My hair feels like straw! Product recommendations please.

[Jemster]

I've had my hair coloured and highlighted a few times over recent years and it feels so dry and strawlike. Someone suggested Aussie Miracle stuff so I bought that but I'm sure it's even worse now. It was better when using dh's head & shoulders!
Despite conditioning it I'm finding it knotty when combing it whilst drying.
Please can anyone suggest something that really will help. I don't want to keep wasting money & products. Thanks

Redken All Soft is great. Has avocado oil in it. Not cheap mind....

However, probably only a really good cut to get off most of damaged parts will help. Then after be gentle with it, heated appliances use rarely or few minutes and with blow dry lotion. Also deep conditioning masks you can make your own with mashed avocado pear.

First check that none of your hair products contain silicone, as that is brilliant for producing straw-hair. I use a leave in conditioner and then a drop of hair oil which has helped.

Lush jasmine and henna intensive conditioner and A'Kin lavender and anthyllis leave in conditioner. Both lovely for soft hair. But if you have chemical damage (sounds like you do) it's only truly fixed by growing it out and cutting it off.

Extra virgin olive oil, warm it up put it in your hair leave for as long as possible (overnight even) and shower etc as normal. I also run so e through tips if hair whilst wet before blow drying if I am due a cut and my tips are getting a bit bleh
Bog standard olive oil will work too

My hairdresser just used a small dab of Kerastase Nectar Thermique on my hair before she dried it and it made my hair soft and shiny. However it is pricey and I'm on the hunt for a chalet alternative if possible (as I posted in another thread).

My favourite Aussie conditioner is the long and luscious miracle one (squeezy bottle, not the other long luscious conditioner) and that does smooth out my coloured long hair some what. But if hair is very damaged, the only way to go is to cut it off and start again :(

Redken extreme to put some protein back in the hair, then a moisturising one- I like the loreal sulphate free range or wella sp. but tbh there are a lot of "moisturising" hair care out there.

Aussie, Pantene, tressemme are just not any good IMO

Organix 30day keratin treatment. You can get it from boots. I'm going to try it this wkend after hearing great reports so will let you know.

Oh I was going to say, be careful if you have like me, fine hair (which can be weak).

A lot of the moisturising products for fine hair are too rich for it - e.g. Argan Oil etc. Kerastase do a Masque Intensive (Intense) in a pale yellow/peach pot for fine hair. It's not a miracle cure but certainly helps nourish the hair without weighing it down. There is also apparently an Argan Oil for fine hair. But then again a hairdresser friend of mine swears by 1 GBP or so Argan/Moroccan oil from Primark!

Yes, the Kerastase hair masks are brilliant. Although heinously expensive.

I've been reverse washing with excellent result.

expat I read in mail online (don't kill me!) and wondered about reverse washing.

Then again I'm in a rush most mornings so to faff about leaving it on 5 mins and rinse thoroughly would probably put me off....

Coconut oil does amazing things for a lot of people.

I bleached my long hair and then dyed it back to brown and am still growing out the straw-like consequences though.

The Charles Worthington repair mask (I got it from Boots) helped me a bit but the results are unsustainable given the price, time it takes to do the treatment and amount of time the results last!

Joico k-pak revitaluxe protein & moisture & unlike many deep treatments, doesn't need a sealant

I've found that dove intensive therapy works very well. And its cheap

And reverse washing is amazing! The longer you leave the conditioner on the better, and don't go shampoo crazy! When I asked about it My hair dresser said that your better off reverse washing everyday than stripping your hair every other day.

Organix macadamia nut shampoo. Not overly expensive and my hair is on the best condition it's ever been in. I've used ojjon, aveda, John frieda, kerastase. And this knocks them all into a cocked hat.

Redken all soft is the only thing that works on dd2's brittle fine dry hair, I know it is indulgent but we were close to having to cut it all off!

What is reverse washing please? Is it good for curly hair?

You wet your hair down and put conditioner in and leave it as long as possible before shampooing it out. I've found you don't need as much shampoo as usually. It stops there being product residue to weigh hair down but still keep it conditioned. I have very fine flat hair and its amazing now - shiney and conditioned but with volume and bounce.
Try it.
Its one of those things that you see a difference after a couple of washes and if you don't like it go back to normal. No wasted time or money

I have platinum blonde (straight bleach) and I use a spray after washing but before blow drying by Revlon called Equave - it is amazing, my hair has felt amazing since using it. I use a bluish purple coloured one that is specifically formulated for blonde hair but my hairdresser uses the green one and it does the same job. It has been the only thing that has changed my hair and over the years I have tried a lot of products at all price points.