Help me fix my hair

July 10, 2006 5:53 PM

HaircareFilter: I just had my hair bleached and dyed. It was in pretty good condition to start with, but now it's somewhat dry and tangles more easily.

I have gentle, color safe conditioner and shampoo and a deep hydrating hair masque. What else can/should I use to get my hair back to it's natural luster and softness? Any other tips for someone with recently bleached hair? (for example: is my hair going to fall out if I brush it when it's wet?)

posted by blueskiesinside to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

In my hair-dyeing experience, any color treatment damages the hair somewhat, no matter how "moisturizing" the formula. This happens to my hair EVERY time I dye it. I haven't found any other way than using good moisturizer and deep conditioning treatments. The absolute best conditioner I have found for this is in the Nice & Easy home coloring kits. Given that the kits only cost like $4-5, it may actually be worth forking out that much for that conditioner alone. Seriously. Perhaps others have found something that works that well in a bottle size, but if not, try it. I think it works pretty damn well, and I have invested in some of the more expensive "deep conditioners" that haven't measured up to good old Nice & Easy conditioner tube. As for brushing when it's wet, as far as I know, that's supposed to be a no-no pretty much ALL the time. If it's not seriously seriously damaged (as in like straw with frayed ends) I don't think you'd brush yourself bald or anything. Just don't apply any other serious processes (say, a chemical straightener or something) until the dye grows out.
posted by theantikitty at 6:02 PM on July 10, 2006

PS: It does get better -- just not back to 100%. You'll notice significantly less tangling/dryness in a few weeks.
posted by theantikitty at 6:02 PM on July 10, 2006

I had my hair bleached in March. Almost 2ft, took 2 tries and 4 hours to go from black to platinum.

It will stretch and break if you try to brush it with anything but a wide toothed comb while wet. I towel dry it as much as possible then spray in Dove's leave-in mist, then comb it. I really do recommend their shampoo/conditioner for color treatment. Avoid hot oil treatments though; I've found they don't do much except make your hair feel gummy.

Stay away from the hair dryer.

If your hair is long in a few months you'll have to get a few inches lopped off the bottom. Since you'll have to air dry it as much as possible, the ends will knot.
posted by pieoverdone at 6:28 PM on July 10, 2006

Bleaching strips the hair and will always leave it dry, although by using another colour on top it should give it a kind of coating.

Definitely keep up with the hair masque, and as pleoverdone suggested a leave-in type of product might help with the tangles. If you find your hair feels greasy then try to avoid the scalp and just apply it to the ends. It will take a while for your natural oils to get back to work again.

The long hair site has some tips about using oil as a deep conditioning treatment, olive oil is also pretty good. And don't forget about beer.
posted by gomichild at 7:12 PM on July 10, 2006

I had long, bleached hair for about a year and suffered the same problems. Here is what I learned:
Moisturizing everything- shampoo, conditioner, styling product.
This conditioner is worth every penny you pay for it. Works wonders.

I would condition for at least 5 minutes every time I washed my hair for the first few weeks, followed by a wide-toothed comb when wet. I would also add a protectant like Rusk's Wired before blow drying.
posted by haplesschild at 7:26 PM on July 10, 2006

Don't wash your hair with shampoo more than 3 times a week. Other days, wet it, use conditioner only. I have dry, curly hair, and reducing my shampoos from daily to only 2-3x/week has been the best thing I've done for my hair.
posted by saffron at 8:28 PM on July 10, 2006

If your hair is really long and the ends are the worst of it, consider having a tiny bit trimmed off (an inch or less.)

My advise: Use some sort of special treatment about once a week until your hair feels more normal. I've used uncolored henna treatments, pantene, hot oil, even brylcream (a guy I know said the best thing he found was to use an entire tube of the stuff, let it dry, then rinse it out. It really does put something into your hair.). Also look into leave-in conditioners. Try new things until you find what works for ~your~ hair.

I don't know what your natural color is, nor what color you were aiming for, but the dual process of bleaching your hair completely out and then adding color to it is pretty harsh. In the future if you can avoid the bleaching part of it, your hair will thank you for it. (on a couple of occasions I stripped blue-black off my hair, and it really toasted the hair. One splotch still won't hold any color for more than a month, no matter what I do to it.)
posted by Meep! Eek! at 8:35 PM on July 10, 2006

Do you blow dry or use other heating tools? Make sure you are using some kind of protecting product before using heat (and inbetween tools if you use multiple kinds). I like Mane n Tail Barrier, which doesn't have any added scent or color and makes my hair feel very silky (I bought it at Sally).
posted by radioamy at 11:21 PM on July 10, 2006