!


Hmm, I am 2.5 years into it and have not had this issue. I treat all my hair the same and my hair likes/wants moisture mostly.
That sounds great, WaitingSoLong. So basically you didn't get any serious damage from the bleach, not serious enough to hinder manageability years after the processing occurred? How did you achieve that? Did you oil prior to bleach? Do you remember what kind of bleach you or your colorist used (maybe how many tones it was lighter), and how long was it left on your hair? The reason I'm asking is: if I could avoid tangles and breakage that accumulates in the processed hair, I'd absolutely continue with highlights.

Thanks a lot again!

[WaitingSoLong]

I used sun-in. Self-applied. I didn't do anything special. The damage I have is thinning of the actual hairs shafts resulting in overall thinner hair below my demarcation line. I use cones, though. Lots of them. ;)

[juliaxena]

I have about two inches of dyed bleached ends still. Lately my hair could survive a few days even without conditioners if I used a nourishing shampoo. Before I definately had this problem, greasy roots and poor ends. I would do loooong deep treatments on my ends for this reason. I can't wait to be completely rid of the damage.

[meteor]

Thank you very much, juliaxena. Yes, I noticed, if I apply super-long deep treatments on the dyed ends, they just "drink it up", but no visible effect on the untreated hair. The porosity change is stunning. I'll use more coney conditioners on the ends.

WaitingSoLong, your hair is unbelievable! And getting such awesome highlights with just self-applied Sun-In is just amazing. Great color! I won't risk it myself, since my hair is a bit darker and getting orange streaks would be a risk for me.

[alexis917]

We seem to have the same problem.
My ends (bottom three inches) are lighter brown than the rest of my hair.
They were bleached and dyed black like all of my hair at the end of last year.
The majority of my growth is virgin, but once my virgin growth is to waist, I'm definitely getting rid of this.

[Artsy]

I also have 1/2 of my length virgin with bleached ends from removing henindigo. I used completely different products with henidigo. I also used to have completely highlighted head some long time ago. The bleached parts now behave similar to when I was blonde, they are tangly, dry and need extra conditioning. Bleached parts can also accumulate protein and cone buildup. Virgin hair now hates cones, so I can't do my usual heavy cone routine. I use very light conditioning and shampoo on this kind of hair, some lighter cones ( volumizing shampoos and condish). This keeps it from tangling and fixed the greasy top. I also found a leave-in that works (the only Herbal Essences product I use) and use it on lower part only. It really makes a difference, before I was thinking of cutting the bleached part. I would say experimenting is the best strategy. I would clarify also before doing any treatments

[Iaine]

I agree a tangle teaser is good for tangles and braiding helps prevent tangles in mine.

I have this fear that a tangle teaser will split my already fragile hair, but I modified my Denman brush, and that has made detangling loads easier. Maybe now I'll actually be able to remove all the shade hair that like to hang around and create knots.

[WaitingSoLong]

WaitingSoLong, your hair is unbelievable! And getting such awesome highlights with just self-applied Sun-In is just amazing. Great color! I won't risk it myself, since my hair is a bit darker and getting orange streaks would be a risk for me.

I only used it for one summer and that was 2.5 years ago, so everything above my shoulders in natural, just FYI. I have natural highlights without the sun-in but probably still from the sun.