Advice For Chemically Damaged Hair

[Sinthia]

Right now my hair is pretty damaged. I have thin, straight hair, with a slight wave. I usually chemically dye my hair black, and my natural color is blonde. For about 6 months I let my naturally hair grow in, and decided I hated it, and dyed it black again about a month ago. I have breakage pretty much up to the root, and you cant tell from afar, but up close you can!!! I was just wondering what would be some tips for me to repair/lessen some damage. I already stopped heat styling, and combing when wet. Thank you! I will post pics sometime soon

[pepperminttea]

I'm afraid once the damage is there, it's not repairable. You can make it look healthier, and hide the damage, but prevention is the key. These two articles would be a great place to start:
Damaged Hair: Understanding, Preventing & Rehabilitating (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)
Keeping Split Ends At Bay: Secrets of Gently Handling Your Hair (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=8)

You might also want to look into henndigo. :flower:

[xovictoryxo]

agree with henndigo. Time to start babying your hair, oil treatments, deep conditioning, hair serums to hide it, no heat, etc.
I am dealing with damage too :(

[Alvrodul]

Welcome to the LHC, Sinthia! :flower: We are always happy to dispense advice!

When your hair is damaged, there is unfortunately little you can do - it is unfortunately not possible to repair damaged hair.
I would suggest that you look into oiling, and also start to do frequent moisture and/or protein treatments - if your hair likes it, that is! I have found that my hair loves most oils, and just slurps it up - especially the ends, where I still have some chemical damage. My hair does not care for protein, though, so I avoid products containing that.
None of this will repair the damage, but will hopefully help your hair to look and feel better.

Another thing you might do, is look into dying your hair with henna and indigo. I use henna myself, and love how shiny my hair gets, and also love the rich color. You can get black by using a two step henna and indigo process (lots of information on that in the part of the forum dedicated to recipes, henna and herbal haircare) But if you wish to go that route, I recommend that you research the matter thoroughly first, since henna is permanent. To quote one wit in one of the henna threads - you don't flirt with henna - you marry it! And if you put indigo in your hair, you can definitely never use peroxide on it - it will turn an unpleasant greenish-blue shade.

[Sinthia]

Thank you all so much for the responses!! I will look into all that was mentioned! I keep having the urge to cut my hair to get rid of some of the damage, but i REALLY dont want to...would frequent trims be best?

[Alvrodul]

Doing frequent microtrims is certainly one way to go, and a good way of gaining length - or at least maintaining it - while steadily getting rid of damage. And to avoid getting too big chops at the hairdresser, I expect you will need to be very firm with them. Decide on how much you want to trim each time, bring a ruler to show exactly how much you want trimmed - and then watch them cut like a cat at a mousehole.
And cultivate patience. The damaged hair will grow out and be trimmed away - eventually. :meditate:

[Sinthia]

Thank you so much for your help and advice !

[hela]

You have 2011 to make a change!

Stay away from all the damaging habits from the past and start taking care of your hair, little by little, step by step. You'll see the difference in no time, just be patient with each stage of the healing process and follow the great pieces of advice you received in the previous answers to your post.

Welcome to the forums and Happy 2011! :blossom: