Feeling very frustrated with my hair!

[zahraomer05]

Currently I'm obsessed with my hair. I hate it. It's so short and its giving me depression. I don't know but I just want to chop it all off to get rid of the damage. But if I do that I will be left with nothing but a pixie. And at this moment i don't think i have the patience to grow it long again. Feeling so frustrated. It's so porous and damaged. Takes ages to dry naturally and is breaking off. The last hair dresser i went to used too much bleach and let it stay on for too long. What should i do?

[elfynity]

I also went to a hairdresser and in less than an hour, 4 years of growth down to MBL was damaged irreversibly, and I had to get my hair chopped back to APL. It didn't bother me then because I wasn't thinking about hair growth in 2016, but it bothers me now when I think how far along I could have been.

We all make mistakes that we regret and that is how we learn and figure out what we want with our hair. If it was my hair, I would do a trim, just cut off the worst ends, maybe an inch or two and do a good moisturizing treatment and start looking after my hair from this moment forward. You will be surprised how quickly a year goes by and how much length you can have in that time!

I would (and did) trim the damage out while gaining length. Even if your hair is damaged, there is a good chance that you can baby it, and microtrim while the healthy hair is growing out and it will still grow.

Also, look at this as your year goal, by next year you could be 5 inches longer than you are now, and in two years, 10 inches.

[milosmomma]

I agree that you most likely dont need to chop. I would check out the two week rule thread for this one. Dont make any snap decisions right now, you mentioned it's making you depressed and I know personally that emotional decisions usually come with regret.
I think you should take a deep breath and remember that your hair is growing as we speak(read) and this is a temporary situation. Look into some deep treatments for now, when my hair was bleached it like ones with protein. Try a deep conditioner every wash and maybe spoil yourself with a new hair toy. Your hair will grow "faster" if you forget about for a bit. And keeping it up will also protect your ends and preserve length. It's going to be ok and you are going to get there

[maborosi]

You don't necessarily have to do a big chop if you don't want to.
That being said, it is VERY important to keep an eye out for split ends, because they can travel up the hairshaft and mess up your hair.
Get yourself a good pair of haircutting scissors, and remove any split ends to start, then you can re-assess your hair from there.

It will be very important to baby your hair- I second the suggestion to find a protein treatment- that will definitely help you after a bleaching session. Follow it up with a good deep conditioner (I'd use a deep conditioner each wash if I were in that situation). Find an oil that works well with your hair, and it your hair is not quite long enough to put up in protective styles yet, that's OK. You can still do other things to protect it, like wear a silk/satin sleeping cap to bed, and avoiding heat, hairspray, and chemical hair dyes.

Don't fret. Hair grows back. If it gives you any hope, I cut my WL hair back to a chin-length bob after it had accured too much damage, and I was able to grow knee-length hair at its longest. It just takes patience and gentle care, and the LHC is a nice, supportive place you can come talk about your hair with others who've been there! Hope that helps!

[zahraomer05]

Thank u all so much. I'm feeling better today and thinking to invest in good hair scissors so that I can trim my hair myself. I'm feeling really grateful and thank ful for your support because I now know that someone really understands my frustration. Thank u thank u thank u so muchhh 🤗🤗🤗

[milosmomma]

No problem, we are happy to help! In addition to or instead of a silky scarf or sleep cap, I find a cheap silky pillow case(from dollar store) is a great compromise and protects while sleeping. I used to wear scarves alot but have gotten lazy lately and feel just as protected using just the pillow case.