Help! How do I get my hair back to how I love? **pics included**

[HowDoIhelp321]

First picture is how I loved my hair. I hadn't had it cut in years, I just used to trim the ends when I could be arsed and let it dry naturally.

Then it got too long and when I trimmed it, it never went back to this. A year of hating my hair and I decided to get it cut and balayage and ended up with this.

How do I get it back to how it was?

Please note, it isn't the colour the fudged it up, it was already fudged to begin with. The original photo is about 2 years old. That 'style' had grown out for sometime and no amount of trimming the ends would make it go back. It happened by accident and I don't know how to get back there!

Looks practically the same in both photos. Slightly nicer in second one.

I actually prefer the second picture.

It's pregnancy. My previously poker straight hair now looks like I crimp it after having two babies. It was always thick but even more so now.

There’s not much in it but I like the second photo so if you can’t go back it still looks good

Both pictures are pretty much the same.

I think the hair looks damaged in the second picture. Do you have split ends? I think you might need a good trim

What exact products do you use for shampoo, conditioning, deep conditioning, styling?

In the first pic your hair looks quite limp and flat. Lots more volume in the second but your hair also looks very fly away and damaged.

I would chop a couple of inches off, invest in a really good purple shampoo and colour care conditioner (Joico is good and readily available) and some sculpting/blow dry lotion. I used a sample of a dry oil that was really good but can't remember the name. Then try not to blow dry it or use any heat at all. And also maybe not wash it as much as that can be quite drying as well.

And stick to one set of products for at least 2 weeks to see the results over time.

My hair is quite processed, it's got a baylage on it and have foils and a root colour every 8 weeks but it's in pretty good condition because I look after it properly between visits. Normal shampoo isn't the best for bleached hair. I only use purple shampoo and now a silver conditioner as well once a week, and a joico masque thing usually twice a week. Only wash my hair every other day and that made a big difference.

My hairdresser imports products from Italy, everything from shampoo to colours and tints. She reckons they are much better than the products generally available in the UK. Obviously she is making a profit so is going to be positive about them. I switched from Joico (which is very good) to the ones she buys in and I don't think I would use anything else now.

I think it looks marginally better in the second photo too. It's been over- bleached but if you cut off the first few inches to nearer shoulders it would be lovely and the colour is softer further up. Those ripply Veronica Lake waves are very trendy.

In the first pic it looks too long and straggly with no shape or body to it.

I'm struggling to see a major difference either. The second looks a bit better to me. More body. It is a bit frizzy but that can happen with hair any day. Is it over processed with too harsh a bleach? Can't tell as it really doesn't look very different to the first picture.

When I first looked at the photos, I immediately thought your hair looked much better in the second one. Now I've skimmed though the thread, I can see lots of others have said the same. I much prefer the colour and it looks thicker. It looks fine in the first one too, but rather flat.

Your hair looks better in the second picture.

Why are you confused?

because the photos look so similar

Haha, the second one looks a but thicker but pretty much the same. Get it thinned out at hairdressers?

Pregnancy impacts your hormone levels. It impacts them for years to come I’m afraid. Some people it never goes back. Hormone wise. I say this as I work for an endocrine charity.

If you could. I would cut off all the colour and try again. The second photos it does look like it’s been over processed

But do listen to the above posters who say it’s hormone based for curly hair.

Do you have split ends? I think you might need a good trim
I'd just for it cut! That's my beef, I thought after a good cut and colour it would look better and it doesn't. ☹️

Thanks for the tips, I'm going to cut more off and just stick with what I usually do and add a fuck load more moisture.

My hair went pretty straight after pregnancy. It took a couple of years (I did breastfeed though) but went back to its original corkscrew curlyness eventually

I moved to Brighton a couple of years ago from an area with very soft water, & the hard water here made mine look like that. I now use no-sulphate shampoo & conditioner, which help a lot, and argan oil after drying.

Mine's always been very thick & my hairdresser thins it with a razor.

It could well be the pregnancy that has changed it, and you just need to find a new way of managing it. Good luck!

I think your hair looks nice, just a bit dry. My hair got drier after I was pregnant and then I had a bit of a bleaching mishap and completely frazzled it. It's much better now, and along with fairly regularly trimming, this is what I did/ do:

Coconut oil left in overnight and washed off the next morning. It's really thick and greasy, I wouldn't do this on a night if you had work in the morning or somewhere special to go. I don't do this much now that my hair has recovered from the bleach.

Knight and Wilson PurePlex Revolutionary Hair Repair System - I got this from Superdrug. Apparently it's a cheaper version of Olaplex which I've never tried but is meant to be great if you can afford it. If not, this stuff is good imo. The shampoo is like one of those clarifying shampoos so really takes everything out and therefore is a bit drying (which seems counter intuitive to me) but used with the whole system, it has really improved my hair. I genuinely thought I was going to have to shave my hair off until I used this for the first time. There are 4 steps to it, 1 - shampoo and rinse, 2 - put in this watery, liquid stuff for a couple of mins and rinse, then 3 - this creamy stuff, leave in for 15 mins and rinse again and then 4 - conditioner. I only really do this now if I bleach or dye my hair, not regularly.

I also use leave in/intensive conditioner every so often and put it in after a shower and leave it for 10 mins or longer if I can before rinsing. There are some that say they're specialised for bleached hair. I don't know how much difference they make compared to any old one but I currently have a Lee Stafford - bleach blonde hair treatment one, that seems quite good. I do this probably once a month on average.

As well as the above, I try not to shampoo my hair too often. Some times I rinse it with conditioner only and no shampoo. I also always put hair oil or serum through the ends after washing it.

I embraced the curly girl method properly.

Very pleased with the results!

I'm with most other people - I thnk the second pic hair is much nicer.

The first looks a bit lank and greasy to me and the second looks lovely and thick.

I think the second pic is nicer too. 😄

On amazon buy a little bottle of Moroccan oil for £11 , I think that will get the glossiness back you have to your hair in first picture.
I think it will be pregnancy that’s changed your hair, mine went very dry and lost lots of hair for a year or two.It also absorbed colour very differently.
In the second pic I think your blonde looks more brassy so I’m not sure if the colour was too yellow?

@HowDoIhelp321 hurrah. It looks lovely. Glad you’re feeling better about it x