Help dye damage - please tell me what can be done now...

[SunshineHair]

OK i dyed my hair last month as you can see in my album folder...It was great the first few days.

The the color left the ends of my hair and every single stand split...I saw actually splits all over...So I cut off half an inch, I went to a barber to take off a little more because I was still left with so many splits.

TWO inched off......today I looked at my hair and saw every single stand that was cut has new bulbs..WHY????? I am feeling so sick. I went from 25 inches to 23 inches and my hair is still about to split again.

Is it just damaged far up? Should I go ahead and lose another inch (which will hurt to do sooo much) or can I just be gentle and wait for it to grow and then cut so that it wont be any shorter??? Please tell me what to do, I cant believe I just lost 4 months of growth...And might have to lose more

[Elphie]

(((hugs)))

How about trying catnip? There's a good long thread about it, it seems to help with splits. I'm sure it will be ok. I'd try that first before trimming anymore.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476&highlight=catnip
Here's the thread about it.

[xoxophelia]

Umm.... maybe do an oil treatment or an SMT and be very very gentle. Try to avoid anything that might cause more damage.

If or when your hair does split, stay ontop of S&Ding your hair. I think it is possible.

[cupcakes]

Big color changes can be rough on the ends of hair especially if it's been dyed before. If you want to save growth then just do search&destroy for splits but if it's almost all your hair I say pack it in now, trim it to ABOVE where the major damage begins, and consider it a rough lesson learned. Personally I found removing the few damaged hairs made what was left seem to have much better texture/condition, but there were only a few so far gone. Also go easy on washing and styling if your hair is fragile right now.

[MissMandyElizab]

OOH ((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))) that has to be scary!!!! Try a deep deep co wash and leave it o foe a good bit of time

[little_acorn]

{{{{hug}}}} - very gentle treatment, SMTs, micro-trims may help

[Beets]

Oh, honey, I am so sorry.

Scenario #1: The ends are impossibly damaged, and will definitely need to be snipped.

Scenario #2: The ends are hurt, but not beyond help, and won't need more snipping.

Even in scenario #1, they're not going to split up the shaft over night, or even over a week or a month. So what if you tried some of the remedies listed here, and if none work in, say ________ weeks (whatever you're comfortable with, or whenever you notice north-wandering splits), they you can do another wee chop.

Also, I'd sleep on it at least a couple of days before making a decision, but then I can be pretty rash about these kinds of things, and I've had to learn that lesson the hard way!

[christine1989]

Hey, I'm from Washington too! Try CO-washing for a few weeks and put coconut oil on your ends to strengthen them. If they are not totally split then then the damage probobly wont spread up the hair shaft so you have time to wait and see if it improves. Good luck!

[SunshineHair]

Aww you guys sure are sweet, and great to help calm me and I needed it bad!!

I was out and walked into a hair salon, and I told the lady what happened and she gave me a product called Bed Head Ego Boost...it is made to smooth the split end, basically slow it down, seal...So I am going to try this, to gain an inch before I touch it again!

My hair looks super healthy, after I had the two inches removed it looked thicker, and actually pretty! I really think if I lose more length I will vomit!

[Mearwynna]

I went through something similar last year. I had to do smt's every day for a week, then at least every week after that. I continued to trim every 6 weeks, taking about a 1/4 inch off and occasionally did a s&d if I had problem areas. My hair grew this damage out eventually and I am let with hair that is nicer than it used to be. (Because of my vitamins, I think.)
Fox's shea butter cream is really nice stuff. It seems to help the most.

[SunshineHair]

I ended up going to the bathroom and trimming every end myself....I am no salon stylist but I do pretty good at cutting my own hair....

I took off about half an inch. Today the sun is out so soon I will go outside and look at the ends to see if there are any bulbs. I have to say I am so scared to find some...

So far I went from 25 inches down to 23 inches...But in hair world thats about 4 months gone :( But I am trying to stay up about it and proceed to grow, and NEVER again put checicle dye on my precious stands!!!

[redneckprincess]

I would say...wait get your 4 months back or at least 2 of them before you cut anymore length off...Try a SMT
do you cone?

[Toadstool]

Nightshade has a post/article about how she saved her damaged hair without cutting any and it looks fabulous now, perhaps you could search for it?
I think there's a link in her signature

[Capybara]

I'm no expert, but I remember that when I fried my hair with a HE home highlight kit (turned a few dark green towels yellow in the process too!), the sections which were dyed felt like straw for a few weeks, but after about a month of babying them, softened up a bit and became healthier. I don't know if it was because the dye started fading out or because of the frequent deep conditioning treatments :p But I think that, with time, your hair will improve. Good luck!! :cheer: :flower:

[Demetrue]

Keep putting coconut oil on the damaged part every night and then wash it out with conditioner the next morning. Then put a little bit of jojoba oil on them while still wet. You can also try a cone serum on the ends to keep them smoother looking while you continue to grow out the damaged part. The secret to using oils or serums for me, is to put one drop on my palms and then rub my hands together, then pat my palms on hair that is still damp and avoid the scalp. If I still need more, then I apply another drop. It is easier to add a little more oil then to get rid of too much oil.

[Tovah]

I killed my hair this past summer (then I joined here) and I found that Ojon deep conditioning treatment saved my hair. I thought I was going to have to cut it all off because it was breaking off at 2" in some places! I really gunked it on. Some people are repulsed by the smell, but my kids just told me that I smelled like a smokey head shop. (hey-how do they know that?)

http://www.ojon.com/ritual01.php

[Toadstool]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

Here is a link to the article I mentioned

[ademtce]

its actually called delayed damage.
its common with Box dyes and the color products from sally's. most likely low quality color had a sort of wax/conditioner imparted to your hair to cover up immediate damage only to be revealed later as time goes on. hence calling it delayed damage.


i hate to get up on soapbox again, but thats why i live by the creed that box dye & color from sallys will destroy your hair.
im sorry to hear about your experience, hopefully your hair woes are at their end.

[Ballerina_Boo]

I understand your pain. This year i have well and truly killed my hair and am basically starting all over again. I dyed my natural blonde hair dark brown for a fair few months and then my BF said that he likes my natural hair the best and I agree so i went to get it dyed back and oh boy did that kill it. I have had quite a lot trimmed off and now i am babying it. I do a treatment twice a week and I'm planning on wearing it up for a month and I'm not using heat on it at all. You can already see the difference it looks so much better. Good Luck with your hair!

[Fractalsofhair]

Aww! That sucks! Any sort of dye, bleach or highlight makes my hair break off really close to my head(highlights aren't as bad, as it's only those strands, but yeah, hair dye of any sort that uses any developer makes my hair VERY angry.) within a few weeks. What I've found helps is a protein treatment(but my hair loves protein), tons of oils, tons of conditioner, and very minimal shampooing. That allowed my hair to survive in the back where it's coarser and less easily damaged than the front. Good luck!

[rach]

OK i dyed my hair last month as you can see in my album folder...It was great the first few days.

The the color left the ends of my hair and every single stand split...I saw actually splits all over...So I cut off half an inch, I went to a barber to take off a little more because I was still left with so many splits.

TWO inched off......today I looked at my hair and saw every single stand that was cut has new bulbs..WHY????? I am feeling so sick. I went from 25 inches to 23 inches and my hair is still about to split again.

Is it just damaged far up? Should I go ahead and lose another inch (which will hurt to do sooo much) or can I just be gentle and wait for it to grow and then cut so that it wont be any shorter??? Please tell me what to do, I cant believe I just lost 4 months of growth...And might have to lose more
you have no idea how similar you sound to like what i did when i joined. Half given up and depressed, hold in there, you've come to the right place and things like cassia , catnip which is rather intrusive in colour can help greatly. don't do anything too drastic it can get better with dedication. try also this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=146) which can be time consuming but is amazing after if done properly.