Perpetual dirty hair on one side! :(

[Glamunition]

Hey there, everyone. I am at my wit's end! I have no idea what to do for this problem. I have hair a bit past my shoulders with side-swept bangs. I dye a lot, but only usually my bangs and roots with L'oreal Colour Rays in Red. For about a year or so now, I have been washing my hair only to find that the right side is dirty and sticky-feeling when it dries. It also looks dull and disgusting, compared to the left side of my hair which is soft and shiny. I have tried over 20 different shampoos, clarifying and normal, different styling products, conditioners, and what-have-you. I have even tried shampooing at others' houses to see if it was my water. Nothing works. Now, I am not the healthiest gal out there, but I am trying to change that. I am so disappointed that my hair does this. I have very low self-esteem when I just dry my hair and one side is pretty and the other seems filthy and oily. I also rinse FOREVER, and in both warm and cold to see if I could pinpoint the cause. I've asked so many hairstylists and none of them can give me an answer! What could be happening? I feel like crying or shaving my head.

 

[HairEgo]

Let me ask you...when your hair is wet - say after you get out of the shower before combing, does the hair on the right side feel sort of....mushy and gummy?

 

[Glamunition]

Yes! But not so much as when it's sopping wet, moreso when it starts to dry. I can lift a section of my hair up and it looks dull and disgusting. I also feel residue on my fingertips.

 

[HairEgo]

Okay - another question...the right side of your hair, was it put through excessive damage? Like maybe did you have an incident with bleach or over colouring it? I think I know the problem, but I need to know the history of the hair first...

 

[Glamunition]

Not that I know of. Maybe the bleach with Colour Rays has done it somehow? I have typically refreshed it every 3 months or so. And now it looks all sorts of different colors. I haven't had a significant issue though. I don't wash it too often.

 

[HairEgo]

Unfortunetly when the hair reaches the 'mushy' and 'gummy' phase, the structural integrity of the hair shaft has been greatly comprimised.The hair tries to hold on to anything you put onto it becuase its highly porous. As a stylist, the only thing I can reccomend based on what you described and what I believe the problem to be - is to cut off the damaged portions. I realize that you say only the right side of the hair has the issue, but unfortunetly, its going to mean a good hair cut for your hair.

 

[Glamunition]

Well, I shampooed my hair again today and I don't think mushy or gummy is the best way to put it. It feels more as though there is an overabundance of grease. It feels like I have put way too much conditioner in and didn't rinse it out all the way, even if I didn't use any and rinsed all the shampoo out of my hair. The left side looks shiny and clean as it dries, while the right side looks wet and stringy.

The peculiar thing is when I had a stylist wash it, it got very clean and bouncy and shiny. That is why I don't understand what's going on.

EDIT: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7185030AAOXszp I found this person who seems to be having a similar problem, but I have tried different shampoos. Wouldn't vinegar strip the color in my hair? I could try baking soda?

Also, this http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=461528 sounds a lot like my problem too.

PS - Thanks a lot for your help and suggestions.

 

[StereoXGirl]

You may have to end up cutting off the damage like HairEgo said.

Do you sleep on the right side? Is it possible that it feels more greasy because of that? I know putting your hair up when it's wet can cause damage, so maybe the pillowcase is causing damage to your hair by the way you're sleeping? If it's at all a possibility, I'd suggest getting a silk or satin pillowcase and washing it (the pillowcase) frequently to prevent any possible damage. That may have nothing to do with your damage, but it's the only thing I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned.

 

[emily_3383]

Why not stop dying?

 

[Orangeeyecrayon]

even though she is saying mushy and gummy, to the average person that is not what it will feel like when it is damaged (thought it is a good way of thinking of it, just those may not be the first words that come to mind)

imagine if you took a spool of thread and unwound it, than tangled it into a big mass than wet it. that is pretty much what gummy and mushy broken hair feels like. Even though you say it feels like it is greasy, that is proboably not the main problem if clarifying shampoos are not helping.

odds are if your hair is this bad, that side seems a little frizzy even though it is super oily (which is hapening cause your hair is trying to heal it's self) odds are it is severly damaged, and you may have a patch like that on the other side but if you wear a side part you may not be seeing it. Or if you put the dye on the right side first it could be damaging your hair more on that one side.

any way, you are pretty much going to have to chop it off, once it gets to that stage it takes a miracle to repair.

If you are not posative that this pertains to you though i would go to a hair dresser (it is a lot easier to figure out what is wrong when you can see and touch the hair). they will also be able what you need to do to ix your hair situation

 

[Karren]

I've never heard os such a thing but I only color my hair every few months and never bleech it at all.. The little hair I have left.. I'd say Gina's (HairEgo) the expert and go with he suggestions!

 

[Glamunition]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate it! As a last-ditch effort I had my mom wash my hair yesterday with a shampoo I hadn't tried - Head and Shoulders for Thin/Oily hair, and then she suggested using a VO5 Hair Therapy cream or something on it, she used a cap and left it on, then she rinsed it, and my hair was clean all over! So now I'm thinking it was the cream, the shampoo, or the fact that someone else rinsed my hair and was able to get it all out. Maybe that was the problem all along! Either way, I really am grateful for the suggestions and if it continues I will see about getting rid of the damaged hair.

 

[HairEgo]

Glad to hear that your issue has subsided