Newbie: My blonde locks are fried! (Pictures)

[SixStars]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to begin by introducing myself as SixStars or Charley. I am 18 and from London, UK. I found this site after searching google for some damaged hair advice- I used to have lucious long blonde hair: -

http://s1121.photobucket.com/albums/l511/charleychooo/?action=view&current=Picture0032.jpg

This was December 2010. I then dyed it red in January 2011: -

http://s1121.photobucket.com/albums/l511/charleychooo/?action=view&current=Picture0032.jpg#!oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F %2Fs1121.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl511%2Fcharley chooo%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D017.jpg

I kept it like this for some time. Around August 2011 I decided I wanted to go back blonde so started the process, but it failed so I ended up brunette for some time. Eventually I got bored of this as well so went even redder in a futile attempt to cover up the damage and add some 'fire' -

http://s1121.photobucket.com/albums/l511/charleychooo/?action=view&current=419977_10150507617636003_2112411491_n.jpg

As you can see, my hair already had to chop due to damage it had suffered.

Then, due to sheer naivety I tried to go blonde. Again. After three lots of bleach high-lights (done professionally) I finally achieved the goal. I don't have a picture of it looking okay- because it only looked reasonable for about one day. It is now a ginger (not a nice ginger!) mess. It is tangled constantly, feels like velcro at the ends and is a complete nightmare to live with.

It is currently just BSL when it used to be just past my elbows. I now need your lovely expertise to assist me in my next steps.

I have a hair cut booked for next week in which I plan to get lots of layers put in to get rid of these frayed and dry ends. Originally, I was planning on growing out my natural hair- but this is a dull, grey mousy brown which frankly suits no one. I was thinking of dying it black or dark brown- check out my virtual make-overs:

http://www.taaz.com/profile/makeovers/charbour.html#mode=mosaic&pg=0#mode=mosaic

This is to cover up the tri-tonal hair I am most certainly NOT rocking! If I could be happy with the colour I would leave it, but I am deeply unhappy and affected by it. It makes me look unhealthy and upset about my lost blonde locks.

Thanks for the help everyone :)

SixStars

[pepperminttea]

Your Taaz makeovers aren't public, so they don't show up for me. :(


As for "dull, grey mousy brown which frankly suits no one" - I've got to disagree with you on that one. :p Check out the Blonette thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=80416) - it's a beautiful colour, and can look absolutely stunning. Sometimes it's not what a person's looking at, it's the way they're looking at it.

[SixStars]

Oh I do appologise :p They should be public now!

Thanks very much. I will take a look :) Finally a word to describe my colour 'blondette' is perfect!

[Falcore]

Looking at your pics I must say I like the blonde and I can see your natural roots showing through that in my opinion they look beautiful. I was unable to view the virtual makeover but I think dark brown would suit your colouring as well.

I think you're going to have to really think about what colour you want your hair to be, as to stop repeating the hair dye abuse that is causing damage to your hair. There are the deposit only vegetable dyes that you can buy in dark brown/black that would not damage you hair further. The downside to that is that they don't last long.

As for the damage, sadly that is going to be have to be cut out. I have damage from bleaching and straightening my hair and I just trim often to slowly get rid of it. In the meantime baby the heck out of your hair with oilings, gentle finger combing and moisture treatments.

I cannot suggest anything for the cut. Maybe others on here will give their thoughts. Just be sure you and your hairdresser are on the same page with what you want to do.

Good luck on your hair journey :)

[palaeoqueen]

I honestly think your natural colour would look best but if you really don't want to do that then a light/mid brown, the dark brown and black are too harsh for your complexion (imo). It's your hair though and you have to be happy with your colour. Just make sure you stick with whatever you choose to avoid further damage.

[sarelis]

When I stripped permanent black dye, then highlighted, then had a botched bleach job that left my hair horribly over processed I used Aphogee 2 step protien treatment which totally saved my hair & I didn't lose any length. I bought mine from Amazon, it's a pretty hardcore treament though, follow the instructions to the letter & do a deep moisturising treatment afterwards if you decide to try it :)

[SixStars]

Thank you for all of your replies. :D

I think you are all right, I am perhaps being too over zealous with the dark hair dye- In my mind black would sort the issue (but we all know that is not the case!)

I think I will try and let my natural hair shine through and embrace being a 'blondette' as I have now discovered! :)

Discarding the fried ends won't be too difficult- but I'll post you a pic with the before and after result!

[palaeoqueen]

Good for you! You might want to check out thee threads:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51155

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=80416

[SixStars]

Thanks so much palaeoqueen :D I just had a look at the second thread about appreciating the blondette look. It has really inspired me to stick with my natural colour and enjoy / look after it.

It can be very beautiful. I fully take back my comment about it not suiting anyone, it looks great on those models. I guess all of this damage is what it took for me to find out that nature didn't intend me to have any other colour than the one which comes out hehe. We all have to start somewhere! :) (again!)

[momoftwo708]

I'm addicted to hair colour also but I really haven't dealt with bleach for long time now
As of now I use semi or non perm hair dye I had to dye my hair for my wedding so I had no choice but dying your hair a lot and using heat will break your hair
Also no trims will damange it even more
The dark hair looks good
Just baby it now get some coconut oil it has helped me a lot

[Rufflebutt]

To help tone down the ginger, you can try using purple shampoo or a toner to help balance out the orange shades.

But I would really take a good long break from dyeing hair for now. Before it gets even worse!

[SixStars]

I understand your addiction! I feel the same. As much as I want to (and boy, is it tempting!) I know the best way forward is to stick with the natural look due to my horrendous damage. I know it will be a hard struggle waiting at least two years for this to be repaired- but I have to pay the price for neglecting my hair for so long. Thanks, I like the dark too :D Perhaps after some babying in a few years time after I've tried au naturale I will see how it goes. :P

[SixStars]

Awesome I'll have a look on Amazon for purple shampoo. I have heard about this before, but I'm worried it will be too harsh. I've only been using conditioner on my locks when washing and using tiny amounts of shampoo on the virgin roots. Do you know anything about clarifying shampoos and whether I'd need one?

You're totally right. Embracing the blondette now!

[justgreen]

Purple shampoo is harsh so don't use it all the time, make two washes a month, and then lots of moisturizing conditoner afterwards.

[piffyanne]

Thanks so much palaeoqueen :D I just had a look at the second thread about appreciating the blondette look. It has really inspired me to stick with my natural colour and enjoy / look after it.

It can be very beautiful. I fully take back my comment about it not suiting anyone, it looks great on those models. I guess all of this damage is what it took for me to find out that nature didn't intend me to have any other colour than the one which comes out hehe. We all have to start somewhere! :) (again!)
My best friend wanted to dye my Blonette hair. I wasn't going to give in, but, to get her off my back, I dared her to find MY hair color in the dye aisles of any store she pleased. We went to Target, Walmart, Sally's Beauty Supply, etc., but EVERY swatch/box was missing my red tones, or the blondes, or the highlights, or the lowlights, and it kept going that way.

She likes my haircolor now, lol!:D

I don't need to dye, I've got all the colors on my head ALREADY!

[DinaAG]

may i say that you look great in all the cases? really i found that all the colors suited you in a great way, love your hair the way it is, pamper it and it will love you back even more :)

[pink.sara]

I second aphogee 2 step as being awesome for repairing bleached to hell locks. Its saved my hair many times.
Also joico k pak reconstructor with a moisturising conditioner after.

Always dilute any shampoo too it can really damage fragile hair.

And please don't go black!!! You change your mind on black and you will have to cut it all and begin again :( looking at your hair I don't think it will take being stripped/colour removed back to brown or blonde should you dislike black.

[Katze]

good advice so far.

I bleached my hair 'luscious blonde' for over two decades (started at 12, got off the bleach bandwagon at 33). Because my hair is fine, it never got long and was always damaged.

Of course I also had different haircolors in between so I know what it is like to go back and forth with different colors, and yes, it does fry your hair.

IMO natural or mostly natural looks best on most people. There is a weird prejudice against what I call 'hair-colored' or 'tawny' hair - that in between, ashy shade - and here in northern Europe three out of four women I see have some shade of light brown that they bleach to blonde, and it seldom looks good.

At the moment I have highlights (a one time thing!) in my light brown, gold/ashy/silver hair, and I like the way they brighten my aging face, but I do notice damage. From one salon visit, minimal bleach, yes.

At this point I would say leave your hair alone, do a lot of moisture treatments, and perhaps even consider going 'ombre' (aka two toned) and just grow it out?

[Vrindi]

My family always called my blondette hair boring and ugly, and always pressured me to dye it. Out of rebellion, I decided I loved my hair color and they could shut it. I think when most people give your natural color an unfavorable name, it's just because they've been trained to out of peer pressure, and not because they actually believe it. It might even be out of jealousy. Your natural color is beautiful.

It took me a year, but my hair is finally healthy and shiny after bleaching it and then dying over it to get rid of the horrible brassiness. I do have about 6 inches of roots where my natural color has grown in. I've just started lightening the roots with honey to make the color change less intense and give it more of an ombre look, because I didn't want to try to dye it again.

To get my hair back in shape, I did a few things. I stopped washing it every day. I already used SLS free shampoo, which was good. I mix a little bit of baking soda into my shampoo once a week to clarify my hair, because the water where I live has a LOT of minerals that weigh my fine hair down and make it dull. Coconut oil saved my hair. Regular micro-trims kept the ends in shape. Patience helped. If you can't stand the way it looks, find cool ways to wear it up. French braids and buns look really cool with multi-colored hair, imho. Wearing it up also means you can keep it oiled more and longer, which will help with the dryness and manageability. Good luck! It will grow out!

[Greenfire]

If you're growing out the colour and want to keep it long, I second the microtrims and not putting in layers, it's hard to do a lot of updos with layers, and you can hide the damage a lot easier in an updo, or just put it in a ponytail when you have to. If you layer it, and the damage keeps breaking up, you'll end up shorter than you like, and unable to do a lot with it till it grows.

About all I can do right now is a heidi braid in my crown and pin the hair under, the colour growing in looks cool, but if I wear it down, the damage makes it feel awful, so I wish I could pull it all back neatly, but I can't, cause I put in layers and need to pin them back.

Healthy, shiny hair that is natural, will look fantastic on you, if you treat it like the asset it is! I actually liked the darker makeover on you, but not to go black, but the tone of it, which I think will be the same tone as your natural and look beautiful!!

[akilina]

What color would you be happy with in the end? That is...what is realistic and working with the color you already have?
It seems trying to go blond at this point would be hell on your hair.

I would also suggest a protein treatment :) You might feel a lot better about your hair.
Lurking around here and reading threads will show you a TON of information on things you can do to help your hair out a bit :)

If there is something specific you are searching for- the search function here sometimes doesn't work for some...Maybe they dont know how to use it correctly???
...I never really have issues with the search on here..
But other than that, if you are looking for something specific you can search on Google or whatever you use something like "(topic of your choice) On the long hair community" A lot of the times you can find way more info using google than the search here.

[Alvrodul]

You have gotten a lot of good advice here already - I just want to add this article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79) to your reading list, so that you can understand your damaged hair.

[SixStars]

A huge thanks to each and every one of you who replied. :D Being a newbie I am overwhelmed by the kindness and time you guys have taken to help me!

I'm so excited for my roots to grow out so I can return to my natural colour- I have had highlights from an extremely young age, a 10th birthday present which didn't quite do me any favours.

Waiting for the years will be a challenge, but I'm planning on staying on this forum and keeping motivated to stick with this :p

Tried a mask on my hair today consisting of Banana, olive oil, avocado and Moroccan oil. It worked great (but the banana was SO hard to get out!) haha- think I'll skip that next time!

[SixStars]

Thanks for the article Alvrodul! I've heard great things about Nightshade's advice- haven't seen this one. Will take a look now :)

[jacqueline101]

I agree you've to baby your hair after coloring and doing heated appliances. I'm growing out a perm and got some high lights put in. I'm growing out layers on top of all of this. I'm using oils and monistat for my hair.

[Chanie]

I think the blonde looks the prettiest on you :)

[Chanie]

Im growing the bleach out now, i have been addicted to for over ten year, in mean time i will do som coloring closer to my own to hide the roots, like darker golden honey blond or so :) after bleaching protein treatments along with moistering teeatments works wonders for your fried hair :) good luck! :)

[alexis917]

I've been througth the fried and overdyed phase. There's nothing much to do but use some oils, dye your hair darker- if not to your natural color to avoid touching up the roots so often- and wait. It sounds annoying because it is, but it will be worth it, I promise!

[SixStars]

Brought some coconut oil today and it was gorgeous on my hair (and skin!)

I also agree with the babying my hair :) I am trying very hard to only use conditioner and oils on my hair at the minute - a little shampoo on the roots too.

Good luck to the rest of you with your hair journeys :D