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View Full Version : Adapting to changing hair needs



sbhonda
November 22nd, 2011, 10:20 PM
Here's my little background. In July of 2010 I bleached my hair platinum blonde, which was a horrible mistake for me.

Ew.
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x399/shelleyshair/68899_447977807982_518577982_5584688_1264323_n.jpg

My hair had always been quite strong and at least appeared healthy before that. When I bleached it, everything changed. My hair was about as porous and destroyed as it could possibly get without crumbling. It was stretchy and gummy when wet, and if I left it to air dry, it just wouldn't. Left down and untouched my hair would still be damp 24 hours after showering.

I kept cutting it shorter and shorter because I couldn't stand how the bleached hair felt, and finally this September, all the bleached hair was gone. The problem was, in the 14 months since I bleached, I had learned to take care of bleached hair. I forgot how to take care of my normal hair.

With my bleached hair, I used a heavy protein conditioner every time I showered and I needed to use lots of cones to make my hair feel remotely like hair. Protein and cones were my saviors. I straightened it because I didn't know what else to do. I didn't have waves anymore, I had a mass of frizz. It didn't really think I could make it any worse anyway. Now that my hair is back to a more natural state (all though most of it is still dyed at this point), it is strong, M/C, and probably on the low side of normal porosity. It's the opposite of what I got used to taking care of.

You can see how crispy the bleached part is and how it would not even hold permanent dye.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/sbhonda/photobucket-1380-1322025235568.jpg

So I started having problems. Your typical dry, crunchy ends. And in some places not just the ends. It felt rough and kind of like it was still bleached, but I knew it wasn't because it was strong and I couldn't find any split ends. I was bummed. Part of that I attributed to the horrendously hard and gross well water where I had been living over the summer. Ugh... I'm having flashbacks. I chelated, and there was some improvement, but not as much as I expected. So I tried a SMT and holy bejeezus it got worse. Then I thought about it. There was protein in the conditioner I used for the SMT. My hair does not want or need protein now. I thought back on all the products I had been using for the past year, and most of them were full of protein. I was using them for the bleached part of my hair, but the rest of my hair was getting it too, and it didn't want it. So I clarified again and ditched everything with protein. My hair already feels better.

So I have now realized that I had completely forgotten how to care for "healthy" hair and needed to really think about how my hair's needs have changed. Apparently protein is no good, and cones may not have any instant negative effects on my hair, but I don't need them.

My hair is strong and shiny now. I'm going natural with the color now too.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/sbhonda/DSCF3727.jpg



Have any of you experienced a change in your hair that you had trouble adapting to? Or that made you have to relearn or rethink how to care for you hair?

sbhonda
November 23rd, 2011, 06:57 AM
I guess I should also mention what I'm doing now. I'm currently using L'Oreal Eversleek shampoo every 3-4 days, but I'm going to attempt to transition into CO-washing (I bought some VO5 tea therapy conditioners). I use Tresemme Naturals conditioner (which I'm not thrilled by) so I'm using it up by mixing it with Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrtition, which I do like. I have been using coconut oil as a leave in, but winter is fast-approaching and we keep our house cold, so it's starting to not feel great on my hair. I got some grapeseed oil to try. I've only used it once, but so far I like it. I'm going to try mixing the two oils for a while.

I've given up blow drying completely, unless I need to in an "emergency," and I'm limiting my flat iron use to once per month maximum. I think most months I probably won't even want to do it. Though right now I'm tempted because my hair is too short and layered to be as wavy as it is, so it does look better straight at the moment. I try to get it as straight as I can prior to straightening by putting it up or pinning it back so I can do less damage by using heat for less time. But for the first time in recent memory, my hair isn't frizzy and I don't need heat styling to make it smooth. So as it gets longer and looks better wavy, I'll probably give up heat styling almost completely. I'm also pretty good at a variety of heatless curling methods, which I prefer to the pin straight look on me anyway.

bratz81
November 23rd, 2011, 07:09 AM
I don't have much experience of this so far but I think I will as my hair grows out. I've been dying/bleaching my hair in some form or other for about 10 years, and although part from a few layers needing trimmed it does generally feel soft and look shiny.

Partly that could be because I cut it short, then grew it to shoulder, then cut it short again, and now am just above APL, so a lot of the damage may have got cut off - although a lot might have got put in again!!

I'm thinking as my virgin hair grows more (I've only stopped dying about 3 months so far) it will be a slightly different texture than the other dyed hair and maybe need different treatment but I don't have to worry at the moment I don't think.

spidermom
November 23rd, 2011, 07:13 AM
I don't do much to my hair other than a little Manic Panic once in awhile. However, it seems that the needs of my hair change from time to time, and I have to tweak my routine. Recently I discovered that I was over-using conditioner, for example. I thought I'd settled into a routine that I could stick with forever, but no.

Aerin
November 23rd, 2011, 12:52 PM
It seems like every time I move or every fall/spring, when the weather changes I need to tweak how I'm doing things with my hair. Nothing quite like yours, but yeah, I know what you mean by needing to pay attention and change things up a bit from time to time.

oktobergoud
November 23rd, 2011, 02:03 PM
I'm in the exact same boat! I bleached my hair to death (uh I mean platinum, and like real WHITE, thank god it was a pixie though!) and I had to keep on cutting and cutting. I think most of it is out now, but I'm still taking care of my hair as if it is still really damaged. It isn't! And I stuff it with cones and stuff... right now I'm going to try cone-free again because of the winter, but it really is weird.

I think I still need to figure out that protein stuff.. might be I'm using too much of it as well!

heidi.maryke
November 23rd, 2011, 03:32 PM
Im having the same problem atm due to moving cities and dealing with different water and also having bleached ends still. It sucks so bad right now :(

Amber_Maiden
November 23rd, 2011, 03:54 PM
It seems like every time I move or every fall/spring, when the weather changes I need to tweak how I'm doing things with my hair. Nothing quite like yours, but yeah, I know what you mean by needing to pay attention and change things up a bit from time to time.

Same here!:(