Help - Bleach damage

[Primrose14]

This is going to be a long post but I desperately need help. :(

I used to have extremely healthy, long, blonde hair (1m /3.2 feet long) and back in December I cut it to tailbone length.

I went back to the salon in June just to trim the ends but the hairdresser convinced me to do balayage and damaged my hair. It became very mushy and porous when wet and it takes forever to dry.

My hair looked fine when it was dry though. I went to a different salon, cut as much as I could handle and got an Olaplex standalone treatment. I also used Aphogee 2 step treatment, kept my hair in a braid and applied Aussie's 3 minute miracle oil every day (it's a combination of Macadamia, Jojoba and Avocado oil). I also went heatless and I've only been washing it once a week.

It looked fine when it was dry and it was soft (I think because of the oil). Since it was so mushy I went a little overboard with protein (I bought Joico K Pak reconstructor) in an attempt to fix and my hair eventually felt so dry and brittle and I began to notice breakage. I think I either added too much protein at once or didn't add enough moisture.

I bought the Olaplex traveling stylist kit and it's making my hair feel better when it's wet (the texture is improving and it feels more hair like) but it's still porous, mushy and brittle when it's dry. I've also had 2 stand alone treatments at the same salon I went after the incident happened. I also stopped oiling my hair when I bought Olaplex No 1 and No 2 so that my hair was clean and dry when applying No 1.

Last week I clarified and tried an SMT but it still feels so dry and brittle. Apparently this has happened to many other people and they were able to fix the mushiness with continuous use of Olaplex and protein so I still have hope that the mushiness will go away. I'm so upset since I didn't have any breakage before using so much protein.

I can't cut all the damage at once since I compete in dressage and need to do a specific hairstyle that requires long hair. My hair used to give me so much confidence and I used to get so many compliments and now I hate it.

I figured I would come here for advice. This is what I was thinking of doing next:
-Keep my hair in a braid or bun at all times and use the same oil I used a few months ago and apply it once a day (my hair seemed to really like it).
-Do an SMT every time I wash my hair, apply heat or leave it in a shower cap overnight until my hair gains elasticity and stops breaking so easily.
-Only condition my hair and only shampoo my scalp and roots with a sulfate free shampoo.
-Use Olaplex No 2 or No 3 every time I wash my hair and leave it on for a few hours in a shower cap.

Does this seem like a good idea?

Then once I add enough moisture so that my hair is balanced, slowly add protein again so it helps with the mushiness (I was thinking of using Oway's rebuilding hair mask, it contains aminoacids and ceramides). Then slowly grow out the damage and trim it off.

Maybe my hair will feel better once I get rid of the protein overload since it was soft and had 0 breakage before going crazy with the protein.

The products I currently own and have at home are Giovanni's 50:50 Clarifying Hydrating shampoo, Herbal Essence Aloe sulfate free shampoo, Olaplex No2, Olaplex No 3, Olaplex No 6, Olaplex No 7, Garnier Papaya hair mask, Herbal Essence Argan Oil hair mask, As I am Hydration Elation and Aussie 3 minute oil. (Other products I'm not currently using are Aphogee 2 step treatment, Joico K Pak reconstruct, tresemmé deep hydrating mask, Aussie 3 minute miracle repair).

I know the best thing to do would be chopping it off but I can't do it. I also have depression and I feel like this whole situation is making my mental health worse. I just want it to feel soft again and get rid of the mushiness.

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

[akurah]

I figured I would come here for advice. This is what I was thinking of doing next:
-Keep my hair in a braid or bun at all times and use the same oil I used a few months ago and apply it once a day (my hair seemed to really like it).


Do a bun over a braid, unless the braid is bunned. Having a braid hang down your back is a lot more damaging than people realize.

[Primrose14]

Thank you, I actually do a braid and then make it into a bun, tugging in the ends. It holds up over a week without having to re-do it.

[akurah]

Thank you, I actually do a braid and then make it into a bun, tugging in the ends. It holds up over a week without having to re-do it.

That sounds perfect then

[lapushka]

You can't fix bleach damaged hair, you can make it feel better by doing enough proteine & moisture, keeping that balance and or olaplex, as per your choice, but it's never going to recover. Not one bit.

You can cut it in increments, for that I suggest the microtrimming thread. You either maintain the length or cut half the growth off monthly, or whenever you wish. This will make things slowly healthier, but you will not notice any loss of length, and that is something.

Yes, bleach, what can I say, been there, done that, and I didn't even have the notion that I needed protein. And back then we didn't have olaplex either. Costly, but for some it's worth it. But there's a lot you can do with protein/moisture as well.

Always follow up protein with moisture; always!

[SleepyTangles]

Hello Primrose! :waving:
Your plan sounds right, my only advice would be to choose either the SMT or the Olaplex treatment for each wash (I think your hair may be able to soak them up better), maybe you can alternate them.

My hair doesn't really like protein, even though it's super bleached. However, it's not mushy and dries faster than the virgin parts of my hair, so I think the damage compromised more its ability to retain moisture than it's protein structure.
If your hair likes protein in reasonable amounts, I think your plan to re-introduce them gradually is very right :flower:.

[Bat]

My advice is the same as lapushka, there isn't really anything that will fix mushy hair, I should know I've done it so badly it was breaking off and felt like a soggy noodle cutting it slowly bit by bit will benefit you more in the long run and should save you money, olaplex is expensive, benign neglect might also work for you and gives it a rest from all the product you are throwing on it