Saving Bleached Hair

[Crystal Q]

I went to the salon to get my hair highlighted by the hairdresser that did my hair in the past. I go to this particular salon because they use Schwarzkopf hair color. I only allow Schwarzkopf product in my hair since it lifts with out bleach, therefore it's not necessary to use bleach IF there isn't any other products in your hair. The Hairdresser asked me if I wanted my hair done like I had it the last time. I said yes. Which would have been partial medium brown highlights on my dark brown hair. But, she apparently never referenced my client card stating NEVER use bleach on my hair and the exact color she used on it previously. When she took out the foils my hair was white and fried. There was breakage around my hair line. She put a toner on my hair that turned it a pumpkin color. It was so bad the manager of the salon apologized for the mistake and didn't charge me. I went home and put Clairol Natural Instincts in Medium Brown to cover up the horrible color. But, it still looks damaged. I'm trying to figure out how salvage my hair. I bought Nutritive Masquintense by Kerastase to condition it. I've cut 4 inches off of it and it still feels brittle. Is there anything I can do to save my bleached hair?

[akurah]

Use lots and lots of coconut oil, and probably invest in a super duper coney conditioner, such as Dove.

[Bianca]

Redken Cat Protein Recontructing Treatment. I havn't tried it myself, but on naturallycurly some girls suggest this for very processed hair. I'm going out to get it for my own bleached ends that could need some TLC. Just remember to do a moisture treatment after the protein treatment :blossom:

ETA: Welcome to LHC... :flower:

[marialena]

And i guess that this was " the End " for this salon.. :mad:

Welcome to the long hair community :) ( though you found us without the best, for you hair, condition).

As akurah said use coconut oil; do heavy pre wash oilings and light oiling after wash on wet hair.

I would advice as well to prefer CO washes for a period of time ( check the CO thread) and to avoid any kind of hair dryer, straighting iron and such things on your hair. ( because these will make your hair's condition worst).

I'm very sorry that you had such damage from a salon that you trusted.. ( I don't want to say anything else for such unprofessional stylists because I will become totally rude).

Try the above and I wish you to see soon good results.. :)

[xrosiex]

Use lots and lots of coconut oil, and probably invest in a super duper coney conditioner, such as Dove.

I agree with akurah. I would also try evoo over night.

[rach]

:surprise: you poor thing

as marialena said pretty much, do your research, there's plenty here on LHC
have a bar :chocolate: for yourself . sounds like you been through the mill :(

[Speckla]

Definitely a conditioner with protein in it. Sorry this happened. I normally can't use much protein of anykind but it was a wonderful saver after getting horrible highlights and frying my hair. My hair was brittle and snapped if someone even thought of touching it. The hairdresser put some leave-in protein - Redkens Shot of Protein - or something closed to that name. It made my hair stronger immediately.

[spidermom]

And a small trim from the ends as bad condition warrants every few months.

[teela1978]

I'd just baby the heck out of it. No dying it for a while, no blowdrying, no heat styling, etc... Oiling could help. CO could help. Protein treatments are probably a good idea.

[Shermie Girl]

Welcome to LHC. :D

I am sorry that you have suffered a hair disaster. If the hair is mushy, gummy and sticky; if it stretches waaay out very easily and breaks super easily, it is structurally destroyed and there is no way to save it or rehab it. The only thing you can do is use a lot of silicone on it to make it wet combable, (forget trying to comb or brush when damp, it will just stick together) air dry it and baby it as it grows and you cut away the destroyed hair.

If it is damaged but not gummy you can rehab it to a point. As others have advised, coconut oil is wonderful as it actually penetrates the hair and works it's magic from the inside out. Pre and post wash oilings will be good for your hair. Silicone and lots of it will make the hair look and feel better, give it some shine and slip and a little "strength". If you baby the heck out of it and avoid any further chemical services until the current damage is gone, you should be able to hang on to most of your length.

[Toadstool]

Protein works wonders on bleached hair. aussie 3 minute miracle reconstructor is good. Or Joico reconstructor. Deep conditioning treatments are good too, plus some sort of leave-in. If you shampoo, use baby shampoo or something very gentle.Then ultra moisturising conditioner alternated with protein conditioner. That's what I do anyway!

[Sasha_S]

Ohhh no, you must be ablsolutely gutted!!
Well, when I fry my hair I use a protein back on it (Ion do a great one) and that always helps it feel a bit better. Other than that, the only other thing that really works for me is henna, it really rescues my hair.
As the others have said, baby the heck out of it, plenty of oil/moisturising treatments, and hopefully the hair you have will bounce back.
x

[Gothic Lolita]

Welcome and I'm sorry that your hair is a mess now!


You should really baby it, no heat styling, no nothing. Simply pamper it with an extreme protein treatment, bleached hair needs much of it. And try oiling with coconut or argan oil, they're super and even prevent peroxide damage and help you to stop further protein loss. Make also sure you moisturize heavily.
Maybe you can try Conditioner Only washes. Then you wash your hair only with conditioner. It takes alittle longer than normal shampoo cleansing, but your doesn't look oily afterwards and is nicely moisturized.

[Brunette88]

OMG!!!!!!!! This just sounds like my story what happend a week ago.
I hate my hair so much now and im in exactley the same dilemma,the color is awfull,(pumpkin-yellow some green shine)and its so dry.
While my hair was doing so good the past year ...:( i can still cry about it
The Head Stylist came to me aswell and i didnt had to pay,why are they so stupid to make these mistakes?
Now i never wanna go to a salon again..

[suicides_eve]

sorry to hear that happen to you. Your story sounds like many others on the board. iI can only echo the advice givin above it's the best advice you gonna get, I opted to cut mines off into a pixie and start over again. best choice i made.

[Pegasus Marsters]

Protein! It's the best thing I ever used on my bleached hair. Eggs are great for a protein treatment. :)

[Nanni]

WOW! This is my biggest fear! That's why I don't go to salons anymore. I have nightmares about this sometimes.

My advice is lots of good conditioner maybe go CO and light oiling every day. Try to do a small trimming ever month to get rid of the worst dammage. And try to avoid more dammage.
No more coloring and no more heat!!!

[EvaSimone]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience! :flower:

I came here with damaged, over processed hair and I have made it to past my waist. Here is what I have done:

Stop using silicones and sulfates. The stopping with the silicones allowed me to get moisture directly to my hair. The sulfates upped the gentleness factor. I use Giovanni 50:50 shampoo and conditioner. For my deep conditioner I use Loreal Vive pearl protein conditioner in a pink container (it's silicone free and works great!)

I use a leave in always. I like Long Lovely Locks Coco Light, I also like using a drop or two of olive oil.

I stopped heat styling COMPLETELY. The last thing damaged hair needs is to be damaged worse with heat.

Stopped combing or brushing, just gentle finger combing with occasional combing.

Occasionally do deep conditioning masques where I get my hair wet, apply conditioner and wash it out, towel dry my hair and then slather it with olive oil. I'll leave my hair soaking in the olive oil overnight. This ups the moisture.

Get fairly regular trims to combat the split ends that will come from the damage. I get trimmed about once every four months now and I am still getting length gains.

The biggest thing you are going to fight is moisture loss not protein. Hair needs quite a bit of moisture to be happy and damaged hair has difficulty hanging on to moisture. I would take it easy on protein treatments; they can make breakage worse. An occasional protein treatment won't kill you but I think the focus should be on moisture. It's incredibly hard to over moisturize your hair!

Good luck and Welcome!

[~GypsyCurls~]

You have already gotten a bunch of great info, here are my tips.

*Use an intensive protein treatment (like Aphogee) where you are actually taking liquid protein and letting it dry and fuse onto your hair.

*At least weekly, use protein based deep conditioner like K-Pak and others. Use a moisturizing conditioner afterwards since too much protein can make you hair brittle.

*Don't use any sulfates, use only gentle shampoos if you must but better yet use a thin conditioner to cleanse your scalp and roots, like V05. Everytime you wash, use a moisturizing conditioner as well as a leave-in.

*Handle your hair sparingly, especially when it's wet, and use a wide tooth comb rather than a thin one or a brush.

*Don't use heat, or use the least amount of heat as possible.

Good luck! I wish I had this board back when I had bleached hair that was breaking off...it would have saved me!

[Nightshade]

There's an article in my siggy on damaged hair and how to rehabilitate it, perhaps you'll find some ideas in there :)

I found that straight oils didn't work for me, and had much better luck with Fox's Shea Conditioning Cream (the link to that thread is in the article). Best of luck :flowers: