Damaged hair that is not split? How do I care for this?

[kmarie99]

I abused my hair very badly this last year. The underside of my hair is a wreck. It has been bleached at least 4 times and dyed with permanent color 2 or 3 more. I have an appointment at a salon next week to even out the color since it's 50 shades of orange right now and from there I'll just need to touch up the color every so often with Adore direct dye. (They have awesome deposit only no peroxide natural and unnatural colors!) I have very very strong hair but no hair is strong enough to withstand that and not show any damage. I search and destroy constantly since I have very uneven layers from a hairdresser "thinning" my hair (which is why I cut my hair at home now!) I have a lot of hair where the ends have not split/don't have white dots but the texture is very different. My hair is very slightly wavy but these pieces tend to have kinks and bends in them. I only use heat on my bangs (but I just stopped using it on the length about 3 months ago). Do I absolutely need to cut of this damage or can I continue to grow it and baby it and search and destroy? My hair is finally past bsl and if I can keep the length I would be over joyed. I don't want the damage to travel up the hair but I'm not sure if it's just very dry and brittle or what. The texture of my hair is just very different underneath compared to on top. I can post pictures if it'd be helpful. All I do now for my hair is use coconut oil constantly and occasionally I use Aphogees two minute reconstructor (the one step, not the two step).

[pwettyfleur]

i had this when i stopped using heat too. i continued to baby my hair, but not to much improvement. in the end i did a small trim to get rid of it and my hairs much nicer. the damage didn't seem to travel but the longer i kept it the more care it seemed to need to stay reasonable. All hair is different though, and you know your hair best of all.

[MissHoney]

May I ask what issues you specifically have with caring for those hairs? My hair is colored twice and was heat damaged to the point of mush. I have trouble making it hold onto water/moisture, like its a sponge that dries as fast as it becomes wet. Do you have this problem?

[durgidog]

Have you looked into Henna for hair color? It's PERMANENT so not something to be done without a lot of thought, but it's a great hair strengthener, I love it. If you don't have splits I would continue to baby your hair with lots of deep treatments and protein if that helps, and no sls shampoo, then decide later whether you will trim. Good luck!

[MeowScat]

Years ago I had the same problem at that length, I had fried it with color and bleach. I decided not to chop it. I stopped coloring it (that was a tough decision), no heat, no brushing. I wore it up everyday, washed it less and use an awesome conditioner (Biolage Conditioning Balm) and I switched to sulfate free shampoo. I'm not sure if you need protein or not, maybe someone else can chime in on that.

I feel that you should give your hair a break with the color, I know that sucks, but it worked wonders for me. I'm almost at Classic Length now and I never in a million years thought that would happen. There are threads here for those who are growing out bleach and going natural. Check them out, see what everyone else is going through, and think about it. If you decide to keep coloring it, research the hell out of what is the gentlest.

[kmarie99]

May I ask what issues you specifically have with caring for those hairs? My hair is colored twice and was heat damaged to the point of mush. I have trouble making it hold onto water/moisture, like its a sponge that dries as fast as it becomes wet. Do you have this problem?
The damaged pieces take forever to dry and feel like artificial hair, sort of like a make up brush. They tangle very easily and tend to be very stiff. I get a lot of breakage on the underside of my hair, where most of the damage is. I'm not sure if this is heat/chemical damage or if it's from having to wear my hair up every day for work.

[kmarie99]

Have you looked into Henna for hair color? It's PERMANENT so not something to be done without a lot of thought, but it's a great hair strengthener, I love it. If you don't have splits I would continue to baby your hair with lots of deep treatments and protein if that helps, and no sls shampoo, then decide later whether you will trim. Good luck!

I've used henna about 3 times on probably the last 8 inches of my hair (this was a couple years ago and I've chopped a lot of it off). I actually caused most of the damage to my hair from trying to bleach the henna out. Would cassia be a good option for me? I realize I'd have to do it more frequently but I like the idea of it strengthening my hair without permanently coloring it.

[kmarie99]

Years ago I had the same problem at that length, I had fried it with color and bleach. I decided not to chop it. I stopped coloring it (that was a tough decision), no heat, no brushing. I wore it up everyday, washed it less and use an awesome conditioner (Biolage Conditioning Balm) and I switched to sulfate free shampoo. I'm not sure if you need protein or not, maybe someone else can chime in on that.

I feel that you should give your hair a break with the color, I know that sucks, but it worked wonders for me. I'm almost at Classic Length now and I never in a million years thought that would happen. There are threads here for those who are growing out bleach and going natural. Check them out, see what everyone else is going through, and think about it. If you decide to keep coloring it, research the hell out of what is the gentlest.
Do you know anything about Adore hair dye? It looks to be similar to Manic Panic but with natural shades. Here's a link: http://www.beeunique.co.uk/Hair-Adore.html
I was thinking that after the hair stylist evens out my hair color, I can stick to dyes like these to maintain the red without damaging it.

[YamaMaya]

Bleach turned my hair to absolute straw. Nothing could remedy it, I just had to slowly grow out the bleach and cut off what I could until it was all gone. After it was gone I vowed never again.

[Isilme]

You could try cassia but really it should be cut off. You decide how fast it's going to be, most of us choose to trim a little now and then. I did that for a year or two. I did a henna treatment based on coconut milk yesterday and my hair is so very soft right now! I'm sure it could be done with cassia.

[Firefox7275]

If overnight coconut oil soaks on dry hair plus potent hydrolysed protein treatments are not significantly improving the look and feel, frankly I think you would be totally mad to let a salon do anything involving alkaline chemicals or peroxide (anything permanent or demi permanent, including dark shades). One more dye job could be the one that leaves you with chewing gum for hair, or hair so porous it simply will not hold any type of dye.

Don't overdo coconut oil or hydrolysed protein, both can lead to dry feeling hair if you do. Have you tried alternating with a simple creamy leave in conditioner (rich in the major emollients fatty alcohols and/ or cationic surfactants)?

The only other proven ingredients that you could try are ceramides, 18-MEA and panthenol but none of these are as potent as coconut and protein and none will reduce damage from your next colour. Please learn something from past failed experiments: strand test, strand test, strand test don't use your head as a laboratory. Most salons don't offer this.

Have you tried using the Adore right over the fifty shades of orange? I know the high pigment semi permanent red I use (La Riche Directions) is pretty forgiving of uneven shades but much less forgiving of major porosity differences.

[kmarie99]

If overnight coconut oil soaks on dry hair plus potent hydrolysed protein treatments are not significantly improving the look and feel, frankly I think you would be totally mad to let a salon do anything involving alkaline chemicals or peroxide (anything permanent or demi permanent, including dark shades). One more dye job could be the one that leaves you with chewing gum for hair, or hair so porous it simply will not hold any type of dye.

Don't overdo coconut oil or hydrolysed protein, both can lead to dry feeling hair if you do. Have you tried alternating with a simple creamy leave in conditioner (rich in the major emollients fatty alcohols and/ or cationic surfactants)?

The only other proven ingredients that you could try are ceramides, 18-MEA and panthenol but none of these are as potent as coconut and protein and none will reduce damage from your next colour. Please learn something from past failed experiments: strand test, strand test, strand test don't use your head as a laboratory. Most salons don't offer this.

Have you tried using the Adore right over the fifty shades of orange? I know the high pigment semi permanent red I use (La Riche Directions) is pretty forgiving of uneven shades but much less forgiving of major porosity differences.
I've decided to cancel the salon appointment. I need to call at some point today. I used a perm. dye with 10 vol developer to even out my hair color a bit (which helped a lot! except for on the roots) and now I'm gonna stay the hell away from anything requiring peroxide so I don't lose too much length. My hair is a bit past bsl and anymore chemical damage is going to definitely set me back to apl or shorter. My roots are still way lighter than the rest (I used a shade called Light tangerine brown but all it did was make my roots strawberry blonde). I was thinking of using a medium brown/dark brown on my roots (deposit only dye) so it looks like an ombre type look instead of the weird reverse ombre thing I have going on right now. Do you think that will work? All of my hair is pretty porous right now so it should absorb the dye pretty well.

[Night_Kitten]

Eventually the damaged bits will have to be cut off, as unfortunately there's nothing that can permanently repair damaged hair :( In the meantime baby your hair as much as possible, and try products that can help temporarily patch up the damage (coconut oil or silicone drops or some other product that coats the shaft of the hair and makes it more slippery) - that can help prevent some tangles and mechanical damage while you slowly grow it out...

[hairpleasegrow]

I have APL hair,I'm just getting used to not washing or brushing/blowdrying. I would love hair like MeowScat (so nice). I agree with what she said in that you should give your hair a break from coloring.

I am slowly cutting out damage from my hair too. I have the bends that you speak of and i am also s and ding. I find that cat nip treatments are really helping with my hair. I find it has enriched my color too (the bleached areas).

[Firefox7275]

I've decided to cancel the salon appointment. I need to call at some point today. I used a perm. dye with 10 vol developer to even out my hair color a bit (which helped a lot! except for on the roots) and now I'm gonna stay the hell away from anything requiring peroxide so I don't lose too much length. My hair is a bit past bsl and anymore chemical damage is going to definitely set me back to apl or shorter. My roots are still way lighter than the rest (I used a shade called Light tangerine brown but all it did was make my roots strawberry blonde). I was thinking of using a medium brown/dark brown on my roots (deposit only dye) so it looks like an ombre type look instead of the weird reverse ombre thing I have going on right now. Do you think that will work? All of my hair is pretty porous right now so it should absorb the dye pretty well.

As I said strand test, strand test, strand test. Porous ends can take up and lose way more colour molecules that you expect.

[kmarie99]

As I said strand test, strand test, strand test. Porous ends can take up and lose way more colour molecules that you expect.
Does that hold true with henna as well?