My hair is damaged from years of straightening and dyeing it.

[Meola]

Alright, well, for the past couple years I've been straightening my hair with a flat-iron every day (and a majority of that was done without a heat protectant, as I did not know such things were needed or even existed!) and for the past year, dyeing it with a DIY box dye every month.

Needless to say, it's gotten so damaged, I can hardly deal with it. It's just unmanagable--dry, frizzy, and it feels almost like paper! I feel like shaving it off and just starting all over. Although I dislike my natural color (very light brown, almost a blonde), I decided I would try to get it back to that so I wouldn't have to dye it anymore, and thus avoid some level of damage. But that didn't work and Color Zap gave me a reddish color, which I actually quite like and want to keep, but on the other hand it also made it a lot more damaged than it was before!

I've done quite a bit of research and talked to a lot of people about how I'm supposed to get my hair soft and healthy again. But the problem is that the products they recommend me (such as Argan oil, this shampoo or that conditioner, leave-in conditioners) while they may make my hair soft, only last until they're washed out! They are temporary solutions, not actually restoring the keratin in my hair, but instead coating the outside and the soft texture I am feeling is not my hair but the products. 

So what exactly am I to do? What will actually restore the lost proteins in my hair? I don't want something I have to apply every day or every time I wash it, or else it will go back to being dry and damaged. Well, I'm not asking for a one-time treatment either, I'm okay with products that I may have to use for a while but I'm saying they should be long term-solutions not "every day for the rest of your life" sort of things. A lot of the protein treatments I've seen use chemicals and it's not actually restoring your hair, it makes it soft but your hair is not actually healthy--I don't want that either. 

So has anyone in the same spot as I am found a viable solution? Or is my only choice really just to grow out my hair and cut the damaged part off? I don't want that, I'm trying to grow it long... /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> help, please?

 

[Ivansmom]

Hey there - I've done everything you have...plus I have a chronic illness so every once in a while when I take a different medication my hair starts falling out. 

One thing I can recommend is taking a Biotin supplement.  Some people swear by Viviscal.  I personally like the Andrew Lessman Healthy Hair Skin and Nails that they sell on HSN better.  It took about 3 months to get a really good result with stronger and more hair.  Bonus, my nails don't split anymore.  But the big thing is my hair has really gotten stronger even after all the abuse.  Even my hairdresser noticed.  He used to swear by Viviscal and he's switched to the Andrew Lessman.  It goes on special every couple of months on HSN with free shipping. 

I also like using hair repair masks. I like the Amika, I got that in a Birchbox sample and that was nice.  I really like Carol's Daughter Monoi Hair Repair Mask, too.  I'm still searching for the holy grail product here...but I'm sure you'll find yours. 

Argan oil helps some.  When you are mixing your box color - you can add some argan oil to the mix and it seems to not fry your hair as much.  About a teaspoon of argan oil when you're shaking up the bottle seems to do the trick.  I found a 1.7 oz bottle from Nuka Beauty.  It's the exact same thing as the Josie Maran and it was $30 less. 

I'm sure a lot of others will have some good suggestions too.  Good luck!

 

[Meola]

I have been taking biotin every day for the past couple of months and I have noticed a change in my hair, but not the hair that's already grown out--in the hair just coming in. So at the top my hair is very soft and growing a little faster than it did before, but it does nothing for my already fried and damaged hair. I will switch to the HSN biotin you mentioned though, perhaps that will do something for me!

I don't plan to keep dying my hair, even if the argan oil will keep it from being too damaged, I just want to nurse it back to health then get it bleached and dyed to my natural color, and leave it. But I will try some of those repair masks, thanks a bunch!

 

[KateMoore]

Shaving it off might be the best solution and the safest. If you keep taking Biotin, your hair will be really healthy and soft, although it won't be so nice going out in public with a bald head. I know women like you that tried EVERYTHING and didn't do any better. They ended up shaving their hair and now I'm really jealous because they look so beautiful.
 

 

[imonabhaute]

Originally Posted by Meola /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Alright, well, for the past couple years I've been straightening my hair with a flat-iron every day (and a majority of that was done without a heat protectant, as I did not know such things were needed or even existed!) and for the past year, dyeing it with a DIY box dye every month.

Needless to say, it's gotten so damaged, I can hardly deal with it. It's just unmanagable--dry, frizzy, and it feels almost like paper! I feel like shaving it off and just starting all over. Although I dislike my natural color (very light brown, almost a blonde), I decided I would try to get it back to that so I wouldn't have to dye it anymore, and thus avoid some level of damage. But that didn't work and Color Zap gave me a reddish color, which I actually quite like and want to keep, but on the other hand it also made it a lot more damaged than it was before!

I've done quite a bit of research and talked to a lot of people about how I'm supposed to get my hair soft and healthy again. But the problem is that the products they recommend me (such as Argan oil, this shampoo or that conditioner, leave-in conditioners) while they may make my hair soft, only last until they're washed out! They are temporary solutions, not actually restoring the keratin in my hair, but instead coating the outside and the soft texture I am feeling is not my hair but the products. 

So what exactly am I to do? What will actually restore the lost proteins in my hair? I don't want something I have to apply every day or every time I wash it, or else it will go back to being dry and damaged. Well, I'm not asking for a one-time treatment either, I'm okay with products that I may have to use for a while but I'm saying they should be long term-solutions not "every day for the rest of your life" sort of things. A lot of the protein treatments I've seen use chemicals and it's not actually restoring your hair, it makes it soft but your hair is not actually healthy--I don't want that either. 

So has anyone in the same spot as I am found a viable solution? Or is my only choice really just to grow out my hair and cut the damaged part off? I don't want that, I'm trying to grow it long... /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> help, please?

I have hair down to what I would call "The Tramp Stamp Zone" (i know its a stupid wayto refer to those tattoos, but everyone knows where I mean when I use that analogy).  The way to get the hair to grow long and healthy for me is:

1) No dying EVER

2) Blow dry or Straighten, not both, and if you can avoid heat altogether, better yet

3) Use a quality heat protectant if you do use heat on your hair

4) Try to reduce how often you shampoo; even gentle shampoos are best if used less often; stretch out wash intervals.  I wash about every 4 days (my hair, I shower daily lol)

5) Use quality shampoos that are minimally stripping, and preferably without Sodium Laureth Sulfate or Sodium Laurel Sulfate (a foaming agent).

6) Use a good conditioner; there is debate about conditioners with silicone in it (ingredients ending in "cone" or "siloxane"), and I am in the camp that silicone is nice and makes your hair shiny, but it isnt a conditioning agent.  I use a conditioner that is cone free and I use a leave in afterword that has silicone in it for shine.

7) NO DYING

8) Treat hair like fine lace.  Hair is dead the minute you see it, so the general goal with hair is to preserve it.  A lot of products claiming a lot of miraculous things are just masking the damage, not repairing, just hopefully changing appearance of damaged hair.

Also, there are plenty of deep conditioning remedies out there, like olive oil, argan oil, etc.  They can help maintain hair and make them feel great.  Nothing wrong with them, but like you said, they don't fix whats broke.

I am in the camp that I believe that you should grow your hair out, while minimizing the damage you inflict on the new, and using products to help hide the damage on the old and slowly cut out all the damaged hair.

 

[LoveCelebHair]

Argan Oil made all the difference for me! Love it! I use the moisturizing product at least once a week. I also use Pantene Beautiful Lengths which is amazing! 

 

[dwamk]

you can try with minoxidil,but first get advice from doctor.

 

[Olga Ok]

Hair is essentially "dead protein" and once it's damaged , the follicle won't go back to normal. So I don't think u can permanently recover that damaged hair. I myself struggled to deal with my blonde hair when I'm naturally brunette. The best things is to chop it off and start over . This way the damage won't interfere with the growth of new hair when it gets tangled and hard to brush. One thing I would recommend to try to put back some health into damaged hair is to use henna. Use it only if you know for sure that you won't clot again because henna and hair color do not mix.

 

[ninahamiche]

I'm actually going through the same thing right now, damaged super frizzy hair. I have tried soo many different products but I found that suave humectant moisture helped a lot with the frizz and making my hair softer, I would also recommend buying a tub of cholestorol and following with a moisturizing conditioner, start out with once a week then do it once every two to three weeks. But if that doesn't work you're gonna have to cut it

 

[chladnis]

I just went through the same thing. Nothing could save my hair after bleaching it (I colored it pink/purple/blue/greed) and a botched de frizz treatment. I spent about 6 months growing it out and trying to fix the damage. One day I got sick of staring at the mess and cut it all off. Now I have a cute pixie cut and can start fresh. It was a better decision than trying to grow it out and being stuck with the damaged hair.

There is a point of no return for hair, if you are at that point the only option is to grow, cut, and repeat until the damaged hair is gone.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution.