Does SMT save bleached hair?

[Priska]

I'd really like to bleach my hair, but everybody keeps warning me about how it destroys my hair... my hair is naturally dark brown and I've been using henna to it. My hair is not very thick either and I need moisture treatments all the time anyway. So I already know lots of dry hair and how to take care of it 😁 So has anyone experience of SMT to dry, bleached hair and if it helped or not? Am I going to destroy my hair totally if I bleach it?

[Priska]

Also I don't have 1000€ to put to this, unfortunately... I thought I would colour myself the bottom golden beige first and then lots of lighter blonde stripes to it.

[florenonite]

I would be really careful about bleaching over henna. You're going to have a looooooot of orange to trudge through before you get to blonde. And if your henna mix contains any indigo at all, you'll get swamp green.

[0xalis]

To be completely frank with you, Yes, bleach will destroy your hair. There really is no getting around it.

However, Olaplex is good at repairing SOME of the damage. It can never be fixed entirely, but olaplex chemically rebonds the hair together or something weird.
I don't remember the exact science of it but it's basically the best course of action for bleached hair that you don't want to break off.
You'll also want to change your wash routine to be more effective for damaged hair, like adding coconut oil in there somewhere.
Coconut oil is really good on high porosity hair but less good on low porosity hair. No matter what hair you had before you will have high porosity hair after bleaching.

Plenty of people bleach their hair or chemically straighten or get perms etc and are able to keep their hair from breaking off, it's all about babying the f* out of it after the damage is done.

[paulownia]

Coconut oil is really good on high porosity hair but less good on low porosity hair. No matter what hair you had before you will have high porosity hair after bleaching.
Other way around, sweetheart:D
Coconut goes well with low porosity.
Bleaching hair is damaging to some extent because you literally blow the holes in your cortex to remove pigments from your hair and make it lighter. And it gives higher porosity of course.
But a good care can make your hair reasonably healthy-looking. You'll definitely need protein since its restoring the damage. Plenty of good emollients to fight dryness, frizz and split ends.. Gentle shampoo.. Silicones ( just don't overdo).
So moisture is not the only thing you should be thinking about.

[0xalis]

Other way around, sweetheart:D
Coconut goes well with low porosity.
Bleaching hair is damaging to some extent because you literally blow the holes in your cortex to remove pigments from your hair and make it lighter. And it gives higher porosity of course.
But a good care can make your hair reasonably healthy-looking. You'll definitely need protein since its restoring the damage. Plenty of good emollients to fight dryness, frizz and split ends.. Gentle shampoo.. Silicones ( just don't overdo).
So moisture is not the only thing you should be thinking about.

I speak from experience, my hair does NOT like coconut unless it's damaged. At least in like, shampoo and conditioner.
The reason it works better with high porosity hair is because it locks out moisture. High porosity hair can become oversaturated with water.
Putting coconut oil on low porosity hair locks out moisture that is already harder to get in there. I can only use coconut oil if it's in leave-in products.

[paulownia]

That's news to me:D.
Coconut is mostly composed of saturated fatty acids and penetrator the hair. That's why high porosity is not supposed to like it because it will lift the cuticle and leave the hair crunchy and feeling dry.
But hey, it's all theory. There is exceptions to every rule.
My hair is on low porosity side and I like coconut oil very much, same with shea butter.

[SleepyTangles]

I'd really like to bleach my hair, but everybody keeps warning me about how it destroys my hair... my hair is naturally dark brown and I've been using henna to it. My hair is not very thick either and I need moisture treatments all the time anyway. So I already know lots of dry hair and how to take care of it �� So has anyone experience of SMT to dry, bleached hair and if it helped or not? Am I going to destroy my hair totally if I bleach it?

I have very, very bleached hair, so I know it can be done. And yet... it's a committment. Your hair will be 10x times more fragile than it is normally.

If your hair likes SMT now, it could actually like it even more even after bleaching. Or it may require proteins, or oils. Difficult to foresee now. Trial and error, like everything.

Throwing henna into the equation scares me. Henna and bleach do not always interact well, but henna is also mighty difficult to lift.

[SleepyTangles]

Also I don't have 1000€ to put to this, unfortunately... I thought I would colour myself the bottom golden beige first and then lots of lighter blonde stripes to it.

I do bleach my own hair, but it's difficult. You'll do mistakes, expecially the first times.
The technique you plan to use may lead to a very strong demarcation line.

[Obsidian]

I've tried bleaching out henna, after 4 rounds of bleach, I gave up and shaved it all off. Henna just doesn't bleach out like other hair color.
If you absolutely want to try, do test strands so you know how any rounds of bleach you might need and what it does to your hair.

I have bleached hair, smt does nothing for it. Protein masks and cones can at least make it feel better but nothing is going to prevent or repair the damage.
Olaplex in the bleach is your best bet to reduce damage.

[Hexen]

I swear everytime I see this thread, I think it say's DMT...

Okay. Just had to say that.

[Arciela]

I bleached my hair twice several years ago in 2016, and nothing saved it. I had dumped thousands into treatments for it, you name it, I got it. *Nothing* worked.

After that mess I vowed to never touch bleach again. My hair was healthy, thick and in great condition too. I did olaplex, salon treatments, trimming, anything you can think of. I went to high end Manhattan salons too in attempt to try to save my hair...it was a lost cause unfortunately.

I think in the end the best thing to do is either chop the unwanted color off over time, or just do big chops in intervals. I went from classic length bleached hair to shoulder length hair due to all the damage.

[0xalis]

I swear everytime I see this thread, I think it say's DMT...

Okay. Just had to say that.

:rollin: I know right!

[0xalis]

That's news to me:D.
Coconut is mostly composed of saturated fatty acids and penetrator the hair. That's why high porosity is not supposed to like it because it will lift the cuticle and leave the hair crunchy and feeling dry.
But hey, it's all theory. There is exceptions to every rule.
My hair is on low porosity side and I like coconut oil very much, same with shea butter.

I see, I have always heard the opposite. Now I wonder what is true? Either way, my hair is really picky about coconut oil, so I have to be really careful about how I use it!

[Hexen]

:rollin: I know right!

:blueeek:.....:rollin:

[Jo Ann]

There are a few threads about removing henna from your hair (note: avoid the bleach):

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56620

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85463

I would suggest testing a strand of hair before a whole head application of anything to see if your hair will tolerate any treatment (check for color lift, damage, that sort of thing).

If all else fails, try crushed Vitamin C tablets or Vitamin C powder and anti-dandruff shampoo. If nothing else works, though, you'll have to grow it out :shrug:

[florenonite]

There are a few threads about removing henna from your hair (note: avoid the bleach):

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56620

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85463

I would suggest testing a strand of hair before a whole head application of anything to see if your hair will tolerate any treatment (check for color lift, damage, that sort of thing).

If all else fails, try crushed Vitamin C tablets or Vitamin C powder and anti-dandruff shampoo. If nothing else works, though, you'll have to grow it out :shrug:

I did the Color Oops about a month ago, and my henna is for sure lighter than it was, but my hair is still *red*. It didn't do any damage, though, and other than smelling like perfumed egg farts and spending 45 minutes trying to keep my head under the flow of the shower, it wasn't too bad, so I'll probably do another couple of treatments and see where that goes. I'm hoping to get it to a point where it blends gently into my ashy blonette hair so I can grow it out without too much pain.

OP, if you're successful at removing henna (many aren't, as you can see in that thread) and there's no damage, then bleach may be an option, but with dark brown hair you'll likely still go through an orange phase.

[Bat]

Bleach over henna can cause a chemical reaction and burn your hair off, so I wouldn’t recommend it

[florenonite]

Bleach over henna can cause a chemical reaction and burn your hair off, so I wouldn’t recommend it

This very much depends on the quality of your henna. If you used pure BAQ henna, or a purely herbal blend (including things like indigo, senna, amla, etc.) then it won't be any more damaging to your hair than bleaching virgin hair. However, henna and indigo are not easy to bleach out - bleaching henna gives you orange, and bleaching indigo gives you green. Neither of those is blonde :p

If you used a low quality henna mix with PPD and other synthetic dyes, then the results are more unpredictable. But it's not the henna that's the problem, it's the other ingredients.

[lapushka]

The only thing that "saves" bleached hair, I mean hair turned to wet noodles / mush is... protein. And the *serious* protein treatments like say from Aphogee. Serious stuff. Honestly, if your hair is that far gone, it needs more than an SMT. An SMT is not going to do much since it will be adding more moisture to hair that is totally off-balance and needs protein to re-balance. My 2€cts. ;)

[0xalis]

The only thing that "saves" bleached hair, I mean hair turned to wet noodles / mush is... protein. And the *serious* protein treatments like say from Aphogee. Serious stuff. Honestly, if your hair is that far gone, it needs more than an SMT. An SMT is not going to do much since it will be adding more moisture to hair that is totally off-balance and needs protein to re-balance. My 2€cts. ;)

Yes exactly! My virgin hair hates proteins because it's already got plenty but when it was bleached it LOVED protein.

[Priska]

Thank you for advices everyone!

Can you tell if cassia is here as difficult as henna? Is It possible to bleach cassia-dyed hair?..

[lapushka]

Thank you for advices everyone!

Can you tell if cassia is here as difficult as henna? Is It possible to bleach cassia-dyed hair?..

I would be *extremely* careful if you have a head full of either henna, cassia, or indigo (even worse). Bleach on indigo *will* turn a muddy green/blue'ish color. And I just would grow it out if you can. If the items you used aren't pure or good quality chances for melting your hair off are very real.

If in doubt and still wanting to proceed? Strand test, on a little back patch of your hair (neckline).

[Jane99]

Someone on here had her hair turn green after doing a henna/cassia treatment. I believe she eventually figured out that it was minerals in her hair that reacted to the cassia, like minerals from hard water that had built up on her hair. So even though cassia is regarded as nearly colorless and temporary compared to henna or indigo, there can still be reactions. I have hard water and my hair hasn’t turned green from cassia/henna treatments so every head is different and things could still change I’m sure. I would research and strand test.