A "professional" burned majority of my hair off with bleach.

Jun 18, 2015

Victoria T.

Any tips on repairing extremely damaged hair? 😭
I know they say trim it, BUT it's already above my shoulders and I couldn't imagine having shorter hair than I already have.

Jun 18, 2015

Kattya M.

Maybe try an Olaplex treatment?

Jun 18, 2015

Justine S.

The only way to repair it is to cut it. Deep condition and other treatments are just going to make it softer, the only true cure is a hair cut to get rid of all the damage.

Jun 18, 2015

Alyx T.

Trim is the only thing that can help. Protein and masks can help, but once it's stringy, it's done.

And kattya- olaplex will not help. It's something used DURING dying. It's not a miracle treatment afterwards.

Jun 18, 2015

Nelly S.

Rub olive oil all over the fried parts.

Jun 18, 2015

Kattya M.

I said maybe Alyx. Also I'm pretty sure I heard they also have Olaplex treatments meant for that, not to use while bleaching, so that's why I thought doing some research on that wouldn't hurt.

Jun 18, 2015

Mindi K.

Olaplex for the win!

Jun 18, 2015

Mindi K.

Olaplex can be used as a treatment. I have a home treatment and the salon offered me a stand alone treatment. I love it. pureology strength cure is amazing along with it!

Jun 18, 2015

Alyx T.

Even on the official website it's stated it should be used before or during. Yes it can be used as a treatment with glosses or alone, but it won't save hair after it's been so severely damaged. Nothing but a cut will.

If you're talking about the at home treatment that anybody can buy, it's just a keratin mask by the brand, it's not the olaplex product though.

Jun 18, 2015

Gisell G.

I would kill a bi#%@ if she fried my hair ooooh my.

Jun 18, 2015

Phylicia V.

That happened to me years ago and it was the back that was bleached and it broke off when she washed my hair and never told me. I had to cut my hair into a very short bob but within a year my hair grew back long and healthy. It will be best to cut your hair love.

Jun 18, 2015

Nikelle B.

Do you have a picture of the damage? it probably is best to cut it but there's always the possibility of saving it. it's just a matter of patience and hard work.

Jun 18, 2015

Stephanie G.

The extreme line by redken is wonderful!

Jun 18, 2015

Alyx T.

The hard thing with hair is everyone reacts differently. Especially with bleach and going lighter. Some take super fast and have no damage and vice versa, some take slow and look horrid after and vice versa, there's always a chance that you could have a weird reaction. I understand that it's your hair and that it's incredibly hard to deal with, but it's not always up to the stylist. I agree when people rant about cuts that aren't anything what they wanted or the color is so off and they don't even talk about it, but especially with bleach, you know it's going to be damaging going in and there's ZERO way of knowing how your hair will take to it. Even if it's been done before, it can react weirdly sometimes. I bet the stylist feels awful and wishes she could repair it and undo it, but nobody can.
I just think it's super unfair and rude to hair stylists when it's not like this could be definitely preventable or foreseen.

Jun 18, 2015

Justine S.

I agree with Alyx you can try all kinds of at home treatments and buy fancy shampoos and things that say they can repair your hair from damage when really you're just paying top dollar for an idea. Nothing is going to repair your damage from that bad bleach job. Trust me, I've bleached my hair so bad that it broke completely off and the only way to get rid of the damage was to cut it multiple times so there was no more damage and my hair was decent length. I won't lie, I cried a lot but in the end it was what's best for my hair. It's taken me almost two years to have healthy hair and all new growth again so it is a process but shampoo won't fix it. Coconut oil will not repair you hair, it just makes it soft, do not let people fool you into thinking that the damage can be reversed. Also if you're on any kind of medicine like birth control, your on your period or anything like that your hair will react differently because of hormones, that's why when pregnant women dye their hair sometimes it comes out funky.

Jun 18, 2015

Alyx T.

Thank you Justine - and yes medication, your hormone level, etc.plays such a huge role in how things react on your hair. Even with my veggie dyes which don't have any chemical reactions going on, if I'm on my period I have to leave it in a very short time or it'll come out super vibrant really quick, so rather than hours it's like 15 minutes. Idk the title mixed with calling them a bitch and literally threatening them (I completely understand hair is a big thing - but it's not like you'd go "I'd kill a lady working at sephora because she suggested a mask/foundation that made me break out") there's no reason for that. It just rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who wants to become a professional hair dresser, it's extremely off putting that people are going to literally threaten me if they're hair reacts weird - something I can't foresee or control.


And once hair is extremely damaged there is no saving it. A little damage, sure. Masks, a tiny trim and maybe a protein treatment might fix it up enough to wait till its longer, maybe moderate damage you can baby until it grows out enough, but once it's extremely damaged there's no salvaging it.

Jun 18, 2015

Justine S.

Also I don't know what you hair color was previously or what shade you wanted it to be bleached to but I'm going to assume it was on the darker side and you wanted blonde and if you only did one bleach session and tried to get blonde your hair will be damaged immensely. I don't know if your stylist warned you about that because your ask isn't very detailed but everyone should know that's not feasibly possible to do. It takes multiple steps that you can't skip and breaks so your hair can rest. It's off putting to see so many people on this site that are convinced that they can get blonde hair in one bleaching session because they read it on here or on youtube, it's not possible if you want hair left on your head. Also no matter how good of a stylist you are you can't product everything, some times things just happen. So you have two options, you can waste a ton of money on "miracle cures" some have recommended or you can cut the damage out and have significantly shorter bur healthier and more manageable hair. It's really up to you.

Jun 19, 2015

Victoria T.

I had previously dyed it black. And then I wanted to lighten it a bit to make it red. Nothing super vibrant or anything, just a bit. But he didn't warn me about anything and when my hair was falling out he told me not to look haha.
But yeah, I've been putting some protein in it. It's helped some. Less hair breakage. Not really putting much heat to it these days. So I'm working on it and attempting to be patient lol.
From what I know he said he used olaplex while bleaching but I guess he might have left it in way too long.
I've deff learned my lesson!
Was just looking for any tips
Thanks ladies. 🙌🏼

Jun 19, 2015

Justine S.

Red and black are the hardest colors to lighten from because they stain the hair and it takes multiple processes to get it out, you can't do it all at once. I don't think he left it in to long I'm going to say it's safe to assume you had some previous damage and that's what cause the negative effects. But to save yourself money and bad hair days you should get it cut.