Huge cut because of damage. Very depressed. Need advice.

[natural_shine]

My hair was at midback. It was shiny, strong and... black. And my roots blonette.

I first used bleach on few strands and dyed it. It was ok after 2 weeks of pampering, though not really blonette, but still healthy.

WHY didn't I stop there? Why!?

Next I did a big bleanch job, in hope that I'll remove the black and than dye it. I was ready to chop off my 3-4 cm of henndigo left. But I wasn't ready for a total wreck of my hair.

After the bleach my hair wouldn't absorb colour anymore. I used Olia (no ammonia), but it didn't dye it, it only gave it a shade. A blue-ish-petroleum shade.

And a huge part of it, not only was damaged, but so damaged, I couldn't get a brush thru, no mather how much I detangles and how patient I was.

I had to cut a fringe- that part was the most messed up, and than had to cut it way back to shoulder lenght just to be able to brush it.

And the colour is still horrific. It's like a bluish pretroleum over dark blonette...awful. How do I fix at least the colour? Make it an acceptable brown.

I'll have to grow everything from zero, as what little I have now is clearly damaged as hell, but I have to live with this on my hair at least an year, so how do I fix the colour???

I'm depressed big time. Afraid to look in the mirror. And the feel. Oh the horror, my shiny locks all gone, this feels like stray cat hair.

[ReadingRenee]

Im so sorry. I have done that to my hair before too. Dying brown over my blonde just made my hair look like blonde hair in an oil slick. So bad. My hair was so damaged and porous it wouldn't hold on to dye or something. That is actually when I first came here. I wish the old archives were up so I could look in my journal to see what I did. I know the stylist at the salon store told me to use a Keratin protein conditioner overnight to help heal my hair. But, I really just had to trim the damage off slowly.

I am not sure how to fix the color. I think I might have used semi permanent brown over everything and then left it alone but its been a long time. Anyway, time will help. Coconut oil and microtrimming really made a difference for me. I also switched to CO and didn't shampoo for a long time. Good luck! I have been there and I have come out the other side so you I know you can too.

[blue_eyes]

I'm so sorry this happened to you!! I feel your pain :grouphug: I was in a similar position a little over 2 years ago when I bleached black dye out of my hair (I'm a natural blonette). I had so much breakage it was awful, and it was a mess or orange, yellow, and brown patches. I ended up having to cut it to about APL, dyed it all black again to hide the horrible colors, and then gave up dye and have been growing out the dye & damage ever since. Now it is waist length and much healthier, the black dye faded and blended well with my natural color, but it wasn't an easy process. For the first year, it looked awful.

This is just what worked for me in a similar situation. My hair was already horrible and damaged, so I felt like I had nothing to lose by dyeing it dark one last time. It hid the awful patchy colors, and then I just started growing it out from there. I also began doing coconut oil treatments regularly which seems to have helped the condition of my hair quite a bit. If you do decide to stop dyeing & grow out your hair, the "Growing out dye" thread is amazing & very supportive! :blossom:

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I don't have any advice for you but wish you well in growing happy and healthy hair again. You must be feeling the loss of your hair horribly. But it will grow back, it isn't gone forever.

[chen bao jun]

I also just came on to sympathize and say hang in there! People have come back from this before.

[natural_shine]

Would a semi-permanent colour work? Would it surely hide the colour-horror and don't do any further damage to my hair?

It's more easy to notice in the pony tail, and I can bun that and hide it forever. Still can bun it, yes, I kept it at a still bunnable lenght just so I could hide it.

[kittenface]

I'm so sorry! For fixing the colour, my best tip is trying deposit-only dye. Directions has some natural-looking red tones that would possibly even out to a light brown or dark blonde in your hair? That's what I did when I accidentally made some of my hair green! It won't damage the hair more and you have a lot more control over how the colour comes out, and will be able to experiment. I think they also sell red/brown/what have you toners these days, which might be worth trying.

[FallingDarkness]

I don't know if wigs are damaging/hinder hair growth, but maybe you could buy one of those while you're growing out the color? That way you don't have to be self conscious about the less than desirable hair color you got going on, and instead can just sport some fake locks for a while until the problem goes away (because it will go away, eventually). You won't have to further damage your hair in order to get the color back to normal, also. IDK just a suggestion.

[vpatt]

((((Hugs)))) I'm so sorry this happened. The good thing is your hair will grow, but I understand how you must regret the loss. Maybe you can look at it as beginning the journey to healthy hair. I would check out the "growing out dye" thread as blue_eyes suggested. I am sure you will find color help there. Good luck and keep us posted, please.

[lapushka]

I don't know how many more times we can repeat ourselves when we say that bleach over indigo gives a blue/green. :flower: It's not that your hair won't take dye anymore, it's just the effect of the bleach on the indigo. There is no way of salvaging that, I'm afraid.

[meteor]

Hugs to you! :grouphug:

For color correction, I'd definitely wait it out for a few weeks to figure out if the hair's condition even allows it and then I'd really recommend going to a professional, just to be safe, especially if there is any patchiness. If that's not possible, I hope you'll get some color-specific advice from polychromatic gurus here, like pastina, Robot Ninja... and check out hairdyeforum.com and haircrazy.com forums with specific color questions. But you'll probably need to share some photos of length to understand how to approach your color correction the best way.

For treatments, I'd highly recommend heavy coconut oil treatments (coconut oil penetrates hair and protects from keratin loss during washes). You can oil pretty much any time your hair feels dry. Bleach drives porosity right up, so oil soaks and protein fillers are really helpful.
Reduce washing frequency, if possible.
Don't brush for now, just use fingers and/or wide-tooth comb very gently.
Keep hair contained in low-manipulation protective styles (buns, braids).
Sleep on silk/satin.
Treat hair extremely gently.
Get some strong protein treatments for very damaged hair: Aphogee 2-Step, Joico K-Pak Reconstruct, Redken CAT would be my top bets.

All the very best to you! :D I hope your new hair will grow out fast! :cheer:

[earthybee]

((Hugs)) I'm growing back from the same kind of thing. I think I might also join the growing out dye thread and let things come back together. :grouphug:

[natural_shine]

I don't know how many more times we can repeat ourselves when we say that bleach over indigo gives a blue/green. :flower: It's not that your hair won't take dye anymore, it's just the effect of the bleach on the indigo. There is no way of salvaging that, I'm afraid.

I had few cm of indigo left. That was so fried it looked like metal wool. Could clearly tell that apart. Was totally ready to chop that off though.

True drama was the rest got fried as well. I used a joico bleach that had good reviews online as being milder but... same fry effect.

[slynr]

I'm sorry for you. It really stinks to lose that much hair. Big hugs and focus on treating what is left regrow and trim it out. Hugs!

[natural_shine]

I don't know if wigs are damaging/hinder hair growth, but maybe you could buy one of those while you're growing out the color? That way you don't have to be self conscious about the less than desirable hair color you got going on, and instead can just sport some fake locks for a while until the problem goes away (because it will go away, eventually). You won't have to further damage your hair in order to get the color back to normal, also. IDK just a suggestion.

Could do that, thought abt it, as it's winter... it would kinda replace a hat, but people do notice it's a wig.
Hope I won't need it ... cause I don't feel very comfortable wearing a wig.

[natural_shine]

It really stinks to lose that much hair.

oh yes. I saw it in the sink- I cried! the sheer lenght ... what I cut off were 2 years of growth. And what I have left and dameged on my head- one more year.

3 years of hair pampering gone to bleach hell.

[cosmic crusader]

I just wanted to say that I am really feeling for you! Sending good thoughts of fast and super healthy growth.

[katarzyncia]

You have no idea how good I understand you. I had waist length, super shiny, and healthy, coloured by hendigo. So I have decided to bleach it, and i had to cut almost 3/4 of my HAIR, so now they are chin length. I know what you feel, but all you have to do is wait and grow them out.

[natural_shine]

I just wanted to say that I am really feeling for you! Sending good thoughts of fast and super healthy growth.

bought biotin, some bananas and fish already. It's sad how desperate I am.

[slynr]

oh yes. I saw it in the sink- I cried! the sheer lenght ... what I cut off were 2 years of growth. And what I have left and dameged on my head- one more year.

3 years of hair pampering gone to bleach hell.

I over bleached my hair for years and the damage is what brought me to that "never again" moment. I am 3.5 years from the day of my realization. I do understand the horrible feeling. Go to the growing out dye thread. It helped me a lot. So did protein treatments. Get professional help if you can. Then just let time do the rest. It sucks but bleach can be a bit** of a mistress:(

[lapushka]

I had few cm of indigo left. That was so fried it looked like metal wool. Could clearly tell that apart. Was totally ready to chop that off though.

True drama was the rest got fried as well. I used a joico bleach that had good reviews online as being milder but... same fry effect.

Try a few protein treatments before cutting the rest off! The thing is to baby it right now, not take out the scissors more than you need to.

[Aubren]

When my hair got to that situation the only thing that made my hair one color or close to it is henna. Semi permanent, Demi permanent, I tried everything and all the tricks. Nothing would stay in my ravaged hair and look acceptable to go to work.

[Deborah]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this! I don't know anything about dying hair, so I have nothing to offer on that count. The nice thing about hair is that it does grow back, so treat it well and hang in there. Best of luck with whatever you try! :flower:

[Silverbrumby]

bought biotin, some bananas and fish already. It's sad how desperate I am.

I am so sorry. It will grow out but if you have the financial means you might want to consider the maximum amount you will chop. I found that every inch off of fried hair helped mentally as it was not there, all the time, looking at you from the mirror. After you consider the maximum amount then maybe see a professional hairdresser about blending or a protein treatment. Be careful there. Be firm and take a strong friend to the appointment to make sure what you want done is done.

When my hair has been **** I've resorted to wearing it up a lot in buns with cool clips, toys and flowers, scarves. Good earrings, makeup, hats, scarves, wraps. It's your time to splurge on what makes this work for you if you have the means.

[natural_shine]

Try a few protein treatments before cutting the rest off! The thing is to baby it right now, not take out the scissors more than you need to.


I'm doing coconut oil treatment. This is all I have atm, anyway.

I ordered some heavy treatments but it will take a few days till they arrive.

My plan so far is:

1-coconut oil- it seems to work somehow so far. It made my hair a little better.
2-CO only!
3-protein masks

The improvement that coconut oil made really makes me feel a little optimistic. It's not so frail anymore and it has a bit of shine (from the oil, I know, but still, it's something)

There is no way I'm going to cut it more than this anyway, cause if I cut a little more, I won't be able to bun it at all. And it helps, cause bunning it helps hide the damage.

[natural_shine]

When my hair has been **** I've resorted to wearing it up a lot in buns with cool clips, toys and flowers, scarves. Good earrings, makeup, hats, scarves, wraps. It's your time to splurge on what makes this work for you if you have the means.

I get what you mean. I'm not usually big on makeup and accessories. Hair fabulosity kinda compensated for that. But now it's totally gone, I feel the need to compensate with colourful accessories, bright-coloured nail polish, catchy makeup...

[lapushka]

My plan so far is:

1-coconut oil- it seems to work somehow so far. It made my hair a little better.
2-CO only!
3-protein masks

I'm not sure that you don't need to really clarify wash with heavier protein treatments. :confused:

[natural_shine]

I'm not sure that you don't need to really clarify wash with heavier protein treatments. :confused:

At the point my hair is now, CO and lots of water will do, I think. Even my normal-healthy- hair frizzed up when I clarified from time to time, so it's not a good thing for me, generally speaking, so I think it will be even worse now. But finally... I'll just have to wait and see.

[kmem]

I'm in the same position - ruined my hair with bleach, lots of breakage and damage, had to cut it short, so I'm now growing out my natural colour.

I use Adore direct dyes to cover the bleached hair as my roots are very dark brown, but it fades to awful faded tones after just one wash. I've found the best way to help it stick is to clarify and use protein treatments before dying, usually I use Aphogee 2 step or Joico K-pak. I've also mixed some Adore into my usual conditioner to top the colour when I wash. It's quite a lot of upkeep but keeps the colour fresh without any damage.

I hope this helps, I really do feel your pain!

[natural_shine]

http://s12.postimg.org/ajrye001p/WP_20150312_001.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
photo uploader (http://postimage.org/)

When I cut it, it was 5 cm longer than it was in this photo above. I marked all I've had to cut. I'm left with what I circled with red. But it's fried, not like it was in that photo, obviousy... So depressing...
I'll soon post a pic of what it looks like now. And I have a fringe ugh, I hate fringes and growing them out, awful.

[spidermom]

I once wrecked my hair by having it re-permed 1-2 years after the first perm. OMG, it was horrible! I had it cut very short = like 1 inch long at the longest. At the time I thought it looked terrible, but when I look back - it wasn't so bad. I can do short hair.

Your plan sounds reasonable. It wouldn't work for me, however - I'd rather damage be gone, now.

[turtlelover]

Try Olaplex treatments, and semi (NOT demi) dye. Clairol and Wella make some decent ones in natural looking colors. Professional help would be best, but not everyone has that option I realize.

[cosmic crusader]

I saw your diagram and it immediately took me back to the time that I had my hair permed over black dye which was bleached, dyed red, and then dyed dark again. I had breakage to a pixie and my hair was totally fried. Still sending you those good thoughts. You'll get through this and your hair will be healthier than ever.

[natural_shine]

Do you think a banana+egg mask would do good? And should I put the whole egg, or just the white?

Oh, and I don't have yogurt right now, just Kefir. Would that be ok as yogurt replacement, or would it to damage? should I let the kefir out, as the egg will provide enough protein?...

never did a banana mask before

Oh, another question. Will aloe vera juice help or dry the hair? Does anyone know how it affects fried hair? :D

[meteor]

Do you think a banana+egg mask would do good? And should I put the whole egg, or just the white?

Oh, and I don't have yogurt right now, just Kefir. Would that be ok as yogurt replacement, or would it to damage? should I let the kefir out, as the egg will provide enough protein?...

never did a banana mask before

Oh, another question. Will aloe vera juice help or dry the hair? Does anyone know how it affects fried hair? :D

I would just get Aphogee 2-Step Professional protein treatment for very damaged hair. Or Joico K-Pak Reconstruct.

Don't use whole bananas: the fibers are hell to take out, and that tangling is the last thing you want on compromised hair. If you must use banana, go for baby food super-blended version only.

Egg white protein is way too large to penetrate hair shaft.

If you need specifically a homemade protein treatment, I'd go for gelatin mask: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html I'd add some oil (occlusive) and honey (humectant) to it for moisture.

Aloe vera is a humectant, so can draw moisture to hair but only if the humidity isn't too low (in low humidity, it could draw moisture from hair to itself).

[natural_shine]

I did buy some masks and treatments but it will take few days till the package arrives.

So till than, I have coconut oil and... whatever I can find in the fridge.

I can mash bananas really well, or maybe put them in the blender with milk- not yogurt or kefir. But wouldn't yogurt be better? I mean, it soothes sun burns the fastest, wouldn't it help my hair?

I never really needed such a rescue mask, so I'm clueless. Some ideeas for home-made masks would help until the hair products I ordered come.

the other time I ruined my hair I just cut it off to pixie. Now this is not an option, I have to save what's left.

The humidity in my room is 35%, I know this cause I have an air filter that's also a mild dehumidifier. Would this be enough to put aloe in the mask? uhm... or would it be better if I put this mask on while I take a long bath?

and again, what to mix in this mask?

[meteor]

I did buy some masks and treatments but it will take few days till the package arrives.

So till than, I have coconut oil and... whatever I can find in the fridge.

I can mash bananas really well, or maybe put them in the blender with milk- not yogurt or kefir. But wouldn't yogurt be better? I mean, it soothes sun burns the fastest, wouldn't it help my hair?

I never really needed such a rescue mask, so I'm clueless. Some ideeas for home-made masks would help until the hair products I ordered come.

the other time I ruined my hair I just cut it off to pixie. Now this is not an option, I have to save what's left.

The humidity in my room is 35%, I know this cause I have an air filter that's also a mild dehumidifier. Would this be enough to put aloe in the mask? uhm... or would it be better if I put this mask on while I take a long bath?

and again, what to mix in this mask?

For homemade protein, I find gelatin is best: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html
I use it a lot myself.

If not, I'd just use coconut oil or olive oil+honey as a pre-poo and leave hair alone as much as possible. Don't over-wash. Don't over-groom. Put it up in a bun and leave it alone until your treatments arrive.

If you like yogurt or kefir, that's fine, good pH, lactic acid and all... :) But leave the banana out, please. :pray: I haven't read a single post-banana report that didn't involve a scary story of long, messy removal of tangle-inducing sticky fibers, even if the banana was well mashed. :scared: Only baby banana food seems to work OK.

ETA: You could try the SMT: conditioner + honey + aloe. But try it in the shower, where the humidity is high. You could modify it by adding some oil. Adding oil and/or honey to conditioner is a great way of boosting conditioning power of your products. ;)

[natural_shine]

Here's pics:

before:
http://s30.postimg.org/4b1oa41lt/WP_20150312_001.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
free image uploading (http://postimage.org/)

and after BLEACH HORROR STORY:

http://s30.postimg.org/3rrzn3ktd/WP_20151209_003.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
free photo hosting (http://postimage.org/)
http://s30.postimg.org/y1osvvmld/WP_20151209_007.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
20mb image hosting (http://postimage.org/)
http://s30.postimg.org/7rz4zcba9/WP_20151209_014.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
image hosting 30 mb (http://postimage.org/)

It's very heavily oiled in the "after" set of pics.
It's gotten a lot thinner too, cause of the fringe I cut, I had a lot of locks there.
The colour is as the picture show it, only a with an ink-blue shade. I hate it and can't get rid of it.

[meteor]

^ Honestly, it doesn't look bad at all! :flower: Your hair will grow back to that original length pretty soon (in a few months, maybe a year?). And with all the treatments, the condition will improve dramatically, as well. :cheer:

I am so happy that you are keeping your hair well-oiled. :D Your hair will thank you for it! :thumbsup:

The ink-blue shade you are trying to get rid of... can you tell us where exactly it's from? Is it indigo? Is it different dyes layered? If so, what kinds? This is important to figure out if (and how) it can be removed the best way.

[natural_shine]

The blue inky tint from the Olia dye I tried to put on after I bleached. I saw it getting a bit blue on my head, but I didn't think it was going to catch on so blue on my hair.

it's 6.0

[lapushka]

TBH I don't see damage in the first picture at all. But maybe I'm just glancing over it. :shrug:

[meteor]

^ Oh, OK. If there is no indigo there at all and only oxidative dyes, there are ways to remove it. But first, do protein and oil treatments and leave your hair alone for a few weeks to check that the condition is OK.

To shift the blue-ink color, consider bleach-free color removers like Color Oops / Color B4. They are quite drying though! They can remove dye by shrinking dye molecules, and then you need to wash hair out multiple times to prevent old dye from re-oxidizing. It can be used up to 3 times, if the dye still remains. This will not give you your virgin color though! It can only remove (some/most) of the deposited dye, leaving behind your bleached ends and possibly some remaining dye, but at least it will lighten back your ends enough that you can fine-tune at a salon or by using deposit-only, non-damaging direct dye to match your natural color.

Always strand-test first!

But honestly, I would just grow out the dye and rock the ombre, because it's much safer for you hair's condition and it looks pretty good, and the contrast and the demarcation line is not too bad at all! :) I'd just grow it out! :cheer:

[spidermom]

I don't think it's so bad, either. Give it some deep treatments over a couple of weeks, then reassess. A semi-permanent might blend the color out nicely. Go across the color wheel from blue - red/orange - to neutralize it. Maybe a reddish brown or auburn?

[lapushka]

But honestly, I would just grow out the dye and rock the ombre, because it's much safer for you hair's condition and it looks pretty good, and the contrast and the demarcation line is not too bad at all! :) I'd just grow it out! :cheer:

This. ^^ Besides, you'd not be the first one to use color-oops only to redye in a lighter color, ending up right where you started (meaning the dye oxidizes to a dark dark color again).

[renia22]

natural_shine - http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/hug/hug-from-behind.gif (http://www.sherv.net/)

I don't think it looks bad at all, either. However, if the color is bothering you, you can also try a color depositing shampoo or conditioner, in red or orange like Spidermom said about the color wheel. It won't be permanent, but very subtle, so if you don't like it, you can simple stop using it. But it might be just enough to have you like the color a little better.

[Saldana]

Omigosh. I'm so sorry. I had a similar thing happen when I cut my TBL dyed dark brown hair to shoulder length. Then I - and I still don't know what I was thinking! - then I decided I wanted to be blonde for the summer. Super sunny light blonde. I absolutely destroyed my hair stripping the dark brown dye out and trying to color it blonde. It absolutely did not work for me. :-/

What I did was let it grow out enough to cut it into a pixie, and then let it grow while committing to no heat, no coloring, and lots of pampering. My hair pretty much forgave me, and now I'm at nearly waist-length virgin hair.

Soooooo....not advising you do the same thing, but cutting and starting over worked best for me.

[natural_shine]

Would cassia work to tone down the blue tint?

[TR]

Would cassia work to tone down the blue tint?

It won't hurt your hair's condition to try cassia, but it deposits yellow so you might end up just shifting the blue to green. Cassia isn't permanent on most people but if the hair is really porous the yellow color might stick around longer.

[LeonineMane]

I've messed my hair up more than a handful of times (both colour and condition from unexpected bleach results) here's what I recommend:

1. Clarify
2. Aphogee 2 step
3. SMT
4. Mineral oil (helps a lot to detangle)

If you're looking to remove the colour you've got several options:
1. Use a peroxide free colour remover (if you're in the UK superdrugs own brand one is really good) if not use something like color b4 etc. This will dry out your hair so only do that after it feels hydrated enough to withstand it.
2. Crush up 8 chewable vitamin C tablets into powder with a rolling pin and combine with your normal amount of shampoo, put on a shower cap and use a hair drier to keep it warm and rinse out after 40 minutes. This isn't drying and you can do it as many times as you'd like, I would wait a few days inbetween each time.
3. Wash your hair with shampoo bars, they strip colour right out and it will fade it from the black after a few weeks.

After that when the colour is lighter you can use a semi-permanent dye (peroxide free veggie dye), Adore have several natural depoit only brown colours you could try out if it ends up a colour you aren't fond of, they don't cause any damage. Pick a shade lighter than what you'd like your hair to turn out, putting colour over coloured hair just makes it darker if there's no peroxide in the dye.

If you're looking to fix the blue tint right now prior to lightening:
Buy a bright orange semi-permanent dye (peroxide free veggie dyes such as manic panic, adore, la richie directions, SFX). They're basically conditioner with colour added in no nasties or damaging ingredients), dilute it with a thick white conditioner to be the same brightness as your hair (you may not need to dilute it much if at all if your hair is pretty much black though, start off light though just incase) and apply to your hair, leave for 30-60 mins. I'd recommend a strand test so you know how diluted it needs to be.

Orange is the opposite from blue on the colour wheel so when you combine the 2 it makes brown (or a more warm black in your case). If you end up with green tones later on after lightening just do the same but with a red dye or get a warm brown shade). I would use an orange-red rather than a pure orange as that way you definitely won't end up with green tones. If you use too little orange-red you will end up with more of a purple tint (if it ends up purple just repeat the orange-red application and it will turn more red) than what you may like (depends if that's preferable to a blue tint if you want to try that). It will possibly darken the colour about a shade. Only apply the pure colours to the hair you want to fix, if you get it on your roots they'l turn orange/red tinted for a while but should wash out.
You can also do this after lightening the colour up if you have unwanted tones to make a more even brown shade (you'l need to dilute the colour more if you pick a pure one such as red), again it'll darken it about a shade or so because you're adding more colour.

100% don't use any more products/ dyes containing peroxide.

Cassia will just make it more green-black and it will look worse.

You can safely mess around with veggie dyes until you're content with the colour as long as you're okay with the risk of possible unexpected colour results (like I said do a strand test) as they 100% won't cause more damage and they're actually very conditioning on the hair :)

[LeonineMane]

double post

[Bergelmir]

Sorry to say but i do feel that the additional dying may probably improve color itself but there can be even more suffering on the health of your hair which is already damaged. Cassia and alike may not create damage but it's most likely insufficient for making the necessary corrections. As soon as chemicals used the matter can become very delicate, you already experienced its effects so i think i don't need to clarify this. The main priority should be your hairs health and when you become splitted hears or worse then you can cause the risk damage even to the freshly grown hairs. So in my mind, instead of playing a roulette and trying to make even more dyeing i would rather accept the unlucky situation and periodically cut off a fraction of the damaged hair as soon as new hair has been grown. If you feel like you can't show your mess to the world there is still the option wearing a stylish hat for up to a year when you are outside home. I think in a year you may almost be done by fixing the issue, but your hair may be pretty short. You simply have to be strong and maybe a natural color or natural dye is the better option for many of us.

[lapushka]

Sorry to say but i do feel that the additional dying may probably improve color itself but there can be even more suffering on the health of your hair which is already damaged. Cassia and alike may not create damage but it's most likely insufficient for making the necessary corrections. As soon as chemicals used the matter can become very delicate, you already experienced its effects so i think i don't need to clarify this. The main priority should be your hairs health and when you become splitted hears or worse then you can cause the risk damage even to the freshly grown hairs. So in my mind, instead of playing a roulette and trying to make even more dyeing i would rather accept the unlucky situation and periodically cut off a fraction of the damaged hair as soon as new hair has been grown. If you feel like you can't show your mess to the world there is still the option wearing a stylish hat for up to a year when you are outside home. I think in a year you may almost be done by fixing the issue, but your hair may be pretty short. You simply have to be strong and maybe a natural color or natural dye is the better option for many of us.

I agree in the sense that putting a mud on your hair, that is already fragile, might not be the best idea. And a yellow-tint "dye" cannot color correct a blue tone.

I'd say mitts off, and slowly microtrim.

[muddblood21]

From the pictures you posted, things could be much worse. I know from personal experience how devestating a damaging haircolor mistake can be (I tried to bleach out dark red myself at home...I ended up with hair that was electric orange and had the texture of spiderwebs). The good news is: hair grows! I know that might not be comforting now, but as your glorious locks return you will feel better. I second the use of a NON BLEACH color remover like Color Oops or ColorB4. Warning, they smell terrible, but they might help. If you can stand it at all, let your hair rest for as long as possible and try to see what the color "settles" to after a couple weeks of just regular washing etc.. If you decide to go find a stylist to help you sort it out, I will warn you it might be a bit pricey. Lots of luck and quick growing vibes your way hun!

[natural_shine]

Would henna actually work to make it shine and repair the colour?

it's awful, co-washed yesterday, the colour fades. I used garnier olia, so no ammonia... but I'm afraid to use an ammonia coour after bleach disaster...

so will henna work?

cause I think that as I wash it further on, the "tint" given by Olia will fade even more. The "good" side fades, the slight blonette, turns blonde. The blue tint still stays.

And if I don't oil it, it looks and feels like straws.

I'm suffering...

Will henna work? Thinking of lush caca rouge

[TR]

There are no guarantees that henna will repair the color but it should help the condition of your hair. In my personal experience color-damaged hair takes up a lot of color from henna, so if you go that route you will want to strand test to see how the color turns out.

[natural_shine]

Sooo... henna is alright? At this time, I can stay indoors 24/24, so I can put henna on my head for few days in a row for more deposit.

henna+indigo is ok over bleach? I mean, I know it's wrong to bleach over indigo, but indigo over bleach? Cause caca marron or brun sound good too.

[TR]

Have you done henna before? I never used the lush bars, just powdered henna mixed with tea or water. Can't help with the indigo over bleach question as I've only used straight henna.

[AnnaBell]

Sooo... henna is alright? At this time, I can stay indoors 24/24, so I can put henna on my head for few days in a row for more deposit.

henna+indigo is ok over bleach? I mean, I know it's wrong to bleach over indigo, but indigo over bleach? Cause caca marron or brun sound good too.

I've never had much of a color pay-off from the LUSH hennas, but maybe that's not a bad thing for your hair right now. Regardless of whether you go for LUSH or powdered henna, I'd really, really recommend doing a strand test to make sure it comes out the way you want/expect.

[natural_shine]

I gave up the ideea of lush henna.
And gave up the ideea of any strong colour.

I ordered a copperish henna- for the first step of trying to kill the inky tint. For safety, I'll keep it little in my hair.

Than I'm puting on some "Henna Mandala- blonde"

I think those 2 will make hair look a bit closer to a normal colour. Will post pics in few days.

My grandmother told me to make an infusion of walnut leafs, and use it as rinse after every wash. Says it would make my hair a bit darker and improve condition. Anyone had any experience with this?

[Obsessed1]

I feel for you, I've just had the bleep bleached out of my hair to get a red stain out of blonde ombre. I had 4 inches natural regrowth, now I'm bleached all over and very damaged.

For colour correction, I'd leave it to a professional who is experienced with colour correction and any chemical processes you've had done - including henndigo. How long has it been since this happened? Could it fade? Blue tinges can fade to ash if you're lucky. Sounds like the box dye was too dark for your hair and didn't have enough filler (red tones)? Are you wanting to go to your natural colour?

Hang in there, it will grow out either way xx

[Obsessed1]

I wouldn't use colour oops/colour remover on black dye, it'll go orange. I know it's not bleach but it doesn't get the colour back to natural for most people. Best used for people with very bleached hair trying to remove pastels and things like that

[poli]

Dear natural_shine don't panic. I know henna sounds like great solution, but are you prepared to be redhead or aburny brown redhead for years to come? Henna worked for me but I used it before and I know what to expect (how it looks with my skin coloring etc.). Remember you will be adding orange layer to your existing patchy colors and there is no way to predict how it will turn out.
BTW these "blond" henna mixes are cassia with tiny amount of henna and some indigo. It will not make more ashy brown color when put over red henna MHO.

[Agnieszka]

I wouldn't do henna at the moment. It might help but it could be a mistake, there is no way of removing it if the tone doesn't suit you and if your hair is a bit patchy with blue tones... hmm... I would probably strand test first if you decided to do it. And not only on one random strand but probably few.

What I would do is I would buy deposit only dark brown dye, which just covers hair and just keep re-doing it every week-two weeks until hair grows back. It's safe for hair but washes after two-three washes. It could help with making it look more even.

I think your blue tone will probably disappear after few washes on its own, I would wait week or two before doing anything... Good luck!!!:blossom:

[Goatcraft]

I'm sorry to hear about your hair, and I can't offer any sound advice.. other than to go to a salon. I grew out horrible chemical + heat damage. My hair was bleached white at one point and felt like cotton candy when wet. It took years, but I grew it out (by maintaining around BSL-WAIST). I dyed the damaged hair black, and didn't touch it. Even as the color faded, I didn't dye it. I had a horrible obvious dye line, but it also gave me a guideline for trimming, and ultimately what had to be cut off. It looked wretched for about four years, but was worth it. It'll take time, but it'll grow out.

[Elfa]

I totally feel you!
In about 1,5 year time, my hair was bleached to white, what fried it, then dyed blue, then I bleached my roots and saw my hair going away in the bathtub (2 hair balls as big as hamsters), then I used dark blond dye on my hair, got another small hair cleavage, then it faded and was an ugly color, so I used color remover, then bleached it hoping it would get rid of the green, but it didn't, just got another hair cleavage, and my it is still breaking, after 2 months :(
It's pathetic to see the amount of hair that I got in the last 8cm, but I have no guts to cut it out, I'm micro trimming it instead.

My advice is: think 10 times before changing the color again. The more chemicals you use, the worse it gets, and there's no going back from damage and breakage. And you might think "but it looks awful, I'll give dyes a shot, it can't get any worse", but, believe me, it can, it always can. And even if it gets good, chances are that you will have to deal with fading later. So keep these things in mind.
I used color B4 to remove that dark blond dye, and for me it was great, my hair wasn't damaged, but I was treating it like a baby after, and there was about 4 months of doing nothing but direct dye and treatments before it.
Coconut oil has been helping me a lot, along with no heat routine and buns or braids all the time, so I don't see what's going on and don't stress about it. Out of the sight, out of the mind, it's my motto :p And frequent treatments, of course.
And when you feel sad about it, just remember that, as far as you don't mess with it anymore, it will only get better! Each month is a new healthy centimeter of hair, so even if it very slowly, it will grow back :)

I wish you good luck and lots of patience!

[Elfa]

Btw, I just saw your pics, it doesn't look bad at all. I think that the best thing is wear it up for 2 months or so, to recover it and watch the fading. And, in my own experience, one month of hair oiled in a bun does wonders ;)

Really, it may seem like the end of the world, but if it happens to damage even more, it's very likely that you will look back and regret that you didn't just stop here, just like you regret that you didn't stop at the first bleaching.

[browneyedsusan]

I've looked through your pics, but haven't read all the replies to your post.

1) I know you're super upset. It's okay to be upset. It was a big change, and you worked hard to grow the hair you had. You really liked and enjoyed the hair you had. Now, it's gone, and what remains feels like a hot mess. Still, the grief over your lost hair is shaping your reality. To those of us outside of you, it really looks okay. But, we're detached from the emotions you feel. Bottom line: to others, your hair looks pretty decent. Really. It looks okay. You're aren't going to frighten small children. :)

2) DD18 has been through something similiar. She got her WL hair dyed and hated it. (From pale blond to chocolate brown. Kids these days?! What are they thinking?) I got 2 boxes of ColorOops and we managed to lift it to strawberry blond. DD had some breakage, and the ColorOops made it feel like straw. I gave her a SMT, and had her oil heavily for a few days, and it was a little better. Now it looks like it used to, but it's been a year.

3) You can grow it back out. Have a snoop through my growth album--I grew out a pixie without trimming, and it was a shaggy mess for a lot of months. I put my hair up every day for 8 months, because it kept the mess camoflauged. No one suspected what I had going on, because I never let anyone see it! People aren't that smart. :)

Good luck growing.

[natural_shine]

I've looked through your pics, but haven't read all the replies to your post.

1) I know you're super upset. It's okay to be upset. It was a big change, and you worked hard to grow the hair you had. You really liked and enjoyed the hair you had. Now, it's gone, and what remains feels like a hot mess. Still, the grief over your lost hair is shaping your reality. To those of us outside of you, it really looks okay. But, we're detached from the emotions you feel. Bottom line: to others, your hair looks pretty decent. Really. It looks okay. You're aren't going to frighten small children. :)

2) DD18 has been through something similiar. She got her WL hair dyed and hated it. (From pale blond to chocolate brown. Kids these days?! What are they thinking?) I got 2 boxes of ColorOops and we managed to lift it to strawberry blond. DD had some breakage, and the ColorOops made it feel like straw. I gave her a SMT, and had her oil heavily for a few days, and it was a little better. Now it looks like it used to, but it's been a year.

3) You can grow it back out. Have a snoop through my growth album--I grew out a pixie without trimming, and it was a shaggy mess for a lot of months. I put my hair up every day for 8 months, because it kept the mess camoflauged. No one suspected what I had going on, because I never let anyone see it! People aren't that smart. :)

Good luck growing.


The most I miss my hemline. It felt thick. Now it's thinnnn. And also miss the feeling of it being heavy when I wore it down. Now I feel like I'm leting it down for nothing, no nice heavy feeling. :( It's depressing.

I'm fueling on oily fish, vegetable salads, bananas, biotin, prenatal vitamins... I'm really being desperate. Very desperate. I even went on a trip because I figured mountain air and exercise will help it grow a tiny bit.

And I hide it. Only my mother and you around here know abt this horror story. I feel so embaressed to tell anyone else. My cousin had a major hair envy abt my hair, so did my aunt. My grandmother tortured my with pixie haircuts as a child, so everythime I visit her I wear the hair down with bun waves. My husband simply adores long hair. HOW CAN I SHOW THEM SL HAIR NOW... and with this f#cked colour? I mean, after all this mess, now I have to hide.

If I knew black magic would make my hair grow back, I'd do it.

Ugh...

[natural_shine]

Ok. I had oil, treatments and masks in my hair so I actually washed it with shampoo. A very mild shampoo, fructis for damaged hair. Rinsed, put on mask+yogurt for an hour, than rinsed again. After it dried, I did notice that hair got better. But it got lighter. How much lighter is it gonna get? It's already 2-3 shades blonder than my natural colour.
Is it a good thing that dye comes out of the hair? I mean, is this the hair's way to detox?

It's gotten a bit better, but still not what it used to be. It's... thin. Both in texture and in strand thickness. So thin, so awful.

[natural_shine]

http://s16.postimg.org/oewte2or9/WP_20151220_001.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
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http://s16.postimg.org/ckp2gfqhh/WP_20151220_006.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
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very heavily oiled on the ends.

You can easily see it's gotten lighter. The top is a bit darker.

How much more is it going to fade? And it there anything I can do to it to make it bouncy? It looks close to "ok" in shine, but when I feel it, it's limp and fluffy.

[lapushka]

Leave it alone as much as possible and practice benign neglect - best thing to do for your hair is not mess with it further. Just wash it, leave it alone. Wear it up, or down, whatever you prefer, but stop expecting what isn't going to happen: growth overnight. It takes a lot of patience, patience that you seem to not have ATM, and I do understand why. But you'll have to wind down and calm yourself for a bit, and think this through.

[LongCurlyTress]

Hi! Like many others who have posted here, I have done the same as you and eventually had to cut my brassy dyed waistish length hair back to a chin length curly bob in March, 2011. What a depressing fiasco! Never again!! I know this won't help to hear this, and I am just reiterating the obvious, but your hair will grow. Yes, it is going to take a while, especially since you have the bleached parts still above shoulder length. Good news is that your hair will grow out and reach shoulder length soon. Then you can cut back all the dyed area and begin with a fresh start. Your hair will grow and be healthier than ever!! Please feel free to check out my hair growing journey albums. Hopefully they will give you some hope and encouragement. If I can do this, then so can you!! Now, go hide those scissors!!! ;) Benign neglect really does work!!! :cool:

[natural_shine]

. Good news is that your hair will grow

Meanwhile, I look like Aileen Wournos. Ughhh...

I'll try to forget abt it. But it's not easy. A low bun and a headband helps hide the horror. Hate itttt.

[LongCurlyTress]

Meanwhile, I look like Aileen Wournos. Ughhh...

I'll try to forget abt it. But it's not easy. A low bun and a headband helps hide the horror. Hate itttt.

What is the length of your hair now? Something I did was do alot of google searching for hairstyle ideas for each length I was at as it was growing back. Then I kept it squeaky clean, and did alot of fun styles...especially a french peacock twist with bangs using a claw clip. Lots of makeup... Think about what you do have control over right now.... hairstyles, makeup, clothes... and go for it!! Try to enjoy every step of the way and the time will pass and your hair will grow back before you know it. Good luck! :blossom:

[turtlelover]

If it is bugging you enough to have and 8 page thread about it, why don't you just see a good colorist for some corrective color, or cut it off and start over? Seriously, it can't be healthy mentally for you to be this focused on hair.

[natural_shine]

Hello hello!

News~

Hair reached BSL now. Still kinda thin from my point if view, cause the fringe gave my hair a lot of volume, and the fringe suffered the most and it was cut the shortest... now my fringe reaches my lips. Still too short, I feel very sory for it...

About the colour- I was forced to dye it blonde, and keep dyeing it blonde over and over to acheive some colour buildup. I had the best results with Casting Creme Gloss 801. It improved the condition of my hair somehow, too. Not sure if because if oils and stuff in it, or because of the colour buildup. It actually stuck to my hair and made the colour more even everywere.

The dye did left some green in lower areas, but the Ketchup fix actually worked on it, the greenish areas faded abt 95 % after 3 ketchup masks, and than 5% is mostly underneath... I think it would fade more if I did more ketchup masks, but I got lazy abt it. I can wear it loose now, it actually looks a normal blonde.

The yogurt mask helped a great deal, maybe the most help, in making my hair more easy to comb and less elastic.
And I used a cheap mask instead of conditioner, the white one from Kallos, it detangles while I wash it down. It makes hair more slippery than other masks I've tried, though it deosn't seem to be very nutritious, so don't rely on it too much other than detangling.

It can't be brushed after washing if I don't use any mask/conditioner.

After it's dry I use vatika hair oil with coconut, amla and lemon. Works good in making it softer, esp at the ends. The ends are dry. Amazingly so, not too many split ends, no trim needed.

[natural_shine]

http://j30t.imgup.net/20161024_21565.jpg (http://j30i.imgup.net/20161024_21565.jpg)

Click on it to see larger.

I havențt dyed it since abt 2 months, so darker hair shows a bit.

A pic from today with bun waves. How does it look? I mean... after all the chaos...

?

p.s.- it had no oil in it at all when I took the pic

[MidnightMoon]

well it looks great :)

[OhSuzi]

Oh my gosh I just read your hair disaster for the first time! I really felt for you. I'm so glad you've got through it! Your hair is long and shiny and a gorgeous golden colour. If I hadn't read the first few pages of this thread I'd never have known your hair had been through such trauma! It looks healthy and great to me!

[lapis_lazuli]

Looks like you've made a lot of progress. It looks lovely!

[Acid]

it looks in great condition despite your comments about it being hard to brush without conditioner still! if you hadnt have said that id have thought it was completely healthy again :)

give Aphogee 2 minute keratin reconstructor a go, is only £7-8 from ebay for 16oz bottle so its cheap for the amount you get and it lasts you ages. its what i use whenever i bleach to put the keratin and other proteins back into my hair so that it doesnt go stretchy or noodly with damage. Then follow it with some moisturising conditioning treatments with argan oil in them or the SMT treatment on this forum. i normally do this once a week for the first month after bleaching then once every 4 weeks after that (i bleach every 3-4 months so i have massive roots to minimise bleach overlap etc)

[Nymphe]

Wow, nice update, I love updates. Your hair looks fine to me.

[kidari]

It looks beautiful and lovely color too! I have bleached hair too and instead of regular conditioner I've been alternating a protein treatment with a deep moisture treatment every time I wash and it's been working great. Leave in conditioner sprays with keratin in them also do wonders. some products that have been working great for me are: AG sterling silver shampoo and conditioner, Desert Essence coconut shampoo, Pantene three minute moisture renewal deep treatment, Ion effective care conditioner, and Ion keratin leave in conditioner, AG fast food conditioner, Aphogee keratin and green tea restructurizer. I'm a product junkie; I don't use all of those all at once all the time but they are all products I've had at least a year and have worked well for me even with new products I've tried.

[natural_shine]

:bow: thanks a lot, everyone!

Also, I'm gonna look for the products you mentioned, I'll see what I can find and try it out.

I guess this topic can be closed, I got over the worst part. :beerchug: