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?

[2bazookas]

If your hair is thick and the birthmark is on your scalp and isn't hairless or raised, , just a flat skin discolouration, it might not show through a pixie cut. My son's red stain birthmark on his scalp doesn't show through his hair, which is shorter than a pixie cut (number 3) .

[DryRoastPeanut]

Try olaplex. It’s pricey (about £45) but available on Amazon. I have waist length bleached blonde hair that is regularly washed with blue shampoo to give a nice ash blonde. The blue shampoo is dreadfully drying on top of the bleach, yet my hair shines. I also drench my hair with John Frieda frizz ease glossing mist.

[AgeLikeWine]

Cut it as short as you can handle, be ruthless, it will grow, then just leave it alone for eight weeks. No dye, no straighteners, no dryer, no chemicals except shampoo & conditioner.

Then repeat. You should have grown out the worst of it by then.

[Bbang]

Cut it as short as you can beat them use olaplex 3 treatment and the shampoo and conditioner on it religiously. Don’t slather it on though it’s very concentrated, I bleach my hair every month and it’s long strong and very healthy and soft. However before I used the olaplex it wasn’t good at all it looked and felt terrible.

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

Thank you so much all of you, I'm humbled by this number of replies!

Well, she rang me to tell me the pixie cut thing, and I have just been in and had a trim. I told her no the pixie cut and she wasn't happy at all. She said it definitely needs doing, no getting around it. It is the first time I have been to this hairdresser apart from when I went in to ask about a conditioning treatment and she took a sample of my hair to test it-hence where her 'diagnosis' came from. I let her cut it to shoulder length.

Short hair looks fabulous on some women but I definitely wouldn't be one of them! It isnt so damaged that it stretches like a pp describes.. I'll stop dying it blonde (I'll hate that!) Anyway. Extensions caused more damage than dye though I think, because my hair has always been so fine. Thanks again all-looking into some ideas now.

[ivftake1]

Olaplex 3 once a week, redken extreme cat once a week followed by a moisturising mask, stay away from drying alcohols, silicones and sulphites.

[formerbabe]

She sounds strict! Who made her the hair police?! I actually told my hairdresser I'd rather have split ends than short hair. My hair, my choice!

[ivftake1]

@formerbabe

She sounds strict! Who made her the hair police?! I actually told my hairdresser I'd rather have split ends than short hair. My hair, my choice!

Yeah indeed! I would bin her right off

[ivftake1]

How does your hair actually look op!

[ivftake1]

?, not !

[FineWordsForAPorcupine]

CCut it as short as you can handle, be ruthless, it will grow, then just leave it alone for eight weeks. No dye, no straighteners, no dryer, no chemicals except shampoo & conditioner

Then repeat. You should have grown out the worst of it by then

This is all good advice re no heat, chemicals, etc, but I should point out that hair grows on average half an inch a month - in 16 weeks, you will have gained two inches. So I'm don't think it's really "growing out the worst of it".

[EdersonsSmileyTattoo]

Olaplex definitely but I also use the Give Me Cosmetics Shampoo, Conditioner and Hair Mask, it’s really good and did wonders for my heat & bleach trashed hair.

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

Photos

[justlonelystars]

I ruined my hair by having it blonde for years. I now use a dyson airwrap to style and dry it as it’s much gentler, use a silk hair wrap at night (Silke brand) and use Function of Beauty shampoo, conditioner, hair mask and oil. My hair is lovely and soft now. I don’t bleach it anymore, just use semi oermenabt dyes.

[MrsSnitchnose]

You could get yourself over to www.lookfantastic.com/ and get some Olaplex 0 and 3. The 0 primes the hair so it better absorbs the 3. I would never use Amazon for expensive hair itmes because you can never be sure what you're getting. The site above is licenced by Olaplex as a geniune seller.

I tried it and it made my snappy hair a little stronger but my favourite product is Philip Kingsley Elasticizer which I much prefer over Olaplex. It's a deep conditioning mask that forces water into your hair for moisture. It also contains elastic so your hair stretches rather than breaks. If you're going for this one, I would recommend getting it form QVC so again you're getting a genuine product.

Both of my recommendations are expensive but they are super concentrated and you really do only need a small amount. Good luck and I hope your haor recovers

[honeylulu]

I was just jumping on to say if you don't want a very short hair cut, don't have one. Stuff what someone else thinks - they don't have to go around with it on their head!

But I can see you've had the chop and gone shoulder length which is what I would have suggested, being in the same situation in the past (going from blonde back to my normal dark). I had very long hair and it was trashed from bleach, very dry and broken. Hairdressers kept wanting to chop it all off but it would have looked awful on me. I went shoulder length and gradually the dry bits got chopped off with each trim. Then I let it grow long again.

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

Sorry, I didn't realise my photos hadn't posted before (forgot I had to put text in too).

Okay maybe this hairdresser isn't for me then. I asked her about vitamins etc that were good for hair and she didn't know, which I was surprised at. She also said 'I had my hair short once-everyone thought I was a lesbian' but I guess that is just something people say.

[LakieLady]

My hair went into meltdown following bleaching and perming (it was the late 80s, corkscrew perms were all the rage).

My then hairdresser recommended Henna treatment wax, which doesn't affect the colour, left on overnight. If you let it dry, then put an old towel over your pillow when you go to bed, it's not messy.

When I washed out the next morning, the difference was just incredible. It wasn't back to normal, but it was so much better.

It might be worth trying that before you go for Olaplex, as it's cheap as chips by comparison.

I hear really good things about Olaplex though, my hairdresser says it's fantastic and everyone I know who's had an Olaplex treatment raves about it. If you have a hairdressing supplies place near you, you can buy the stuff and do it at home.

[Dragongirl10]

Op you need to stop the bleaching, that is your biggest problem.

You are naturally dark and to get it so blonde only bleach will do, it sounds like you have been doing it at home and overlaping the bleach each time, if you were having this done at a reputable salon they would only do the roots each time.

Fine hair cannot take that amount of damage.Use this time that we are mostly not going anywhere, due to Covid, to grow out the blonde keeping it as short as you are comfortable, no straighteners or blowdrying.

In the future use semi permanent tints, or have professional highlights.

No treatment can fix this, just make it feel a bit stronger and smoother.

[AintPageantMaterial]

I’m quite surprised this hairdresser didn’t suggest Olaplex to you. Lots of salons offer Olaplex treatments. If you are not feeling committed to this stylist going forward, perhaps find an Olaplex salon, as well as getting some for home use.
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer is an excellent treatment. I sleep in it sometimes.

[HaggieMaggie]

Olaplex is great for regularly coloured hair but if your air is so bad a hairdresser has recommended it cutting all off,then I would have it as short as you can stomach.

I was in the same boat about 20 years ago and my hair was literally breaking off as I touched it, fortunately I had the right shape face and a pixie cut looked great. It took about 18 months to grow back to a reasonable length but it was worth it.

[Hopeisnotastrategy]

Could you pin it back and then put a Hot Hair piece or something on while it grows out a bit? Like a messy up do? Obviously looking after it, taking vitamins etc in the meantime.

This sort of thing

www.hothair.co.uk/Hair-Wraps-and-Scrunchies/

[TheOriginalMrsMoss]

I feel you OP, mine was wrecked by a very expensive 'balayage' (orange wrecked hair) at a very expensive salon. My hair just doesn't do bleach.

Philp Kingsley or Olaplex on a weekly basis but if you want to bring out the big guns I recommend Aphogee Protein Treatment. It's a 2 step process but there are some good YouTube videos where people had hair that was literally fried and snapping off and this stuff saved it.

No heat, no tension, a soft microfibre towel, very, very gentle handling when dry and especially when wet. It will grow back and recover. Actually, I think it looks pretty cool now, I'd go somewhere where they would trim up the ends but keep the length as it grows.

[Tworoundsofwaterplease]

Definitely going to try olaplex.
dragon you're right, I have been really irresponsible doing it at home. I've never taken much care of my hair, I need to from now on so never going to use a home dye again.I never straighten or blowdry anyway. Definitely not committed to this salon-It's just one my Mum recommended.

[Austin2017]

I had bleach blonde hair, shoulder length at the start of the year. During lockdown found that lots was falling out, thinning. So asked my hairdresser (also a friend) to get me some olaplex - I got the shampoo, conditioner & no 3,5&6 for about £85 think it's usually about £135 for it all & bought one of these hair turbans to sleep in www.silkelondon.com/pages/why-it-works-silke-silk-hair-wrap?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImKTo7eve7AIVmrp3Ch2TWAgJEAAYASAAEgLsQvD_BwE. I have worn it every night since May & noticed baby hair at the front starting to grow back. I would recommended the olaplex treatments, even though expensive & a silk hair turban.