Aibu to ask what helped repair your damaged hair?I'm devastated

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

My hairdresser just told me I have to have it cut into a pixie style as it is too damaged to do anything with.

I know I've abused it with dye and styling over the years. But I really couldnt have a pixie cut, I've got an ugly birthmark on my scalp, and a large face and large features.

In the past I've managed to get it a bit better with pregnancy pills, hemp oil and eating loads of almonds. I'll start that again. Anything else anyone has had success with?

[Icanseewhyichangednyusername]

@IndieRo

My hair fell out after I had surgery. I went from having beautiful thick long blonde hair to a copper bob. My hairdresser recommended a supplement called Head High and it was amazing. I got a month's supply and the difference was unreal. I recommend it to everyone.

Where did you get the high head supplements please? Sorry to hear your hair fell out..... how upsetting for you and it must have been such a relief for it to grow back!

[IndieRo]

My hair fell out after I had surgery. I went from having beautiful thick long blonde hair to a copper bob. My hairdresser recommended a supplement called Head High and it was amazing. I got a month's supply and the difference was unreal. I recommend it to everyone.

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

Coconut oil never seemed to do any good when I did try it.
Hairdresser gave me some henna conditioner which I have been leaving on overnight.
I have ordered some biotin
I haven't used any shampoo since I began this thread.
I'm using a faux silk pillowcase (I forget what the fabric is called but I don't agree with real silk)(

Frappuccino The photo shows afer the hairdresser chopped it to a length I could deal with.

The hairdresser told me they wouldnt apply any colour whatseover-even darker, as my hair was too damaged.

I have had microrings before but not for a good few years now. Maybe in the future.

Thank you again for all the help. I am glad others are using this thread to gain advice too :)

[IncandescentSilver]

Disappointed by the pixie cut advice. Anyway, too late now.

I take a collagen drink daily and I have dark hair dyed very light blond plus hair extensions and have done for years. The keratin heat bond hair extensions were damaging my hair so I changed a year ago to micro ring and my own hair is now long again. It's really growing well. I just got the split ends cut which is possible with hair extensions.

I don't dry it but I do straighten it a lot and it's dyed every 6 weeks with 9%. I'd say I have fine hair. I did go to one of those old fashioned hairdressers once who for unknown reasons said I wouldn't suit hair extensions.

At this rate, I won't need hair extensions at all soon as my own hair is getting so long and is reasonably thick. Micro rings are much better than keratin bonds and nano rings for letting your own hair grow by not damagaing it. You might want to try them if you get fed up with the ubiquitous pixie cut thats been foisted upon you!

[BlueThistles]

OP your hair is not a write off.. Olaplex is great 🌺

[DBML]

Milkshake hair products are good for adding moisture back to the hair. It won’t fix the damage, but it might make it feel and look at bit better.

[DBML]

Not quite the same op, but I burned a section of my hair with my straighteners (I was telling my son off and forgot I was holding them on my hair).
Anyway, that (luckily) small section was quite fried.

I did try Olaplex, 3,4,5 and 6 - hated it. It made loads of my hair fall out! So I stopped that and began leaving deep conditioning treatments on my hair overnight, or at home all day when in. I also began using a heat protection spray when styling.

For your hair I would suggest:

1. Go a bit darker - darker hair (when damaged) always looks healthier.
   
2. Spoil it with deep conditioning treatments often.
   
3. Try Olaplex by all means, but get the sample size kit to begin with (£26 for the set) as you may find it’s not as good as it’s being made out to be. It’s not for everyone at least.
   
4. Buy a silk pillowcase to sleep on. This will minimise breakage.
   
5. Try not to heat style for a while or blow dry gently with cool air.
   
6. Have frequent trims for a while.
   
7. Do not keep bleaching your hair. You can’t bleach it better.
   

Good luck. Hair is our protective blanket isn’t it. Boosts our confidence. Luckily for us, it does grow back.

[Nat6999]

Olaplex, Philip Kingsley Elasticizer if you have a lot of money, Joico for a mid priced alternative, Osis moisturising treatment if you are on a tight budget. The Osis one if you are wanting to keep your blonde can be mixed with the same brand silver shampoo & applied with a tinting brush, leave on for as long as you can or put clingfilm or a shower cap on, towel on your pillow & leave overnight, rinse next morning & dry. Use heat protector, before blow drying on the lowest heat ( put hair in one of those turban towels for 20-30 minutes to soak up as much water as possible) apply argan oil for last 5 minutes of drying & a tiny bit to the ends when you have finished to smooth flyaways & the ends, use a shine spray to give the impression of healthy hair. Just have a blunt cut for as much as possible, keep having it cut to the same length & the ends off the bits that aren't as long until they catch up with the blunt cut, have it cut every 4-6 weeks without fail. Mine was a chin length bob 3 years ago, I haven't been able to get to the hairdressers to get it coloured due to illness for about 2 years & haven't had it cut for 18 months, it is now boob length. Try & get it cut before we go in to lockdown on Thursday & get your treatment bought, apply at least twice a week, use a good quality moisturising shampoo & conditioner if you wash it more than twice a week. TK Maxx sell salon size bottles & often have Moroccan Oil products which are excellent, don't brush when wet, use a wide tooth comb, don't rub dry, blot it instead. If you take care during lockdown (don't believe anyone who says it will only be a month) by next spring it will be in good condition & will have grown probably 3 inches. Just be careful if you have it coloured again, in the meantime just have semi permanent colour that isn't as harsh to cover up your roots. I've wrecked my hair before, I used to have it bleached & permed for many years but it isn't in bad condition now as I have learned sense. Use hairbands, clips & fancy grips to give yourself different looks or even velcro rollers to add body if you want to avoid blow drying.

[PurpleDaisies]

I only use the olaplex no 3. That’s a weekly treatment. I thought the shampoo and conditioner weren’t better than what I was using already and they cost significant more. Just using number 3 has been enough for a big difference to my hair.

[GrumpyHoonMain]

The best thing for me has been a cheap shea butter curl cream and following a strict fortnightly routine of only washing the roots with shampoo and only conditioning the ends with conditioner. In between washes I apply the cream with my fingers to detangle - I don’t use brushes / straighteners or bleach my hair

[CottonSock]

I've used olaplex and system professional liquid hair and elastic force.

[tinkerbellla]

This happens to me as I abuse my hair with colour but it's shit anyway. I have some extensions for volume but even the best, lightest ones will impact your hair.

I've used lot's of Kerastase products and the green ones are very good, particularly the serum. I've been using Philip Kingsley Elasticiser for the last six weeks and it actually works. My hair is definitely smoother and less frazzled.

[elfin79]

Olaplex recommendation here too!

I have never been able to change my hair colour - it would just turn to hay and break. I've been dying it red for over a year now and using Olaplex, it's actually healthy.

It's a whole system - 3 is a bond strengthener that you use before washing your hair, 4 & 5 are shampoo and conditioner, 6 is a heat treatment protection (a bit like a leave-in conditioner) and 7 is an oil.

I only wash my hair twice a week now which has also really helped with not letting it get so dry it breaks...

[timeforawine]

Thanks @FrappuccinoFan will they stay in or keep falling out when walking?

[harridan50]

Fibreforce shampoo and hairmask

[FrappuccinoFan]

OP I’m sorry to say this but I think you should get a toner on your hair and darken your colour that way. The blonde is completely unsustainable now.

Is the hair around the front of your face a choppy fringe or did it simply break off? If it’s breakage, definitely get a proper fringe cut in to style it out. If a fringe isn’t your thing, just clip it back, as regardless hair with broken/split ends will not grow out nicely and will just continue to snap off.

[FrappuccinoFan]

@timeforawine silk hair ties are what you’re after!

@GabriellaMontez hair thinning and snapping off are two different things - which one is it for you? It snaps off due to the condition, but many things can cause your hair to fall out. Vitamin d won’t stop damaged hair from snapping off.

[timeforawine]

Sorry to hijack OP, to the hairdressers on here, what do you suggest for tying hair up? Mine is bleached and straightened, it's in decent condition at the moment as i have the wellaplex salon treatment every couple of months and use olaplex 6 at home, i also take hair supplements and biotin supplements, for shampoo and conditioner i use L'oreal Elvive Full Resist Reinforcing Fragile Hair Shampoo.
The problem is the underside around the nape of my neck is snapping. I usually wear an elasticated hair bobble and my hairdresser says that's making the breakage worse and suggested a bulldog clip, started using that but it's giving me a headache. I also tried those rubber curled bobbles that look like old phone cables but they pulled my hair.
Any hair tie suggestions welcome!

[LittleGwyneth]

Having now seen the photos, I think you need to work on getting it healthy and letting it grow. You can't do anything about the massive breakage (apart from never dying your hair at home again and only having blonde colour done by a professional).

In the short term I would suggest learning to plait the short bits into the rest of your hair (gently) which will look pretty and much more put together, but shouldn't damage the hair any further.

[ivftake1]

@LittleGwyneth

Olaplex
Olaplex
Olaplex
Olaplex

Nothing involving coconut oil. Nothing involving sillicon. Nothing that costs £4.99 from Boots. Either a proper rebuilding treatment in a salon, or Olaplex.

Agree about the silicone and coconut but there are some really good products available for £4.99. Thinking there isn't is just snobby.

Garnier hair food have fantastic moisture masks for about £3. Protein treatments will cost more money but you can still get a good one (Shea moisture protein power) for about £10.

[LittleGwyneth]

Olaplex
Olaplex
Olaplex
Olaplex

Nothing involving coconut oil. Nothing involving sillicon. Nothing that costs £4.99 from Boots. Either a proper rebuilding treatment in a salon, or Olaplex.

[GabriellaMontez]

Thanks all for the olaplex tip.

OP I have the same problem. My hair looks a bit like yours. As if it has snapped/thinned.

I had a vitamin d blood test (for other reasons) which showed I was deficient. I've been taking supplements for 6 months now. I believe it can be slow to improve but I'm hoping this will help as thinning hair is also linked to low vitamin d.

Btw, I've no idea why I'm deficient. I'm outdoors quite a lot and not as careful in the sun as I should be.

[ivftake1]

[quote Georgeoftheinternet]@ivftake1 shampoos strip the hair. The best way to clean the scalp is using your finger tips. Takes a while for your hair to react well to it, but omg feels so good and a lot cleaner.[/quote]
I know, I said to quit sulphates

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

Extensions would be very tough on already weak hair.

[seayork2020]

You cannot repair hair, hair is what it is.

I am not hairdresser so this is a thought I have no idea if it is possible but can you cut it a bit short then have extensions till it has time to grow out?

I get being annoyed but if you are genuinely devastated over hair then you also to do some serious thinking about what is important