So as you all know I have been job hunting. No luck yet. One interview, millions of applications sent in. So I decided that since I wanted to go natural with my hair that I would get some dark blonde highlights in my dyed black hair so the growing out process wouldn't be so awkward. So I enlisted the help of a friend. She helped me pick out the stuff and we went to her place. She tried to highlight my hair and I ended up with blonde roots and nothing else changed. So we called in the help of another friend. Both of these people are my very bestest friends in the world. So we had a ton of fun during this whole process. Unfortunately, when bleach and heat entered the mix I ended up with very blonde, very melted hair. Some of it had to be cut off and what is left is rubbery and just plain dead. I don't blame anyone but myself for this. It was my idea to start this mess so I can't blame them for doing what I asked.
So what did I do to fix it? For a week after the bleaching incident I used this stuff called Africa's Best. It has multiple good for you oils in it and it's super greasy. So I would get up in the morning, comb thru my rubber hair and goop this stuff on it and let it sit all day long. Then I would wash it out with this super moisturizing shampoo. It's Simply U shampoo that as far as I know is only available at Walmart. It doesn't have the harsh chemicals in it that damage my already damaged hair. I also have not been blowing drying for that whole week. I did then try a protein treatment from Sally's Beauty Supply. It was called Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment. It's in a packet that has two sections. One has the protein treatment stuff and the other has the conditioner. It's messy, smells weird and just generally unpleasant but it did seem to help. The next morning I dried my hair and it was good. Then disaster struck a couple days later when I went to dry my hair. It had turned back to rubber and was breaking with each brush stroke. I almost cried at the amount of hair that was breaking off.
I had realized that the only thing that was going to help my hair was a cut. I don't want to cut my hair. I hate the idea of cutting my hair. Especially any shorter then it is right now. But that seemed like the only thing that would help. I resumed gooping it up with Africa's Best and it seemed to help. Then this morning I had to get up early to meet the Dish Network guy who btw never showed up, and showered. I let my hair air dry. It was a poofy mess but I didn't want to put it up again. I've been wearing it up almost every day because it looks so awful. But I had read on the back of my conditioner bottle that it could also be used on dry hair to help frizz. So I thought, what the hell? I'll give it a shot. It can't make it look any worse. And OMG! It actually made my hair look almost as healthy as it was before. It's not poofy and frizzy anymore. It actually looks like just over processed hair rather than melted fried hair. It's incredible. While my hair really should be cut I think I can wait now. Give it some time to grow out longer before I cut some off. I can make it look decent for a while and just get regular trims until my natural hair grows out completely. I cannot tell you how happy I am. I still can't blow dry my hair and most likely can't use a flat iron. But just knowing that I can make it look decent still is such a weight off of my shoulders.
I hope this helps anyone that is also in the same situation. Don't do something drastic before trying out all your options. I know how hard it is to cut off long hair. I want my hair to be super long eventually. So I'm seeing this as my chance to start from scratch. I'll just keep getting the ends trimmed until all this damage is completely gone. Then after that, I'm never coloring my hair again. Never. I don't care how tempted I am to do something different or try something new. If I have to I'll use those clip in hair extensions that are all different colors to get my coloring fix. Also beware of bleach ladies and gents. It's not good. No matter how well you apply it. It's not good. Just say no.
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