Differences in virgin hair vs treated hair

[Hopeful65]

I have been surprised to notice a big difference in my hair, having gone from chemically altering it a good portion of my life, till now having almost all virgin hair (2-3" left to go). I find that it requires less products in order to look right. Less handling too.
Before, I would have to blow dry and curl, and use hairspray. Now, the entire texture is silkier, shinier, and I can wake up with decent hair. I've discovered the less I mess with it the better it is. Plus, it is growing, and it's thicker. I'm no longer stuck at apl. All these years and never realized there could be such a difference.

Does anyone want to share differences they noticed?

[StellaKatherine]

I have both my natural hair and some golden stripes in my hair... So I can clearly see the difference:
1. My own hair is thicker and stronger looking than the stripes as golden ones especially at my ends are 50% thinner
2. At tail bone lenght only golden stripes have some split ends. I went through my hair and was interesting to see this difference
3. When I touch individual strands, my virgin hair feels strong, silky and the bleached one feels more dry ( less difference since I started using coconut oil but still clear)

I love the definition in my braids from the golden stripes in my hair, but makes me wonder if it worth loosing some of the thickness.... Still debating on the matter....

[lapushka]

Apart from being a lot dryer and needing more conditioner, I didn't particularly notice a difference, but then I never grew beyond BSL with dyed hair anyway. :shrug:

[MINAKO]

Waaay back i had chemically straightened hair that nver grew beyond a certain point, was dry, brittle, frizzy and lifeless... and was eventually all cut off. I think i made it to lower waist of hip with that, but not healthy at all, like now im at tailbone and its in great condition. I will never go back to using thioglycolates or peroxides, ammonia in a coloring process, nevereverrr.

[askan]

I bleached my (dyed) dark red hair to blonde a couple if years ago and it made my hair feel like hay. Coarse and easy to break off. Afterwards I ashed with eggs for quite a long time and in hindsight it might have been too much protein in my routine and also didn't trim very often.
A couple of months later I dyed it back to a copper colour and the last 15 months I've been letting my natural colour grow out. My virgin hair feels silkier and shinier but I think it starts looking greasy a little quicker.

Here's a comparison: hair that was bleached multiple times vs. 22 months later when almost all the bleach was grown out (on a good hair day, but still):
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz173/askansphotos/26marshkopiera_zps59caefcf.jpg (http://s825.photobucket.com/user/askansphotos/media/26marshkopiera_zps59caefcf.jpg.html)

[DweamGoiL]

My hair was so dry that it was often described as looking like a bird's nest and frankly, as much as it hurt to admit it, it did. I was growing out old chemical dye. I washed often with sulphate shampoos since I was exercising at least 3x/week, and it just became dryer, frizzier, and brassier. Now, I have cut layers into my hair which rid me of some of the final damaged bottom inches off the length. I have begun using henna/indigo to cover my greys. This also helped my hair blend in to one color instead of the orangey 12 inches of fried ends I had going on.

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/dweamgoil/Curly%20Hair%20Journey/021711.jpg (http://s987.photobucket.com/user/dweamgoil/media/Curly%20Hair%20Journey/021711.jpg.html)
this was my hair before

I know my hair is not totally virgin now, but here is a pic of when it was:

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/dweamgoil/Long%20Hair%202003%20to%20Now/jan3-2002LongHair_zps53c68f65.jpg (http://s987.photobucket.com/user/dweamgoil/media/Long%20Hair%202003%20to%20Now/jan3-2002LongHair_zps53c68f65.jpg.html)

[lilin]

I apparently have very delicate hair. I highlighted my hair red when I was in high school. Done by a pro, and no bleach. Totally virgin hair before that. And while I wouldn't say I took amazing care of it, it wasn't in bad shape.

After about two months, the highlighted hairs started breaking off. I wound up having to layer my hair to help hide it.

I haven't touched hair dye since, and I never will again. I've been thinking about doing a henna ombre on my bottom layer, but that's as far as I'd go.

[meteor]

Oh absolutely. The difference is very significant and probably best explained by porosity/damage.
My virgin hair is low porosity and pretty much likes being clean and left alone, with zero product.
The porous bleached highlights need lots of oils, heavy conditioners, they like hydrolyzed protein and silicones... and still they aren't as shiny and as easy to manage as my virgin hair. I think it's totally normal.

[ladylowtide]

My hair that isn't hennaed or dyed is lighter, more flyaway-y. Also shinier and softer, also smoother.

[Anyuta]

Oh I could tell the difference. After constantly bleaching my hair several years I grew out my natural for 6 months without cutting the bleach. On the dry hair it's hard to feel the rough porosity with hands, BUT when I apply conditioner to it in the shower and then run my hands from top to bottom I was amazed at how silky and smooth and soft my virgin hair was to compared to the remaining bleached chunk of hay! I tried conditioning bleached part more often and for longer times, but nothing helped. In the shower I could always feel that difference and really bothered me. Finally I gave up and now happily growing my natural :)

[Hopeful65]

Yes, as meteor mentioned, porosity is a big factor. Any time you raise the cuticle it changes things. I think, not only did I have high porosity, but I'm certain I had missing cuticles as well (under a microscope). I am grateful to have learned as much about hair as I have, and have been able to change the situation. My hair feels so much better in it's natural state. And yes, it does seem true that less product is best.
I also had hair that just dwindled down to nothingness on the ends. I never seemed to have any fullness or weight to it, especially on the sides. A slight trim seemed to catch just a few hairs. Now I get a real trim, cutting through actual hair. It takes longer to dry too.
One other thing I have noticed is, my natural color of hair better suits my complexion and eyes (even though I'm graying).

[blue_eyes]

After dyeing my blonette hair dark brown for 10 years, I stopped dyeing my hair 10 months ago & have about 5.6-6 inches of virgin hair now. My dyed ends are very dry, break/split easily, and are a bit frizzy & kink easily (my natural hair is extremely straight). My virgin hair feels like silk & looks very shiny and healthy.

But my virgin hair has always frustrated me. It has zero body, zero volume, and is so flat/straight/fine that I couldn't get it to hold a curl if my life depended on it. I'm also not a huge fan of the color. I can't make any promises that I won't ever use chemicals on it again, though I would like to grow it to my goal length first, and try to keep it as healthy as possible.

[NatNat]

My virgin hair is very shiny, smooth, and healthy. My dyed hair is also shiny and smooth, but lots of white dots at the ends. It actually isn't too much of a hair difference, and my hair appears fuller when dyed :)

[Johannah]

I got highlights before I found this community. There's especially a big big big difference in split ends and white dots.

[Weewah]

My splits are mostly found on my bleached hairs, and my highlighted length is way more wavy and unruly than the soft smooth Virgin hair up top. I'm so excited to chop all this damage off, I have another year or so before I can comfortably do that though.

[curlylocks85]

I have noticed a difference since I stopped using heat tools. My hair was stiff and had lots of damage. Now my hair is healthy and feels a lot better. I learned to let my hair be what it is and not try to force it to be something it's not and that has made all the difference.

[LongHairTalk]

Processed strands:
- Feel dryer
- Take longer to detangle
- Are a lot lighter
- Crunchy

Virgin Hair:
- Feel... softer and silky
- Detangle easier
- Are a lot darker

I am not sure about moisture, but the roots seem to be in excellent condition.