How to repair damaged hair?

[Leinaah]

Hi everybody!

I need some help. I used to henna my hair for years with Lush Henna. After 3 years I got a lot of colour difference between the roots and the tips. So I decided I wanted to go back to my natural haircolour, and went to the hairdresser to get my hair bleached. Oh how I wished I never did!! It had to be bleached 2 times, and coloured 1 time. My hair used to be really healthy because of the henna, and now it is dry, hard to handle when I need to wash it, and it doesn't curl anymore like it used to!
Do any of you have some tips for me? I was thinking about using henna again to repair my damaged hair, would that help?

Thank you!

[Phalaenopsis]

Damage can't really be repaired, but there are ways to keep it under control so your hair doesn't split even more. Bleached hair probably would love some protein, ofcourse some moisture, frequent trims, henna can help too, but the fact still remains you'll have to grow out the damage...

[Ishje]

coconut oil helped a lot for me when I bleached my hair.
but like Phalaenopsis said, you can't really repair the damage.

[NouvelleNymphe2]

Can you read articles yet? If so please read Nightshade's article regarding damaged hair. I also suggest reading Igor's article regarding her shaved-classic journey. If you can't access them yet read the VITs in "Start Here." I'm a newbie too, so I found a ton of great information right away reading Nightshade and Igors' articles and the VITs. Good luck and welcome!

[jujube]

Protein treatment + multiple SMTs (search Snowymoon's moisture treatment, there's a thread for it). Trimming your ends, lots and lots of coconut oil if your hair likes it, or cones, again if your hair likes them. Happy growing!

[Leinaah]

I'm glad that before I bleached, my hair was in great condition. My hair is not extremely damaged, but it is not happy! I'm trying to do 2 or 3 hair masks a week, Jasmin and Henna fluff ease by Lush, containing lots of oils and some henna. Hope this will help!

[Artsy]

Here is a great article by Nightshade about hair damage
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79
From my personal experience I have been dealing with bleached hair until I have decided to go back to my natural hair colour and then eventually hennaed. If you did colour correct your hair think twice about hennaing again, henna won't fix the damage, so you might as well stick with what you have.
You can do deep oilings with coconut oil to bring back some elasticity and shine to the hair. Try doing nightly oiling for 2 weeks and you should see the difference. Depending on what your hair likes you can try humectant-based leave ins, like honey or something glycerin based. You can try aloe vera as well.
A few micro trims should help, as well as S&D. The article explains it all.
Also you might want to try oil shampoo discovered by Ktani http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2010/10/hair-care-of-movie-stars-from-past.html
(http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2010/10/hair-care-of-movie-stars-from-past.html)Good luck

[Leinaah]

Thank you all for your suggestions! As my hair is waist length, I will not cut it, but I will try to do my best to repair it. More tips and suggestions are more than welcome!!

[Avital88]

The Jasmin and henna fluff ease from Lush is great to use on damage hair!
It smellls like heaven and really works! Good luck with your hair.

[Othala]

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer. That's what I recommend for your hair...and lots of it!

[Leinaah]

Do you know where I could find that? I live in The Netherlands. And does it contain any silicones?