Damaged Hair.. Please Help.

Nov 27, 2014

Kaylin A.

I want to keep dying mt hair but I need to protect it with all sorts of chemicals. What's a good product for dry unhealthy hair. I know moroccanoil is good but out can be pricey am looking for an unexpensive good product that leaves hair feeling soft and silky.

Nov 27, 2014

Tori G.

Coconut oil has REALLY helped my hair, but you have to be careful to only put in on before you wash your hair or it will make your hair look oily. I also loooove It's a 10 leave in treatment it's my holy grail for my hair.

Nov 27, 2014

Rebecca B.

Bleach's restoration hair mask is amazing! And only £5 or £6. :)

Nov 27, 2014

Kaylin A.

Thank you Tori G & Rebecca B. I will find for those products in the drugstore :)

Nov 27, 2014

Hannah K.

Here's how I keep my hair healthy/keep the color in.

First, in terms of health, trim any split ends. If you don't, they will keep splitting up the shaft and ruin even more of your hair. That means that when you do finally cut your hair, you'll have to cut off even more of it to get rid of the splits

Second, in terms of products, invest in a sulfate and sodium chloride free shampoo and conditioner. I really like the brands Pureology and Keratin Complex for hair color care. They're both entire brands devoted to keeping color vibrant, and they both work really well. They're expensive, though, so barring that I'd highly recommend you find a sulfate and sodium chloride free shampoo and conditioner, like L'oreal EverStrong.

I also recommend investing in a hair mask or deep conditioner. I really like the Macadamia Deep Repair Masque, it's very moisturizing and leaves your hair feeling hydrated instead of dry. I also happen to love the L'oreal Power Moisture Mask, it's a weird, jelly-like texture, but I love how light it feels on my hair. It makes my hair extremely soft without weighing it down. I also recommend the Keratin Complex Vanilla Bean Deep Conditioner. It's a bit heavier as well, but it smells great and certainly hydrates your hair.

Third, in the shower, when you're washing your hair, make sure the water is as cold as you can stand. If your hair is light on the ends, like mine, apply conditioner to the ends of your hair before you wash it in order to prevent the darker colors from bleeding. If not, wash your hair first thing, so you can wet your hair quickly and then remove it from the stream of water (seriously, limit exposure to water as much as you can) to shampoo.

Shampoo only the roots and condition from your ears down. Rinse quickly in cold water, and then after that, apply your mask, focusing on the ends of your hair. Finger comb until you don't feel any knots, because that way you don't have to brush it, because brushing it can break it off like heck. then put your hair in a bun. Leave it that way for the rest of your shower, washing it out should be the last thing you do. I wash my hair around 3 times a week (with drier hair I can get away with it) and do the hair mask every time. If you need to wash your hair more than that, reduce your hair mask usage to 3 times :)

Fourth, in terms of heat protectors (which protect hair color and help keep it healthy), I like the Tressemme heat protector and the It's a 10 Leave in Plus Keratin. If you heat style your hair a lot, just make sure that you're taking care of it and nothing will happen.

A few random miscellaneous tips:
-dry shampoo is your friend, because if you wash your hair often the dye will fade really quickly.
-you can also put a bit of hair dye into your shampoo and conditioner (this only works if your hair is predominantly one color, otherwise it will cause the rest of your hair to shift colors as well).
-if you have to shower often, put your hair up to try and keep it out of the water and just wash your body.

That's my hair routine, my entire head is bleached and it is just as healthy as it was before I dyed it.

I Have tried a whole bunch of hair masks and deep conditioners, so here are my reviews on them:
1. My ultimate favorite right now is the L'oreal Power Moisture Mask. It's not expensive, and it's sulfate and sodium chloride free. It's super light, kind of a jelly like texture that melts into your hair, and when you rinse it out your hair doesn't feel heavy or greasy, just hydrated. This is the blue one. I really, truly love it.
2. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle, which I leave on for a lot longer than 3 minutes. It's really nice, also cheap, smells lovely, and hydrates your hair. It's pretty light, but make sure you rinse it all out or your hair will be a grease pit.
3. Macadamia Deep Repair Masque. This was my favorite for a while, until I found the L'oreal one. After that, I find this to be a little too heavy for my hair. I have to be really careful with this one, otherwise my hair gets greasy the same day. If I rinse well enough, my hair feels super clean and hydrated, but there's a thin line between greasy and too dry if you rinse too much, so this mask can be tricky.
4. Keratin Complex Vanilla Bean Deep Conditioner (also used as a hair mask) it's awesome. It smells like vanilla and hydrates your hair flawlessly. It's also color protective, which is part of why I love it so much. It's not heavy, so if you leave it in for a while it's not going to weigh down your hair, but it is a bit more expensive than others.
5. I'm currently using the Organix Renewing Argan mask. It's also a bit on the heavy side, because it's oil based, but it seems to work fine so far. Also color safe, and also $6. It's a pretty good find :)
6. L'oreal Total Repair 5 hair mask. It's like $6, has a super smooth consistency and hydrates hair really well. You do have to rinse pretty well, or your hair gets greasy quickly, but after you rinse, you can add a tiny bit to the ends of your hair and it will work really well.
7. Alterna Bamboo UV+ masque. It's awesome. It smells really light and nice, it's safe for colored hair and it's super lightweight so you don't have to worry about rinsing everything out incredibly well. I also find it super smoothing, I like this a lot.
8. Garnier Damage Erase Butter. It's thick, really thick, actually, but it's pretty great. I like how easy it is to work with, it really moisturizes hair and prevents it from feeling super dry and frizzy. It's pretty good for $5
9. It's a 10 hair mask. This is pretty good, I like the packaging a lot because it's easy to get it out without getting the mask everywhere, and it's also super thick and hydrating. It's really good, it smooths your hair and prevents frizz or dryness, and you don't have to use a ton.

Bonus haircare product that I cannot live without: the Alterna Caviar CC Cream. It's amazing. Nothing smooths my hair or makes it feel nicer post-shower than this stuff does. It smells lovely, and it just adds an extra layer of smoothness and shine. Alterna products are honestly my favorite of any that I've tried, I think they're 100% worth the money.

Those are just my opinions and what has worked for me!

Nov 27, 2014

Kyraa D.

I dye my hair all the time too.. sooo damaging! I've heard great things about coconut oil, for sure.
I personally use L'Or?al's EverPure shampoo & conditioner ehich helps preserve the colour as it's a sulfate free shampoo. I also use L'Or?al's Power Moisture Mask every time I shower. it leaves my hair sooo soft afterwards.
once I'm out of the shower I like to use Redken's Anti-Snap leave-in treatment & Bedhead's Split End Repair leave-in conditioner. seems to be working well for my hair so far (: definitely recommens those products.

Nov 27, 2014

Lacey H.

I agree with Kyraa, Redken Anti Snap is a lifesaver

Nov 27, 2014

Stephanie M.

Woah... Hannah, you won the best comment award! Seriously I'm following this thanks for all the great info!!

Nov 27, 2014

Hannah K.

Haha, thanks Stephanie! I happen to have that reply saved in my notes on my cellphone, just because it gets asked so often. I also have been bleaching and dying my hair for the last six years, and only recently got into actually taking care of it.

I wouldn't discount anyone else's responses though, some of these ladies have suggested products (cough cough, Redken) that I've been meaning to try but haven't gotten around to yet =)

Nov 27, 2014

M G.

Along with all the great advise given already but I'll add mine too :)I only wash my hair every 3-4 day but when I do I apply coconut/canola oil and leave it for 1-2 hours and then shower with its a 10 shampoo and condition when I get out I use it a 10 leave in condtioner

Nov 28, 2014

Kaylin A.

Wow.. Hannah w. loved your advice, very well descriped! thank you so much for that. I also have dry hair and wash my hair like 3 times a week. Never really thought of using dry shampoo but maybe I should give it a try! thankss.

Nov 28, 2014

Abha A.

Wow Hannah..you just give auwsome advices..by the way how about baby Johnson shampoo..itz a dry shampoo n actually helps my hair from shedding off.

Nov 28, 2014

Abha A.

Wow Hannah..you just give auwsome advices..by the way how about baby Johnson shampoo..itz a dry shampoo n actually helps my hair from shedding off.