Another hair post!!
A lot of people online and in person ask me why my hair hasn't fallen out yet.
The truth is, about 3/4 years ago, it did!!
The truth is, about 3/4 years ago, it did!!
Of course I didn't lose my hair completely, but it thinned out stupid amounts and was breaking left right and center.
It got to the point that I couldn't style my hair into curls, plaits or just up in a standard pony without looking like I was trying to hide bald patches and the fact that my hair was a range of different lengths drove me crazy and looked 100% horrendous.
In this situation I decided alternative coloured hair, as much as I loved it, just didn't agree with my hair type which as an end result led to me dying my hair black... but with me being a hair dye junkie, I soon turned back to lightening and re-colouring my hair more times than I can remember.
So, in the past, before discovering Scott Cornwall's Decolour Stripper, I used a heck of a lot of bleach to remove black hair dye from my hair. Within the space of 2 weeks, I had bleached my hair with a platinum blonde bleach kit 9 times. Yes 9!! And between dyes and to lighten my roots I would use additional bleach. My hair hated me!!
As you can imagine, my hair was ruined. When damp/wet it was the consistency of spaghetti and when dry it was like straw, full of split ends and generally very worn out looking.
I won't go into any detail about why bleach and heat damages and sometimes ruins your hair (probably because I'm not sure of all the science behind it anyway) but we all know it does.
Here is my hair repair bible;
1. If you are going to dye your hair, darker colours will condition your hair!! Avoid any permanent dyes that lift colour as this will damage you hair even further. If possible, use veggie dyes as they contain zero damaging chemicals and although you'll have to dye your hair more often, it'll be worth leaving out the extra damage and possibly causing your hair to give up!!
2. Intensive hair masks are a must!! I personally use Herbal Essences Bee Strong Intensive Mask. Intensive masks will say to leave them on for 15 minutes however the longer you leave them on, the better. I recommend smothering your hair in it and keeping it on over night (wrap head in cling film and cover pillows with an old towel).
3. Find yourself a leave in conditioner. Not only will this nourish and condition your hair throughout washes, but it also makes it super easy to comb your hair out after washing. When your hair is in a bad place, you will find that combing is a nightmare. There is nothing worse for your hair when its wet than to tug on it with a comb to get the knots out; you'll end up with breakage and a lot of hair being pulled out. I love Herbal Essences Bee Strong Leave In Conditioning Cream.
4. Moroccan Oil is your new best friend. Its amazing for injecting hydration and shine back into heat and bleach damaged hair.
5. A good shampoo and conditioner that contains protein is essential. I have found no other product that comes close to L'Oréal Paris Elvive Triple Resist Reinforcing Shampoo & Conditioner; cheap as chips and works wonders after just 1 wash.
6. If you need to remove any natural or artificial colours from your hair, do not use bleach. Instead use a colour remover/stripper which removes both natural and artificial colour from your hair without causing any damage. I would even recommend this over bleach for lightening your roots!! The best one I have found so far is Scott Cornwall's Decolour Stripper.
7. It goes without saying, avoid heat as much as possible. I have extremely frizzy hair that I HATE with a passion, however I have learnt to cope with straightening my hair after washing and then leaving 3-4 days before washing and straightening again. Learn new hair do's using YouTube tutorials and there are some great products out there for controlling and styling curly/frizzy hair. I love Schwarzkopf Got2b Beach Matt Texturizing Salt Spray to create matte beachy, windswept, waved hair.
8. Again, this goes without saying, avoid over washing the hair. By washing too often, you are cleaning away the natural oils that your hair needs to repair. If your hair is looking a bit greasy, either put it up to disguise the grease or grab yourself some dry shampoo.
9. Get regular hair cuts. Trimming off split ends every 3-4 months will ensure that your hair stays in as much of a good condition as can be. This will make sure split ends don't travel up the hair and cause split ends that can't be helped.
So, in the past, before discovering Scott Cornwall's Decolour Stripper, I used a heck of a lot of bleach to remove black hair dye from my hair. Within the space of 2 weeks, I had bleached my hair with a platinum blonde bleach kit 9 times. Yes 9!! And between dyes and to lighten my roots I would use additional bleach. My hair hated me!!
As you can imagine, my hair was ruined. When damp/wet it was the consistency of spaghetti and when dry it was like straw, full of split ends and generally very worn out looking.
I won't go into any detail about why bleach and heat damages and sometimes ruins your hair (probably because I'm not sure of all the science behind it anyway) but we all know it does.
Here is my hair repair bible;
1. If you are going to dye your hair, darker colours will condition your hair!! Avoid any permanent dyes that lift colour as this will damage you hair even further. If possible, use veggie dyes as they contain zero damaging chemicals and although you'll have to dye your hair more often, it'll be worth leaving out the extra damage and possibly causing your hair to give up!!
2. Intensive hair masks are a must!! I personally use Herbal Essences Bee Strong Intensive Mask. Intensive masks will say to leave them on for 15 minutes however the longer you leave them on, the better. I recommend smothering your hair in it and keeping it on over night (wrap head in cling film and cover pillows with an old towel).
3. Find yourself a leave in conditioner. Not only will this nourish and condition your hair throughout washes, but it also makes it super easy to comb your hair out after washing. When your hair is in a bad place, you will find that combing is a nightmare. There is nothing worse for your hair when its wet than to tug on it with a comb to get the knots out; you'll end up with breakage and a lot of hair being pulled out. I love Herbal Essences Bee Strong Leave In Conditioning Cream.
4. Moroccan Oil is your new best friend. Its amazing for injecting hydration and shine back into heat and bleach damaged hair.
5. A good shampoo and conditioner that contains protein is essential. I have found no other product that comes close to L'Oréal Paris Elvive Triple Resist Reinforcing Shampoo & Conditioner; cheap as chips and works wonders after just 1 wash.
6. If you need to remove any natural or artificial colours from your hair, do not use bleach. Instead use a colour remover/stripper which removes both natural and artificial colour from your hair without causing any damage. I would even recommend this over bleach for lightening your roots!! The best one I have found so far is Scott Cornwall's Decolour Stripper.
7. It goes without saying, avoid heat as much as possible. I have extremely frizzy hair that I HATE with a passion, however I have learnt to cope with straightening my hair after washing and then leaving 3-4 days before washing and straightening again. Learn new hair do's using YouTube tutorials and there are some great products out there for controlling and styling curly/frizzy hair. I love Schwarzkopf Got2b Beach Matt Texturizing Salt Spray to create matte beachy, windswept, waved hair.
8. Again, this goes without saying, avoid over washing the hair. By washing too often, you are cleaning away the natural oils that your hair needs to repair. If your hair is looking a bit greasy, either put it up to disguise the grease or grab yourself some dry shampoo.
9. Get regular hair cuts. Trimming off split ends every 3-4 months will ensure that your hair stays in as much of a good condition as can be. This will make sure split ends don't travel up the hair and cause split ends that can't be helped.
Comments
Post a Comment