UPdate on hairdresser disaster

[shawneez]

Yesterday I finished my 5th color correction appt. She did an incredible job taking out my stark highlights and trying to fix the nightmare the other hair dresser created. Since I am brunette with approx. 70% grey she used foils and put brunette back into highlights while setting aside very minute layers of the highlight so it would look like my natural mix of grey and brunette. I am amazed at how much better my hair looks........she was a miracle worker. She said she was an artist before a hairdresser and it shows in her work.

Since my hair was so damage it isn't holding the new dye as well as hoped so I'm trying to think of ways I can prevent fading. I thought maybe I should stop using shampoo and only use conditioner to wash. Also I was thinking for the damage maybe I should start doing a weekly coconut oil deep cond. with a heat cap. Don't know how that will affect color just put in though. Any ideas?

Also, some of my natural grey streaks around my face have picked up some of the brunette dye particles that have rinsed from my hair which has made the silver look a slight bit muddied in color about half way down. Is there anything that can take it out without causing further damage. Maybe I need to wash those areas separately.

Any suggestions about dye maintenance would be appreciated as dye is all very new to me. My ultimate goal of course is to get all this dye grown out and get back to virgin hair but with 3 feet long hair this will take some time.

For everyone who replied to my "hair dresser disaster post"......I just wanted to say it was so nice to feel all your support after going through such a shocking experience......thank you......it really helped.

[UltraBella]

No to the coconut oil, it has a tendency to strip color. But there are lots of oils that do not, like olive oil and jojoba oil. What type of color did she use on you ? I would like to know before I give any suggestions on maintaining.
Glad to know you are feeling better about it :)

[halo_tightens]

Yeah, it's hard to say without knowing what was used... In general, though, I'd advise using cool water to wash and rinse, not hot... And CO washing may be a good idea.

I'm just glad you're getting the situation back under control!! It's nice to have a good stylist that you know you can trust. :)

[shawneez]

She used organic color systems ammonia free permanent hair color.

[shawneez]

Also since my hair disaster my hair has been damaged. I think my cuticle sustained some damage from the strong dye that was mistakenly put on and also from trying to get the platnium dye out. I ended up with tons of breakage. Now when I wash my hair, it literally takes about 4-5 hours to air dry likely because the cuticle is so open now. Before the damage my 3 feet long hair would dry with in an hour. My hair is straight and fine. Now it seems very dry and the texture is slightly frizzy where the highlights were. My hair needs TLC but I don't know the best way to maintain it. I have never had dye in my hair before. I plan on slowly trimming the ends off as my hair grows so some day I will get healthy virgin hair back again. For now I just hope the corrective dye stays in because it was quite expensive to have it done. With my damaged cuticle it may have to be redone down the line though but maybe there are things I can do to stretch it out. At least I now can go out in public again where as before I didn't want to even leave my house.
Thanks in advance for any advice......I really appreciate your help!!!

[UltraBella]

Unfortunately for your hair, so many things have been done to it that it is going to take it a while to recover. Even your corrective color was damaging, the ammonia is replaced with an alkaline oil and heat is used to open the cuticle instead. The activator is still hydrogen peroxide, so that was not gentle by any means and did add yet another layer of damage.
You are just going to have to be patient and really take good, gentle care of it. I would recommend something that is specifically formulated for color treated hair, so you can retain as much color for as long as possible. A good leave in conditioner will probably make it feel better and I would avoid brushing it at all costs. Just a wide toothed comb or pick to detangle. Wear it up as much as you can and give it some time, if you continue to have a lot of breakage I would give it a fairly large trim. Trimming is better than breakage any day, at least you can control the amount.
Good luck to you !!!!!!

[shawneez]

Hi Ultrabella,

Thanks.......I will look for a good leave in conditioner today.
Can I also do a monthly deep condition or would that cause too much loss of corrective color.
What about a homemade recipe with egg protein monthly ? My hair just feels like it also needs deep repair but with the damage that has been done I have a feeling no amount of deep conditioning is going to fix it.........only new hair will.

Also.....why is wearing your hair "up" helpful??? I've been trying to do that but am just curious how that helps....... other than helping hiding the damage. Does it help it grow?

Thanks again..........
BTW......your hair is beautiful!

[UltraBella]

There are deep conditioning treatments made specifically for color treated hair. The most beneficial treatments involve heat which helps the treatment penetrate the cuticle. Not sure how you would do that at home, I always sit under the dryer for twenty minutes at the salon.
When you have damage and breakage it is very important to protect you ends. Wearing your hair down leaves your ends free to tangle, rub against clothing, be effected by wind, etc. If you have tons of breakage already and you don't want to trim off a lot of length, wearing your hair up will protect your ends against further breakage. But at some point you are going to have to get the split ends under control.

[shawneez]

I've trimmed off about 4 inches which has helped. I plan on trimming off about a inch every 8 weeks just so I can get rid of the damage. I would do a big chop but after having 3 feet of hair destroyed a big chop would be too much for me to handle emotionally. Little by little is going to be a lot easier for me.