Very concerned about state of hair

[lucid]

I've been very discouraged with my hair lately, any feedback on my concerns would be greatly appreciated.

I had virgin hair a little over 14 months ago, but decided to get highlights. I was really happy with it, and I have had no trubles - until about 2 months ago (1 year after the bleach). I started seeing split ends in the bleached parts of my hair. This has gotten progressively worse, and I now have spits and breakage in almost every bleached strand. I have almost gotten layers again because of this, and much more taper :(

One problem is - the rest of my hair hates the products that bleached hair requires... I have naturally non-dry, silky hair that hates protein and heavy cones...

I can't really baby my hair any more than I do when it comes to handeling. I can however wear it up more. I almost never wear it up, I love having my hair in some kind of braid. But maybe if I learn some braided buns or something...

I S&D my entire hair a couple of days ago. Split my hair into 6 parts, and thoroughly went through the hair as well as I could. The splits aren't at my hemline, so I twisted the hair to make the splits pop out. I probably got 80% of the plits - 4 hours... My hair feels and looks better now.

I'm thinking of doing S&D randomly from now on. Whenever I see a split end. Or would it be better to keep to a schedule? I only cut damaged hair. How far above a split or white dot should I cut? I have cut 1 mm above now, is that okey?

I'm really afraid that all of the bleached hair will just fall off...

I don't want to cut my hair of, but this really makes me sad. My hair grows slowly as well , 0.8-0.9 cm a month, and I'm tall. So it will take a looong time getting healthy bcl/tbl hair again..

[lapushka]

Maybe try combining conditioners. You can do that! Take half of a protein conditioner, and half of a regular conditioner, smoosh them together and see what that does. It might not be moisturizing enough for the bleach, but at least you're getting the best of both worlds. I have been known to smoosh conditioners together, when I finish one bottle and need more so take the next one (which 9 of of 10 is not the same).

I'd go easy on the S&D; if you have a lot of splits or white dots and take them out *right now* then you might thin out your hem considerably. I'd go slow with that, and mix it with regular trimming. Maybe join the microtrimming thread!

Good luck. :)

[Cherriezzzzz]

Buy pantheol 5 percent spray! It'll fix those bleach spots without disturbing the healthy strands!

I use the cheapest one off of Amazon. It's white tea brand I think. You'll spray it on those bleach spots, let it dry. You can use any strengthening product with it OR not! It'll get crispy. Never leave it in your hair as a style product. It's a treatment for hair. Once it dries, wash as usual.

As a hairdresser this was my secret weapon. I still use it. You can also spray your skin for quick healing and moisture. It's a very underrated product.

My entire head was bleached after I chemically straightened it... this stuff saved my own head. (I did that to myself in hair school lol)

[meteor]

One problem is - the rest of my hair hates the products that bleached hair requires... I have naturally non-dry, silky hair that hates protein and heavy cones...
I sometimes simply apply different conditioner and different routine to my highlighted ends. I focus oil on them and do things like LOC and oil rinses specifically on highlighted areas. I use a lighter (and less) conditioner on virgin parts of the hair and a heavier one (and more of it) on highlighted areas. But I have a lot of hair and this approach might be harder for someone with smaller surface area of hair, just due to application issues.

Chemically processed hair does tend to do better on somewhat different routines and products than the same hair when it's virgin. At the very least, bleached hair becomes more porous compared to when it's virgin, so it loses moisture more easily without added occlusive barriers, like oils and silicones. Bleached hair tends to do better with penetrating oils (e.g. coconut oil pre-wash), hydrolyzed proteins for strengthening, 18-MEA, ceramides, panthenol, lots of silicones for slip and occlusion.

Ultimately, since your hair is F and it's breaking off, I'd look into strengthening treatments like Aphogee 2-Step, maybe Olaplex and microtrimming on ad hoc basis.

I'd avoid all additional mechanical damage (e.g. use wide-tooth combs instead of dense brushes - this one is very important, sleep on silky smooth pillowcases/scarves, avoid overwashing hair), UV damage (wear hats, scarves and hair up when outside for long periods of time), all thermal (especially direct heat) and additional chemical damage, of course.

If you hate buns but like braids, I'd stick to braids and maybe try tying them off differently to avoid damage - e.g. with a silky ribbon woven into the braid like a paranda? You can also pin up braids with smaller claw-clips or Amish pins in heidi/milkmaid braids/crown braids fashion, but I'd keep the braiding very simple to avoid excessive manipulation that could add mechanical damage to the problem.

Realistically, you'll probably need a combination of 1) microtrimming of the broken and splitting ends and 2) changing the routine/products/tools quite a bit to prevent or at least limit further breakage/splitting.

[spidermom]

I get it. Years ago I got highlights, and the highlighted hairs swelled up and reminded me of cotton candy - totally different texture from the rest of my hair. I got through it with a series of rather large trims and deep treatments.

[lucid]

Thank you all for your responses!


Maybe try combining conditioners. You can do that! Take half of a protein conditioner, and half of a regular conditioner, smoosh them together and see what that does. It might not be moisturizing enough for the bleach, but at least you're getting the best of both worlds. I have been known to smoosh conditioners together, when I finish one bottle and need more so take the next one (which 9 of of 10 is not the same).

I'd go easy on the S&D; if you have a lot of splits or white dots and take them out *right now* then you might thin out your hem considerably. I'd go slow with that, and mix it with regular trimming. Maybe join the microtrimming thread!

Good luck. :)

I will try to combine conditioners, that's a good idea :)

That's exactly what I'm afraid of with S&D. That my hair will keep breaking off no matter if I S&D or not, and that S&D therefore will thin out my hair even more. But if I don't deal with the splits, I'm afraid they will eat they way upwards faster? I think I'll stop S&D for a while to see how my hair develops - I have after all gotten rid of lots of it already after all.

I'm growing to TBL and then maintaining. Problem is, I would have to cut at least 3'' of my hair to even reach the splits now. So microtrimming won't affect the spilt ends for a long while. :/



Buy pantheol 5 percent spray! It'll fix those bleach spots without disturbing the healthy strands!
I use the cheapest one off of Amazon. It's white tea brand I think. You'll spray it on those bleach spots, let it dry. You can use any strengthening product with it OR not! It'll get crispy. Never leave it in your hair as a style product. It's a treatment for hair. Once it dries, wash as usual.

As a hairdresser this was my secret weapon. I still use it. You can also spray your skin for quick healing and moisture. It's a very underrated product.
My entire head was bleached after I chemically straightened it... this stuff saved my own head. (I did that to myself in hair school lol)

Thank you, I will check out that product!

It will be difficult to spray it only on the bleached parts though. My highlights are very natural looking and blends in my hair, so there are no large chunks of bleached hair if that makes sense. Can the treatment negatively affect my virgin hair?



I sometimes simply apply different conditioner and different routine to my highlighted ends. I focus oil on them and do things like LOC and oil rinses specifically on highlighted areas. I use a lighter (and less) conditioner on virgin parts of the hair and a heavier one (and more of it) on highlighted areas. But I have a lot of hair and this approach might be harder for someone with smaller surface area of hair, just due to application issues.

Chemically processed hair does tend to do better on somewhat different routines and products than the same hair when it's virgin. At the very least, bleached hair becomes more porous compared to when it's virgin, so it loses moisture more easily without added occlusive barriers, like oils and silicones. Bleached hair tends to do better with penetrating oils (e.g. coconut oil pre-wash), hydrolyzed proteins for strengthening, 18-MEA, ceramides, panthenol, lots of silicones for slip and occlusion.

Ultimately, since your hair is F and it's breaking off, I'd look into strengthening treatments like Aphogee 2-Step, maybe Olaplex and microtrimming on ad hoc basis.

I'd avoid all additional mechanical damage (e.g. use wide-tooth combs instead of dense brushes - this one is very important, sleep on silky smooth pillowcases/scarves, avoid overwashing hair), UV damage (wear hats, scarves and hair up when outside for long periods of time), all thermal (especially direct heat) and additional chemical damage, of course.

If you hate buns but like braids, I'd stick to braids and maybe try tying them off differently to avoid damage - e.g. with a silky ribbon woven into the braid like a paranda? You can also pin up braids with smaller claw-clips or Amish pins in heidi/milkmaid braids/crown braids fashion, but I'd keep the braiding very simple to avoid excessive manipulation that could add mechanical damage to the problem.

Realistically, you'll probably need a combination of 1) microtrimming of the broken and splitting ends and 2) changing the routine/products/tools quite a bit to prevent or at least limit further breakage/splitting.

That is a great suggestion. The bleached parts blends too much with my virgin hair, so it will be difficult too only apply heavy conditioner to the bleached parts. However, I do have more highlighs in the front (and I have more splits there as well, as my hair is even finer in the front), so I will try applying a heavier conditioner in the front part of my hair.


I don't use heat on my hair, as well as satin pillowcase and such. I have just gotten a wide tooth comb as well, and I really like it. I used mason pearson for fine hair before that. I'll look into those products.
I have done more french/dutch braiding lately, so I guess that could have caused additional mechanical damage to my hair. I will try and see if I find a bun that I really like as well.

I don't see any damage from the ties I use, the breakage/splits are further up. But I'm thinking friction against my clothes from having a braid all day could contribute to further mechanical damage. Milk-maid braids are a great idea, but also I think I just have to come over my issue with buns. I like buns on others, so there is no reason not to like them on myself :p

[Kellylee]

I would ask your hair dresser about olaplex.