Damaged hair

[Chloeharperx]

Hello, I'm completely new to this website and im not sure if im posting this in the right place, but i really need some help about my hair...

So a few years ago when i was 14 (I am now 17), I started back combing my hair i had no idea this would cause damage to my hair and i also didn't care much about it and didn't know much about split ends, i just wanted a scene look to my hair


When i was 14-16 I damaged my hair a lot, by back coming and dying and bleaching:
Dip dyed it pink (no bleach im natural blonde)
Bleached and dip dyed purple
This faded so i dip dyed purple again
I got bored with this so bleached it out
My ends were too light so i bleached all of it
The roots grew in so i bleached it again
I semi permanently dyed it light brown
During this time I didn't like my hair dresser cutting my hair because i always wanted long hair so I never let her cut a lot off so I guess the damage just built up..no one told me that my hair was in bad condition


It wasn't until May 2014 that I realised my hair was in terrible condition so I had another hair dresser cut 2 inch off and that seemed to make my hair healthier and it grew a little, until I started noticing these tiny white dots going up the strands of my hair so i done some research and I think I have this condition called 'acquired trichorexxis Nodosa' (spelling is wrong). So ever since May ive been very careful with my hair ive stopped back combing completely, i brush very gently and i use a flat iron twice a month, sometimes not at all a month. I blow dry my hair on lowest heat and i plait it in two plaits once dry so I don't have tugs when I wake up in the morning i also don't brush wet hair, I barely wear it down. I tie it up loosely in a bun or pony tail. Ive had more hair cut off since then in September and then October and the beginning of this month but growth seems to be slow/not at all. I also dyed it dark brown last week with a dye that contains no ammonia and it's semi permanent


This hair condition is really effecting my self esteem because I feel as if it's destroyed is there anything I can do to repair my hair? because im not sure if it's getting better or how long it will take to repair, il be great-full for some advice or any one who knows anything on this issue.

[Majorane]

Well, there is good news but also bad. The bad: damaged hair will stay damaged, it will not get better and it will not heal.

However there are ways to make it look nicer, in some cases. And, eventually it grows again, and you'll have healthy hair again :)
From what I could read from your post you have extensive dye damage and heat damage, so now you have split ends, white dots and sad dry hair right? Might I ask what your length is, at the moment?

There are several ways to go about this. You could cut off all the damage and start anew. The downside is that you will loose hairlength, the upsude is that your remaining hair will make you less sad because it feels nicer. But many aren't willing to sacrifice length, I am not either. In that case, you can keep on growing and microtrim. Say your hair grows 1cm every month, then you cut off half a cm every month and that way you will gain length but slooooowly snip off damage. Or you can maintain and snip off all growth every month. There are easy ways to do this yourself, there are many good youtube instructions.

As for the hair that you have now: be gentle to it. What products do you use? How often do you wash? Describe the way you wash. (don't schmutch all your hair on top if your head and scrub. Be gentle, let it hang loose and only wash the scalp, not the length.) What is your natural hair texture? What are your hair goals?


Th fact that you do not see any growth could be because your hair is so damaged, it crumbles off at the tips as fast as you grow it. Very disconcerning, right? I have had it, too. But it will change over time. As for dye, even semi permanent dyes that don't contain ammonia can ben damaging. They might not contain ammonia, but you bet there is somethingnelse in there that your hair does not like. So, be aware of that! And if you decide you want to keep on dying, don't do all your hair but just the regrowth to minimalize the damage.

You are wise to keep your hair up most of the time, and it sounds like you are already very gentle with it, great! Maybe with the right products, you can camouflage the damage. Let us know what you use already, and there will be Very Wise People here with advice for you soon.

[CurlMonster]

I also went through the bleached, heat styled, back combed hair phase and it left my hair in a very fragile condition as well. My best advice is to go really cold turkey with the damaging stuff - bleaching, dying, heat styling. Keep in mind that most dyes, even semi-permanents, use bleach to help the dye to stick and so are quite damaging to the hair. If you want to change the colour, look into deposit-only dyes like Manic Panic or Elumen.

You mentioned that you wear a ponytail sometimes. This really isn't a protective style at all because the elastic near the roots pulls/breaks hairs, and the ends can still tangle. Braids are better because they only put the elastic at the ends of the hair and they reduce tangling through the length. Buns are the best for reducing damage, but you have to do them with hair-friendly tools. This means bobby pins, claw clips, or hair sticks only, no elastics.

You didn't mention your washing routine at all. Washing as infrequently as you can is good for very damaged hair because the process of being handled while wet tends to lead to breakage. While you're washing make sure to only apply shampoo to your scalp, not the whole ends as this will dry your hair out unnecessarily. Also don't pile all of your hair on top of your hair to lather it up - just leave it hanging down your back and try to rough it up as little as possible - this means you won't have so many tangles after it dries. You can also look into some alternative washing methods on this site that may be more gentle for your hair than the typical shampoo and conditioner washing. I use the conditioner only washing method and find it to be very gentle and moisturising for my damaged hair, but experimenting with a few to find what you like is a good idea.

If you had your hair cut multiple times in the past few months, I wouldn't be surprised that you haven't seen much growth. The average growth rate is about 1/2 an inch per month, so unless those were extremely tiny trims, you are probably cutting as much hair off as you are growing. If your hair is in a bad condition though, it can be a good idea to maintain the length you are at for a while and just let some healthy hair grow out before you start looking for more length.

I hope that helps. And remember one of the golden rules of hair growth is patience. It all takes quite a long time. Good luck nursing your hair back to health! :)

[Chloeharperx]

Thank you so much for the advice!, my length i Don't know exactly what it is but it's about 3 inch below my collar bones. I really don't want to cut all my hair off because it seems that no matter how much is cut off the damage still stays, i also have prom in June and I know that short hair won't suit me lol. I use shampoo and conditioner in my hair usually elvieve or tressemme or moccocan oil extract shampoo, i wash every second day and I don't wash roughly, i occasionally use serum or argan oil too. My hair is fairly straight but wavy at some points it's very thin and flat too that's why i back combed in the first place.

[Majorane]

Right-o. Do you really need to wash every second day, or could you stretch it to once every 3 or even 4 days? Because indeed hair is at it's most fragile when wet. It's best to just keep your hair hanging, shampoo (geeeeently) only your scalp, and not the length. Then conditioner, up to your ears. There are other methods too, like only washing your hair with conditioner (conditioner cleans too!), or first use conditioner on the length, then shampoo the scalp, rinse it all out and then again condition. There are also all kinds of gentle shampoos available, without SLS and other stuffs, that might (or might not) be beneficial because they are way less drying.
Then, as far as conditioners and the like goes. Your hair is dry, and because of the damage it cannot hold moisture in. Have you done any experimenting eith oiling of your hair? Basically it's applying a tiny (REALLY TINY) amount to the length of your hair when your hair is damp. A lot of people swear by coconut oil, but not everyone (my hair does NOT appreciate coconut) so go raid the kitchen cupboard and try some oil! It will help your hair keep moisture in.
Most commercial argan oil serums are mostly silicone oil. Read the ingredient list, does it have an ingredient that ends with -cone in it? Probably as one of the first ingredients, too? Then it's not real oil, but silicone. Silicone seals itself around the hair, so no moisture can get out - or in! It also makes your hair sleeker and slippery, so it does not snag or frizz as much. You might want to read up on silicone. It has its uses, and I use it, but it can build up and it does not work for everyone. (it also gets added to a lot of products that say OIL! because it is a very cheap ingredient. Good for me, I don't have to spend much to get silicones.)

You might also want to start doing deep treatments. There is the Snowymountain Moisture Treatment or SMT: 4 part conditioner, 1 part honey, 1 part aloe vera gel, apply and let it soak in for a longer period. Or protein treatment with gelatin, where you mush gelatin bloobs in your hair. Don't go do them all at once, first try one and see if it works.

Basicslly, keep your hair up, better use clips and sticks than elastics (and if you use elastics, use metal free ones or those made of elastic ribbon) and condition the heck out of your hair!

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

Cuts are great for getting rid of damaged hair but they don't prevent new damage from happening. I think the way you're treating your hair is probably the cause for those white dots. Don't use a brush - buy yourself a seamless wide tooth comb, work from the bottom up, very carefully getting out the tangles (going from the top down compounds the knots and makes your hair have to break to untangle). Do not use heat ever again would be my advice xD I know it sounds extreme but I've gone from my hair splitting the day after it was cut to only ever having a handful of splits and very rarely at that. There are plenty of ways to heatlessly style your hair that look great and don't damage it. You can even straighten your hair without heat - trying use the wrapping method or a paddle brush and fan. Don't use blow driers, either, let it dry naturally. Keep getting regular once a month trims until it's in better condition. They won't make your hair grow faster but they'll stop it unraveling at the ends which makes it shorter. You're doing well with tying it up at night and not wearing it down much. For hair growth I would suggest eating lots of eggs (if you're not vegan). They contain lots of protein and biotin, two very essential nutrients for hair growth. Also make sure that you're drinking around 2 liters of water a day (NOT all at once, space it out or you'll get it ill). Do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day to boost circulation - scalp massages are also a great way to improve blood flow. I can't say anything about the dye because that would make me a total hypocrite (I use permanent dye on my roots every two months or so) except that it doesn't cause that bad damage on it's own without any other damaging behaviours, and that permanent is better in my opinion because semi-permanent requires you to repeat the process over all of your hair multiple times, which in the end I suspect is the same as one permanent dye session anyway. As for washing, I've got to the point where mine only needs doing once every two weeks at most, but then again it doesn't get oily so your mileage may vary.

[Chocowalnut]

Welcome to the LHC :)There are a lot of people including myself that have been in your shoes. And if you want healthy beautiful shiny hair, you will need to stop using the flat iron so much for one. You mentioned you want long hair. How long do you want it to be? The longer your goal the more careful you have to treat it. Cut off as much as you can stand and then you have to make a change in your routine. Try to embrace your natural hair texture. This site will help you do that. Limit heat to extreme special occasions. . There are heat free styles you can find here that are great. Heat destroys your hair like bleaching it does. I can tell you first hand these changes will make a big difference with your new growth. Good luck :)

[Chloeharperx]

I think I may try the coconut oil when I can buy it and see how that works, and then il try the deep treatments. I use elastic a with no metal on them anyway because they break less xD

I have a wide toothed comb and I think il try the combing technique too, I barely straighten my hair and i shall save that for special occasions only but I think stopping with the hairdryer is my next step and maybe just drying my fringe

For now i would like my hair to be waist length or even longer because short hair just isn't my thing i had very long hair as a kid and i made the stupid mistake of cutting it all off lol

[missblueeyes]

I think I may try the coconut oil when I can buy it and see how that works, and then il try the deep treatments. I use elastic a with no metal on them anyway because they break less xD

I have a wide toothed comb and I think il try the combing technique too, I barely straighten my hair and i shall save that for special occasions only but I think stopping with the hairdryer is my next step and maybe just drying my fringe

For now i would like my hair to be waist length or even longer because short hair just isn't my thing i had very long hair as a kid and i made the stupid mistake of cutting it all off lol

Well, prepare yourself for one thing: it'll take a while. Hair doesn't grow over night and it will be a long and tedious process. You completely butchered your hair, just like I did a couple years back. Now, my hair is at waistlength but I'm still growing out old damage. I'll give you some tips that helped me growing it out.
Don't use any heat. If you have to blow-dry your hair, do it on cool.
Start doing CWC (conditioner on the length before shampooing followed by another round of conditioner), it really helped my fragile ends to get stronger.
Don't wash your hair daily. The more often your hair comes in contact with water, the more opportunities it gets to break off, especially if it has been bleached heavily before.
Stop dyeing your hair with conventional hairdyes. If you still want crazy 'scene' colours, go for Manic Panic hairdye or Directions. You want something without peroxide that won't damage your hair.
Be careful with how you handle your hair and wear it up (not in a ponytail) if possible. There are a lot of bun-tutorials with hair forks, sticks or spin-pins on youtube. I wasn't a big fan of this part at first, but it DOES help.
Consider growing out your natural haircolour or learn save ways to colour your hair. I'm not an expert on that but there are people on here who manage to wear crazy haircolours and still grow out their hair very long!

[lapushka]

The blow dryer doesn't need to be let go of, if you use it wisely. Use it on cool/warm only. If you can hold your hand in the airstream comfortably without it burning, then it's okay to use on your hair. I have TBL+ hair and it's always been diffused. No white dots. No splits. It's only used for 4/5 min. on cool/warm. My hair is air dried for an hour to an hour and a half before diffusing, and before that it sits in a turbie for 15 to 20 min. - it all helps getting the moisture out and with drying!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Remember that when it comes to having healthy hair the best thing is to do as little as possible to it.

Always being very gentle with it, as once you damage it, that damage can only be removed by cutting it off.

It may not be necessary to wash it every day.
Shampoo gently,(once only - no need to shampoo twice) don't scrub it as if it is your worst enemy. Always use conditioner from your ears down.
Don't rub it with a towel to dry it. Wrap it in a towel or T-shirt for 20 minutes, then let it air dry from there. Use a wide toothed seamless comb to detangle - never a brush.
When it is dry and detangled you can brush gently if you wish with a boar bristle brush.

Keep your hair in a protective updo - this will help protect it from damage from friction, rubbing on clothes, backs of chairs, being caught in purse straps etc.
Keep it protected when you sleep as well - use a satin sleeping cap or pillowcase, this is great for minimising tangles.

So, gentle washing and detangling, and apart from that, keeping your hair up and the fragile ends out of harm's way.

Benign neglect.

[meteor]

This hair condition is really effecting my self esteem because I feel as if it's destroyed is there anything I can do to repair my hair? because im not sure if it's getting better or how long it will take to repair, il be great-full for some advice or any one who knows anything on this issue. ]
You were already given some great ideas on this thread. I wholeheartedly agree with all the advice I saw above.
I just wanted to add that although you cannot repair hair (it's dead), you CAN temporarily patch-repair and dramatically improve the condition, manageability, shine and feel of hair.
I highly, highly recommend hydrolyzed proteins in your case. They are great for handling serious damage:
- Aphogee Two-Step Protein Treatment: http://aphogee.com/two-step-protein-treatment-for-professional-use/
- Joico K-Pak Reconstructor or any other reconstructors/protein-fillers on the market - the higher protein on the list of ingredients, the more potent the treatment
- Gelatin DIY treatment: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html

Protein treatments should be used according to instructions, pretty rarely, with care (it's easy to overload on them) and always followed up with a moisturizing conditioner, like an SMT (conditioner + honey + aloe). They are really useful for very damaged hair. Personally, I like to mix gelatin+hot water into my conditioner + honey + oil(s) and do a deep treatment like that from time to time.

Other ingredients that damaged hair likes are oils, butters, silicones, 18-MEA, ceramides, panthenol, pre-cursors of proteins like artificial peptides and amino acids... This stuff is usually found in masks/conditioners/treatments marketed for chemically treated/damaged/porous hair.

I'm a big fan of oiling for damaged hair: especially pre-poo oiling or gradual oiling on dry ends (overnight or prior to putting hair up). But you can add oils to your conditioner, too.
Here is an interesting article on how to make pre-poo oiling work for you: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html


I think I may try the coconut oil when I can buy it and see how that works, and then il try the deep treatments.
Great idea! :agree: And if you don't have coconut oil at the moment, you can use whatever oil you have around the house for a hair mask: olive, sunflower... This way, you'll begin to find out what oils with what kind of fatty-acid compositions your hair seems to like the most.

[carmella]

I too have recently put my hair through a lot because I'm a really fickle minded person.
Basically my hair history goes:
November 2013: Dyed brown (from black) and did blonde ombre at the ends
January 2014: Covered everything with dark brown dye
February 2014: Dyed brown with dyed highlights (not bleached) and cut away all of the blonde ombre ends (too dry, it was like hay literally)
July 9 2014: Dyed dark brown and did a purple ombre at the bottom (bleached once)
October 2014: Dyed turquoise on the bottom (BIG MISTAKE)
December 2014: Dyed a copper brown to cover everything
January 2015: Hated that the turquoise was still there, bleached the turquoise out (2 MORE TIMES) and have a blonde ombre now. And did dyed highlights once again. Ombre part was dyed a blonde shade to cover the green left by turquoise.

As you can see, I completely ruined my hair. Especially since I used permanent dye on all except for the purple and turquoise. This is my second time doing a blonde ombre and this time round my hair does not feel like hay at all because I know how to look after it. I use the Joico Kpak range so basically the color theraphy shampoo, the reconstructor and the hydrator. Occasionally I switch it around with my purple shampoo and the redone smooth lock. After my shower, I use the it's a 10 miracle leave-in product, redken antisnap and the macadamia natural healing oil. This has made my hair super shiny and feel like hair again. HOWEVER!!!! Even though it looks and feel good, I know that my hair is destroyed and the only way my hair feels like this is cause of the silicones and the proteins which basically cover the gaps in damaged hair.

Sadly the only way to remove the damage, like all other LHCs say is you have to cut it. Even if it is a little, it's something. Also, as a fellow girl who has bleached her hair, I can tell you that combing your hair can cause a lot of damage. Previously in 2013 with my first ombre, I used a normal brush and literally started at the top and ripped my hair down. OUCH! There were all sorts of knots and it was really painful trying to get them out. But now, I use a tangle teezer, and start from the bottom. That brush is a god sent. It has not make my hair break at all, and only natural shedding has occurred.

When washing your hair, wash only the scalp and not the ends if not the ends would get extremely dry. I only wash my hair once a week, and no my hair does not get oily, I could probably extend the length of washes, but I start to feel icky with a week's old of hair laying on me.
I try to avoid hair sprays and wax and styling my hair now because it will build up on my hair and it causes my hair to look way too grimy quickly.

I think that the best thing for you to do right now is to let it grow and snip a little off at a time. It'll take a long time if you do not want to sacrifice length. But once it gets to a reasonable length, and are comfortable at cutting it, you should! Then from then on, do micro trims to prevent further split ends.

BTW: off topic, my turquoise has left a green tinge in my hair after my blonde dye which covered it faded away, what can I do to remove the green tinge?

[Chloeharperx]

Il try the CWC method when I wash my hair and il try and limit washes too, I don't think il be dying my hair for a while I didn't dye it for nearly a year so it's not really a big deal with the hair dyes..ive been working on my hair since about May last year which feels like a while to me, but im not giving up i also might stop the messy bun technique i have done with one elastic and my hair wrapped around then another elastic over that, I don't think that's doing my hair amy good either

And Il see how it goes without the blow dryer if i really can't do it then il put it on lowest heat xD

(Sorry im not sure how to directly reply)

[Pantha]

Il try the CWC method when I wash my hair and il try and limit washes too, I don't think il be dying my hair for a while I didn't dye it for nearly a year so it's not really a big deal with the hair dyes..ive been working on my hair since about May last year which feels like a while to me, but im not giving up i also might stop the messy bun technique i have done with one elastic and my hair wrapped around then another elastic over that, I don't think that's doing my hair amy good either

And Il see how it goes without the blow dryer if i really can't do it then il put it on lowest heat xD

(Sorry im not sure how to directly reply)

Sounds like you've got a good plan, especially avoiding the messy bun which can cause a lot of damage.
It can be hard when you first try to wear protective styles, but there are so many different buns you can choose, and many require very little time or equipment. I found Youtube a great help when I first started with protective styles. Whilst your hair isn't very long yet, in case you need some inspiration here's some links you may find usefull for quick, easy and comfortable protective buns, a lot can be adapted for shorter than bra strap length hair.


Torrin Paige https://www.youtube.com/user/torrinpaige
Andrea 691 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUGaz6ttiNnOKs8PgEFaO7w
JJJ Longhair https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCl7eJHnwuTiXhveKhKUuw
Pans Page (this is my page) https://www.youtube.com/user/PansPage
The official "I made a hair video thread" http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=120673

Also after your prom you might want to consider doing S&D trims where you look through your hair yourself and trim any splits away, this helps maintain your length, whilst getting rid of damage that could otherwise get worse.

Good luck.

[Chloeharperx]

Thanks for the help and advice il check out those links and see what styles suit me. I also have hair dressing shears and was planning on doing that at some point il see how it goes though :)

[Wildcat Diva]

As someone who has past waist length hair and used the straightening iron occasionally from 2010-2012, going cold turkey in April 2012, I would be completely remiss to tell you I regret it and wish I'd never flat ironed at all.

This is coming up in three years later. The damage on my very ends is slight, but it's ONLY from occasional flat ironing. I have no other sources of that damage other than sun damage where the ends are naturally a little lighter from being a human that goes outside. :)

My point is, it's only the flat iron that caused that damage really. And I wish it wasn't there.

Some heads if hair are really tough and can handle a bit of flat ironing and be ok. Mine isn't that head of hair, and with all your existing damage, yours isn't either.

I would completely ditch the flat iron. Make an exception for prom if you have to.

[Chloeharperx]

I think I am going to completely ditch the flat iron, it sounds like its the Reason for a lot of my damage and I don't think my hair is tough at all i don't have much hair it's quite thin so it's quite fragile too

As for the green tinge mentioned above i would probably let it wash out through time if the dye isn't permenent

Also, I would like to add this picture of my hair about 2 years before I cared about the damage, it's quite bad xD

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=iek0mt&s=8#.VOI2w0aQHCQ