My hair got burned!

[didrash]

This is a bit of a horror story - and its entirely my fault! I wanted to start the fire in the fireplace because we are having an unusually cold day. I am out of the usual liquid we use to stat the fire because at this time of year we do not need it. I decided to use spirit as I have a bottle. But I forgot that it si much more volatile than the regular stuff, so.. when I lit - pooof! It exploded in my face. I was wearing glasses so at least my eyebrows are intact, but the front ends of my hair which was loose got singed. You know how that looks - deformed and brittle... Well, there is no salvaging it, it is ruined. The problem is I do not want to cut it off right now because I will not be able to put it up and it will be a torture. But it looks horrible, burnt brown patches in the black hair... I realize I will have to cut it off, but do you have any advice on what to do with it until it grows at least a few inches more so I can keep it up even when I cut off the burnt parts?

[Ravenwind]

I would start trimming them so they don't look TOO bad while they grow out. Maybe oiling/conditiong will help too?

[lesbia]

Maybe cut some layers on the damaged part? So you can put the rest of your hair up and cut off the damage

[Kiwiwi]

Oh, wow! That must've been a scary experience!
I'm glad you weren't seriously wounded in your face.

I would trim the damage off. Prevent it from damaging others hairs. And just use bobby pins or those flat clip things (I don't know the name of them) when you wear an updo and those strands fall out. It sucks but I think that's best. It'll grow back :-)

[Kaelee]

Do you have a really good, trusted hairdresser? If you do, I would go see her/him and ask what they recommend. (I have had my hairdresser "fix" my hair and literally said "well this is what I was going for, so...can you fix it? Whatever you think needs done..." and the angel that she is, fixed the really botched haircut I got from the other stylist.)

[Amber_Maiden]

I would definitely trim them!!!

[white.chocolate]

I'm sorry this had happened to you! My hair also got burned before and I know how they become. Unfortunately, I think you have to cut the burned hair off asap because they won't go well with your healthy hair. If not, try wrapping those burned hair in aluminum foil to keep them absolutely separate from the other strands. I'm hoping that method will work because that is the only way I can think of.

[lillikins]

Wow, that's scary. D: Glad your face is okay... that was really lucky.

Maybe just cut off a little bit at a time, until it grows out? And condition/oil it a lot, that might help hide it and make it less brittle.

[Sundial]

DH had a similar accident about 2 years ago and there was really nothing that can be done about those hair because they were in a really bad state - most of them crumbled when touched and those remaining were split, dry and of a lighter color.

You won't want the split parts to tangle the rest of your hair. I'd suggest a S&D on just those portion and since you mentioned it's the front portion, you could possibly pass then off as face framing layers even if you can't get them all in an updo. Step up on your moisturizing treatments for a while. I did S&D for DH and got him to use a bit of moisture treatment whenever he had time

[woolyleprechaun]

Im just so glad you were not seriously hurt! I would go for a S&D on the singed bits. Good luck! :)

[Melanie Marie]

Honestly, I think the best thing for your hair would be to get rid of the damage. You can always pin the hair back, or incorporate it into a braid along the front of your face. I usually do a medium-small Dutch lace braid , and it holds those uneven parts that never like to stay back in ponytails!

[tokitoki]

I would definitely trim it off right away, because I did this once (my ponytail dipped down over the gas burner as i was checking on soup) and 1. it smelled AWFUL. burnt hair = worst smell ever. 2. The pieces melted together! you can't even brush it! 3. I think if you are just leaving it so you can put it up.... it's going to be so brittle, I think it would just break anyway so its going to self trim itself, you might as well cut ALL the damage.
That's just what I would do! If it's too awful I'd go to a stylist and ask for advice, but I think maybe hair scarfs and wide fabric headbands could work to keep it up.

[barely.there]

that just sucks. when I was in highschool, I had really long bangs. was playing with a lighter, and up they went. sounds like its time for a new hairstyle.

[lapushka]

I'm glad you're okay. It could've been much worse! *hug*

I'd trim too, but first maybe try and wash/condition your hair so you get the burnt smell and odd looking patches out. This way you won't cut too much off. Maybe some of it will look better after a wash.

[SwordWomanRiona]

That's scary! I'm glad you're not badly hurt! I'm really sorry you singed your hair, but thankfully, hair grows again, so don't despair :grouphug:

I'd cut off all the damage asap, especially if the singed parts are very badly burnt. I can understand about you wanting to get an even cut, though, so maybe you could start trimming a little, a bit every time, and oiling/conditioning/other moisturizing treatment to try to maintain the remaining damaged parts as protected as possible until you trim them all off...If there are some parts that aren't as burnt as others, you could maybe just S&D and keep them well oiled...

While you're waiting to trim some singed parts off, you could braid them with some ribbon/scarves to keep them both protected and hidden.

Good luck!

[BrightEyes]

I'm so glad you weren't hurt.

I agree with everyone else, I'd trim off the damage.

[didrash]

Huh! I SWEAR I left a reply yesterday! Where did it go?
Anyway, I cut off the damaged parts. Some of them were very high up the hair, so I am left with some locks that are very short, above the ears. However, my hair is not even anyway, and the original plan was to get it to waist and keep it there for a couple of years until it evens out. When I put it up it does not show, so I suppose I'll stick to my plan, I will just not wear it down in public for quite a while, which is no biggie. Thanks for the advice, you were unanimous that I should bite the bullet and cut them off, so that is what I did :).

[caiti42]

Oh no that would be so upsetting! Just remember the most important thing is that you didn't burn your face!

[AnqeIicDemise]

I did something similar in July. (or was it June?) but it was with the grill. I basically oiled my ends and kept my hair up and out of the way for a month or two. I didn't see any splits on the singed ends.. they just looked, well.. singed.

Around September I cut bangs in to remove some of the damage and hide the really funky growth. It was sticking up all over the place, y'know? (My damage was done around the crown and right side of my head. Thankfully most of it was up or there'd been more!) The right side of my head is still a bit wonky and slightly uneven but the stuff on my bangs are gone.

Before you cut anything, give it a few days to assess the damage and see what you can to do disguise it.

[AnqeIicDemise]

Huh! I SWEAR I left a reply yesterday! Where did it go?
Anyway, I cut off the damaged parts. Some of them were very high up the hair, so I am left with some locks that are very short, above the ears. However, my hair is not even anyway, and the original plan was to get it to waist and keep it there for a couple of years until it evens out. When I put it up it does not show, so I suppose I'll stick to my plan, I will just not wear it down in public for quite a while, which is no biggie. Thanks for the advice, you were unanimous that I should bite the bullet and cut them off, so that is what I did :).



Well, that works too. I managed to hide most of the damage but when I wear my hair up I do get a bit of whispy action on the right side from where some of the hair just won't be pulled up into the 'do. I've been doing braided up dos to hide this.

I'm glad its working out for you. I simply refused to cut layers in. I'm trying to grow them out as is.