next »

[KittyLost]

IT happens to all of us, getting bleach happy or leaving it on too long or using too high of volume for our poor delicate hair. We put our hair through hell and back to get our desired shade and usually the only option once we've overbleached is to cut off all the damage even though we don't want too. Here are just a few tips to save the cutting as a last resort to bleach damage. Please add some of your own remedies and tricks. A lot of these are just common sense.

First off a list of things NOT to do
- Stop Dying/Bleaching (Beeunique's Veggie Dyes Are The Exception To This Rule As They Are Moisturising)
- Avoid Heat Styling, Hairspray and Hot Water whilst washing
- Do not rub hair dry with a towel! Gently squeeze hair dry.
- Do not brush/comb hair whilst wet. Gently finger comb.
- Avoid bobbles with the metal connectors as they can pull hair.

How to treat bleach damaged hair
- Use a mild shampoo and wash as little as possible, let your hairs natural oils help heal your hair and add moisture.
- Only brush hair when it is dry, and start brushing downwards from the bottom slowly making your way further up your hair to avoid ripping hair out and to gently detangle hair.
- Use a clarifying shampoo briefly once a month, your hair will get product build-up from the conditioning treatments you are leaving on your hair and might start to feel worse than it actually is.
- Do get a trim at the hairdressers, talk to your stylist about it to trim off as little as possible just to stop splits travelling up the hair shaft and causing more damage.

Some recommended remedies
- Joico K-Pack Reconstruct and Intense Hydrator.
- Mayonaise
- Leave-in Conditioners
- Coconut/Jojoba/Olive/Maroccan Oil

[Pippachainsaw]

thanks for doing this kitty. i think there will be alot of this happening now everyone wants to get pretty for summer

[KittyLost]

Yeah, I've been sitting on it for a while and thought I'd put my bum into gear and just post it with the recent uprise in bleachings for a summer make-over.

[AStokes]

Wow thanks! This is really helpful! Basic haircare tips too? Awesome!

[Mathurine]

TIP:

Be careful how frequently you bleach! Straight bleaching should be done once a month at best. Bleach bathing is gentler but don't do this more than once a week because it is still damaging, just less so than ordinary bleach kits.

I say this because I've lost count of how many times in r/l and on this forum I've seen people say "I bleached my hair 3 times this week now it's fried!"

Bleaching opens the cuticles to your hair and it's very hard to get them back into shape so please be careful!

[pierat]

What I found worked best:

Aussie intense conditioner
NO straightening whatsoever
A hair cut does not always help
Don't keep running your fingers through it - it probably feels worse than it looks!
NO bleaching, not even the roots - if you have very dark roots and very light hair, dye the whole lot a medium colour, Directions reds work quite well

[elumencolor]

when doing the regrowth it's essential to use a brush to make sure that the bleach doesn't overlap onto the hair that's already been lightened. (it's best to have help from a friend, cause it's very hard to do yourself)
Bleach bathing and leave in blonding sprays cause more damage if used multiple times than lifting the hair to the right shade in one process (if done correctly without overlapping and overprocessing)

[KittyLost]

Great Advice everyone! Keep it coming

[elumencolor]

oh I forget, using great conditioners and deep conditioners is also very important. There are diffrent shampoos and products out there for diffrent shades of blonde with pigments in them to maintain the color

[DevilNeverCries]

It's also helpful to towel excess water from your hair not with an actual towel, but an old t-shirt.  This cuts down on the frizzing/breaking, I'm guessing because the t-shirt material will soak up water without sand-papering your hair like a textured towel would. 
I do this frequently and it works well! 

[FoxBot]

My bleached hair loves unrefined coconut oil.  It just soaks it up, it feels nicer, is less frizzy and shinier afterwords. It's awesome as a treatment and a frizz-ease product. You have to be careful about not using too much though.

I fried my hair once before it is not fun, I had to chop it all off mega short. Now I make sure to condition like crazy and be patient...all good things come in time heh

[hamstaoftragedy]

Ten years ago I deep fried my hair when I had it bleached at a hairdresser's from black to blonde-ish. It felt like wet cotton wool afterwards, and later I went to another hairdresser to have ~8" cut off, because it was completely impossible to comb or brush. It snapped immediately and it was really, really gross. Today I know that this hairdresser should have rejected and maybe should have found a less damaging way, but back then I knew close to nothing about hair care and believed that a hairdresser wouldn't do anything harmful...

However, the leftovers were smothered in silicone bombs like John Frieda's Frizz Ease, tons of different conditioners and oil spray, Swiss-O-Par Structor and Anatomic ampullae... which all were rather mediocre, to be honest. Yet I have to say that Lush's Jungle and American Cream weren't bad, my hair enjoyed them...

During the first weeks my only way to comb it (using a wide toothed comb) without everything snapping off was when it was wet. Dripping wet, not towel dry, just right out of the water. I gently combed it immediately after rinsing off the conditioner. This might sound like a major sin to some people, but it was indeed the only possibility to get it into some kind of shape...  Horrible days back then, trust me, kids!

[chemilyx]

Gah I wish I knew about all this when I managed to over-bleach a couple of years back great advice!

[amojamo]

I smothered my hair in mayonnaise last night, wrapped it in clingfilm and washed it out this morning. It feels amazing and is so manageable

[LeaBoo]

Oh i used to use mayo, forgot all about it! *off to the fridge* lol

[Pippachainsaw]

i saw you can buy actual 'hair mayo' the other day. didnt see the price, but i bet it aint as good as helmans

[SheWolf]

People mentioned not brushing your hair, but I personally need to brush mine smooth and straight rather than leave it all messy and then have to find someway of making it straight when it's dry - so probably some form of heat.
I use something called a Tangle Teezer, you can get them from boots etc, and I personally find it amazing. You gentley take it from the ends and work your way up gentley teasing the hair apart and for me hardly any hairs will get pulled out (normally the ones that are naturally ready to fall out as hair does). It's so good I can brush and manage my hair even after clarifying and no conditioner, and my hair is damaged. So I would recommend this to all ladies who have damaged their hair and are struggling to brush it 

[NaomiMetalface]

Kitty: I hope it's okay for me to post in your thread, but I didn't want to make a new one and thought it might fit in here quite well!

Okay, so you all know we have a "horror stories" thread about the things that can happen if you overbleach your hair - we talked about chemical burns and I thought it might be wise to compile the information from that thread and post it here, so people won't have to go through several pages on the other thread

What are chemical burns, and what is the cause for them?
A chemical burn is a burn caused by a strong chemical - in this case, it would be bleach. 40 vol bleach can definitely cause them, but if your scalp is sensitive, it could be caused by a lower volume as well - it can also happen if you leave the bleach on for a long time!
The signs for a chemical burn are itching, discoloration of the skin, a burning sensation or a cracked/bleeding scalp.

What will happen to my skin and hair if I get a chemical burn?
The skin on your scalp, as I said before, might be itchy or lighter in colour, it might also burn or sting a lot. If you have a more extreme case, your scalp could split, bleed or get infected, so you might have scabs or pus or blisters.
If you don't treat it correctly, you might get an infection or experience permanent damage. The chemicals could also enter your bloodstream.
You might also get scar tissue on your scalp, in this case, you will most likely end up with a bald patch because the hair can't grow on scar tissue. If your hair does grow out, it could grow out in a different colour or still be very damaged.

How can I cure it?
You should seek medical help immediately. Your doctor will most likely give you a burn ointment, and it's important to use it as much as your doctor says to do, because chemical burns can be worse and possibly more dangerous than actual burns!
You should obviously stay away from any form of bleach (straight bleaching, bleach bathing, permanent and most semi-permanent box dyes) for a long time, and don't use any other dyes or irritating products (e.g. hairspray) until it's healed.

How do I prevent it?
You should never bleach hair that is freshly washed - at least 2 days unwashed should be a minimum! Also, using coconut oil before a bleach will help protect your scalp.
Don't use a bleach that is too strong, don't overprocess your hair and never leave it on for more than the time stated on the package!

Also, you should make sure that your hairdresser (if you don't bleach your own hair) uses the correct volume and doesn't leave it on for too long - a hairdresser gave me a chemical burn once, and the same thing happened to other members on here!

But I don't want to scare anyone on here into never bleaching again - if you follow the correct method, you will be fine!

[KittyLost]

That's great niaomi!

[NaomiMetalface]

Okay, that's good then
I just hope it's understandable haha, since English is not my native language and most of the stuff in my post sounds kinda weird to me o.o

[Glitterpix]

Very good information, and excellent English Naomi

[NaomiMetalface]

Thank you
So I don't have to regret the fact that I chose English as one of the classes for my A-levels :')

[Aeryu]

Its great, hopefully the scare of bald spots is enough for most people not to do stupid s**t lol

[NaomiMetalface]

Thanks
Yeah, I hope it is - my mum is not happy at all with her bald spot, and she doesn't buy cheap hair dye anymore, so I guess it would scare people off!

[Intempestivity]

Thanks for that, Naomi!