Hair health

[dropdeadlegs]

For about three years I have been sporting the blond on top, brown underneath hair color. I color my hair myself and use a Garnier highlighting kit (single process bleach instead of actual color depositing) designed for dark blond hair. I use the lightest color available in a beige blond and apply it for about 15 minutes longer than the recommended time in order to prevent the color from being too much red. I don't achieve a true beige blond, but the effect is not bad and costs less than $10. I use the bleach all over the top, not in a highlighted fashion.

 

For the last 5 minutes I apply the bleach to the rest of my hair (initially applying to the roots only) in order to brighten the "ends." Over three years this has caused some damage to the older hair. The kit comes with a great avocado oil conditioner that I love. I have called Garnier to inquire if this conditioner is available for purchase as you only get a single application, but they do not market it for purchase on its own. Sadly, once it is washed out my hair will feel pretty yucky. I just did my roots tonight.

 

I am interested in a great intense conditioner and wonder if anyone has suggestions. I have been using Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny for several years. It is VERY thick and many find it too waxy feeling for everyday use, but I need something pretty substantial and heavy because my hair is thick, coarse, and wavy. The Paul Mitchell seemed good for awhile, but I don't think it's working for me anymore.

 

I cut off about 3-4 inches of hair several months ago and don't want to go shorter.

 

I have access to a Sally's Beauty Supply and could ask there, but I find that the information is hit or miss with the employees. Some have good knowledge and others know how to run the register.

 

Any good experiences by those with moderate damage or my hair type is appreciated. I would try home remedies, anything, to keep from cutting off more hair.

 

I know professional coloring is a better option, but it's so expensive!

 

Thanks to all who reply!

[ShoeGirl]

I have long hair that I also dye fairly frequently. I have used Biolage hyrdatherapie ultra-hydrating balm for years. I use it once a week in the shower, leaving it on for 5 minutes like it suggests. When my hair is really dry or I am at the ocean I leave it in for half an hour or more then rinse it out. I have had a few hair dressers compliment me on how healthy my hair is considering I dye it, blow dry it, and straighten it frequently. You can get it at just about any salon, I think Sally's carries it. I can't remember if it was there or another similar store that didn't have it but offered a different copy-cat product that was not good at all.

 

If you are looking for another daily use shampoo and conditioner try the Biolage color care line, I use it daily and it doesn't weigh down my hair or feel oily, and the constant use helps the keep the dying from ruining your hair.

[Storyrider]

DDL, I don't color my hair (yet), but I can tell you that if you get some wax-based pomade (Crew makes some that smells nice) you can put it just on the tippy ends of your hair and it will disguise the damage.

[Trialbyfire]

Try the Redken Color Extend line. I highly recommend it.

[quankanne]

even though I keep my hair short, it dries out easily, especially during hot weather. Believe it or not, the best product I found came from Dollar General, in the section where they carry products for Black hair care – there's something that comes in a squirt bottle called "Hair Shine," I think, and it's like a light-weight oil that mists on and really absorbs into the dry part of the hair. The best part is that it doesn't take long to see results if you use it after you've dried your hair from washing it. I've also seen different oil-based treatments (carrot, olive, etc) there that look like they'd be effective.

[dropdeadlegs]

Wow, thanks everyone for the suggestions. I knew I could count on my LS gang.

 

Shoegirl, I will try that balm. I always use conditioner and leave it in at the beach, too. I have used Biolage products in the past, but they weren't these products.

 

Storyrider, that wax sounds promising in more ways than one. I have some frizziness problems and live in a predominantly humid area. This might be my answer, and I've tried many products designed to tame frizzies. When I let my natural waves air dry using a wax might be the solution to the "too full" and "too messy" look I often end up with.

 

trialbyfire, I have not used Redken before, but I will certainly give them a try based on your high recommendation.

 

quankane, I cannot tell you how many times I have considered trying an African American hair inspired product, yet I never have. This one interests me especially for the days when I scrunch my hair into massive curls, which also tend to look frizzy on most days. The idea of a mist used after drying my curls (essential to get my waves to curl up more) sounds like the solution for that style, whereas the wax Storyrider suggested might be too heavy and pull the curl out too much.

 

I see such value in all of these suggestions and I won't have to mash avocados daily! That is what I was considering looking into before posting.

 

I should take some before pictures with my hair and then use these products and take after pictures for you lovely women.

[Storyrider]

Storyrider, that wax sounds promising in more ways than one. I have some frizziness problems and live in a predominantly humid area. This might be my answer, and I've tried many products designed to tame frizzies. When I let my natural waves air dry using a wax might be the solution to the "too full" and "too messy" look I often end up with.

 

If you do try it, use it on just the ends the first time, as I think it will weight your hair down and make it look greasy if you apply it throughout.

[dropdeadlegs]

If you do try it, use it on just the ends the first time, as I think it will weight your hair down and make it look greasy if you apply it throughout.

Additional suggestion noted. I can't honestly imagine anything making my hair look greasy. I really will have to take some before and after pics. I like my hair's versatility, but have discovered good products are the key to my hair happiness. I have no qualms with spending money on good stuff even if I'm too frugal to pay for professional coloring 6 times annually.

[pelagicsands]

I think my brain just melted.

[dropdeadlegs]

My friend, I'm afraid that happened a long time ago.

 

Perhaps your melted brain is so severely damaged that it is "just" now telling you so.

 

Still, you have my condolences.

[riobikini]

DDL -I know what you mean when you talk about the abuse of hair when it comes to coloring.

 

I've been abusing my hair for years -I expect a lawsuit anyday, now, from all the split-ends who have probably been conspiring against me during all these years.

 

(Smile)

 

I used to use boxed hair color from the pharmacy but gray hair is so resistant to color I really needed something *better* that actually *worked*, for a change.

 

I figure you get the same amount of abuse, no matter whether your product is working or not -so why not look around for something that does the job.

 

There's this chain salon supply called Salley's Beauty Supply on every other corner here (testament to the fact that alot of women around here color their own hair, I suppose) -but they had what I needed.

 

Before I color I always deep condition my hair with this stuff called "Beyond Zone Last Call Hair Masque".

 

It isn't very expensive, really conditions the heck out of my dry-as-a-stack-of-straw hair and gets it all ready to undergo all the extra abuse I'm getting ready to throw at it when I re-color.

 

The developer I use is called "Salon Care Professional" and it's a 40 volume maximum lift creme.

 

It's important for me to use a creme developer because I hate the runny stuff (more chance of ruining fabric).

 

I mix the developer with Clairol Professional color in a shade called Reckless Sand (#320310).

 

It has this violet base that tones down the reddish or brassy glow you often get after taking darker hair to a lighter or blonde shade.

 

(Note: use a violet-based color for your primary color in order to decrease the brassy tones -or use it first to tone them down, then re-color with the shade you normally use. The violets at Salleys will be noted right on the front of the bottle.)

 

Sometimes, I mix the Reckless Sand half-n-half with Clairol Ion color in another shade simply called Lightest Cool Blonde (#305355) -it really depends on how crazy I am at the time I decide to color my hair.

 

(Smile)

 

I always mix the hair color with the developer in equal parts, cover with a really old towel (or use a plastic bag meant for the whole procedure) -and wait around 45 minutes or so.

 

It all depends on how long I've gone between re-colorizing.

 

The hair color I've told you about seems to blend the roots with the rest of the lighter hair (hard to accomplish with most on-the-shelf boxed color found in super markets or at Wal-green's, even if you've bleached the hair before putting on the color).

 

So you live and learn.

 

I don't bleach my hair, anymore, before coloring -I don't have to- the color I get at Salley's is doing the best job without going to that extreme of abuse.

 

There's also a couple of "somethings" I *don't* do: it's *rub* the color into the (already split) ends of my hair where it's really fragile -you're just asking for trouble (worst-case split-end scenario) if you do this.

 

Solution: wait about 15 minutes or so before you intend to rinse and then gently work the color down to the ends.

 

The ends are gonna grab and hold the color instantly, because they're fragile and weak, so the absorption of color should be pretty good and turn out just fine, in any case, with that fact in mind.

 

After coloring, I rinse, wash with the mate to the deep conditioner I use, called "Beyond Zone Last Call Natural Balance Shampoo (also not all that expensive) -and repeat the deep conditioning that I started with.

 

Remember to wait until *after* you've done the deep conditioning before you do whatever hair trimming you normally do (although, using these products, you'll probably wind up actually saving your poor hair and not have to trim off as much).

 

If you further mistreat your hair when styling it -and especially, if you use the "hot" setting on your blow-dryer, or use a flat-iron like I do- you might want to try some other stuff I use.

 

There's this stuff called Fantasia Hair Strengthener Treatment which is a spray. It repairs breakage (which I fight everyday) and is formulated for chemically treated hair and hair that suffers alot of damage from all the things I -and most women- put it through.

 

And I would die without this *one* thing that makes my life with my hair *easier*: it's called "Proclaim Glossing Polish".

 

It comes in different formulations (I get the one for color/heat protection, work it through before and after flat ironing) -and just from experience, this stuff would smooth out the coarse stray fibers on a hemp rope -I'd bet real money on it!

 

(Smile)

 

Hope all this helps.

 

BTW, if you don't have a Salley's Beauty Supply where you live, go online to get these products, if you're interested.

 

Now get to work -you're burning daylight: coloring hair is an all-day job!

 

(Smile)

 

-Rio

[dropdeadlegs]

Oh Rio, what a wealth of knowledge!

 

My grays are getting out of hand, too. All the promises of gray coverage seem to be empty.

 

I used to use 40 lift creme developer when I did overall coloring. I do have quick and easy access to a Sally's Beauty Supply, what I lacked was the knowledge of what to buy for my straw.

 

This time I let my roots go for too long and it was very difficult to apply the bleach myself. I'm not very happy with the results and see some "lines" because my hair had grown so unevenly and that made it harder to accurately apply the bleach. I had procrastinated and quite enjoyed the Giselle Bundchen "last summers sun bleached hair" look for many months, but it is the gray that I couldn't stand anymore. It is more apparent on the top, probably due to lighting, and I was parting my hair on the side all the time (boring!) in an effort to hide many grays. Also, my curly look worked well, but straight was out of the question with roots of this length.

 

I think I will allow the color to settle, as it often does in about two weeks, while deep conditioning weekly in the meantime, and then reevaluate. I may need to apply some color to even it out more, but it shouldn't take much processing time. I also neglected to accurately time the process and could have used 5 more minutes , I'm a tad yellower than I like.

 

I hope my hair didn't hear the "lawsuit" part!

 

Thank you for the information!

[riobikini]

Always welcome.

 

 

(Smile)

 

-Rio

 

P.S. If you're a woman who colors her hair -and a do-it-yourselfer- always remember to apply your hair treatments while your hair is wet: the coloring process keeps your hair weak, so you *need* the extra reinforcement of getting those treatments *INSIDE* the hair structure.

[princessa]

I've heard that jojoba oil is great for the hair..

[luvtoto]

I swear by 'Rusk Deep Shine PhytoMarine Lusterizer'. It is a leave in conditioner, and I use it every single day. My hair has never been this long before or healthy. I am addicted to it.

[pelagicsands]

'Rusk Deep Shine PhytoMarine Lusterizer'

I just have to try that. If I can't find it easily, then I hope I can ask the sales assistant with a straight face.

[polywog]

Have any of you thought of growing out your natural color, even with the grey? I began to get grey hair very early, in my 20s as my dad did. His mother actually had white hair by the time she was in her twenties! For a while I just let it happen because I had naturally kind of sreaky dark blonde hair that the grey just blended into, esp looked Ok in the summer because my hair always got lots of light blonde streaks for the sun.

 

After a time I felt there was too much grey and for years colored my hair. Then on a whim I just decided to see what it would look like if I grew it out (plus I just got tired of coloring it). Well, surprisingly it looks really great. I have all sorts of colored streaks including the grey, blonde, brown and red. It's wacky, and I get compliments all the time. Just a thought for you all...

[luvtoto]

I just have to try that. If I can't find it easily, then I hope I can ask the sales assistant with a straight face.

I, like, so totally dare you!

[Porn_Guy]

I know professional coloring is a better option, but it's so expensive!

No only that DDL but you have to sit in that chair for hours with those tin foil thingies in your hair all the while looking like some bizarre alien.

[dropdeadlegs]

Have any of you thought of growing out your natural color, even with the grey? I began to get grey hair very early, in my 20s as my dad did. His mother actually had white hair by the time she was in her twenties! For a while I just let it happen because I had naturally kind of sreaky dark blonde hair that the grey just blended into, esp looked Ok in the summer because my hair always got lots of light blonde streaks for the sun.

 

After a time I felt there was too much grey and for years colored my hair. Then on a whim I just decided to see what it would look like if I grew it out (plus I just got tired of coloring it). Well, surprisingly it looks really great. I have all sorts of colored streaks including the grey, blonde, brown and red. It's wacky, and I get compliments all the time. Just a thought for you all...

Are you kidding? All my life I was thought of as older than I was (great in high school, not so great afterwards.) For the first time ever, people think I look great for 42. I am not ready to give up my 15 minutes, so to speak. I'm not sure what happened, but it's as if my age finally caught up with my face and then suddenly surpassed it. It must have happened during my last marriage while I was off the market. I am often told that I appear in my early 30's and I am one vain woman.

 

I'm glad that you are happy with your results, but with my medium brown hair, these grays are not attractive to me at all, and they are clustered. I just hate them and wish I was one of people who never really gray.

[dropdeadlegs]

princessa and luvtoto, thank you both for your suggestions. I am going to save this thread to my desktop, and work through the options like a grocery list to find what works best on my hair, but many of these products and suggestions are new to me and I am excited to try different things. My daughter also colors her hair (she pays and sits in the chair for hours with the foil thingys . Must be nice to throw out more than a weeks pay when you have no other bills.)

 

PG, when I did use a pro, it would literally take a half day to cut, color, sit under the dryer, blow out my hair, use the flat iron, and get my butt to work. My hair was pretty long. Luckily I worked for a woman who understood, as she hates Saturday appointments and does some drastic color changes herself. At my workplace it was like an added "benefit" and a top priority to have a hair appointment during working hours.

 

That hairdo in your avatar must have taken some time. Is that you in your younger and wilder days? j/k. I forgot you ARE young. ha ahahaha ahaha ha!

[quankanne]

I see such value in all of these suggestions and I won't have to mash avocados daily!

 

no! NO! We only sacrifice avocados to the Great Guacamole Deity!!! To to otherwise is sacrilege! :eek: :eek:

 

grey hairs – I inherited my mom's hair, so I won't seriously start to go grey until my 70s ... otherwise, I just pluck the few stray ones I can see.

 

on the other hand, DH is going grey and complains about it all the time, but I told him I have never ever seen a man go grey and look bad while doing so! And because he's got light brown hair, it actually looks pretty. He complains though, so we found a shampoo that you use by hair color – I got the stuff for Brunettes – I think Paul Mitchell originally came out with it, but now there are several companies who have their own versions. Anyhow, that stuff actually is toning down the grey stuff in his hair by making the darker hair look healthier. Might be because it's got a lot of fatty/moisturizing stuff in it. But it does a good enough job to keep his complaints at bay ...

[Porn_Guy]

PG, when I did use a pro, it would literally take a half day to cut, color, sit under the dryer, blow out my hair, use the flat iron, and get my butt to work.

but I'll bet it looked good DDL!

[dropdeadlegs]

no! NO! We only sacrifice avocados to the Great Guacamole Deity!!! To to otherwise is sacrilege! :eek: :eek:

 

grey hairs – I inherited my mom's hair, so I won't seriously start to go grey until my 70s ... otherwise, I just pluck the few stray ones I can see.

 

on the other hand, DH is going grey and complains about it all the time, but I told him I have never ever seen a man go grey and look bad while doing so! And because he's got light brown hair, it actually looks pretty. He complains though, so we found a shampoo that you use by hair color – I got the stuff for Brunettes – I think Paul Mitchell originally came out with it, but now there are several companies who have their own versions. Anyhow, that stuff actually is toning down the grey stuff in his hair by making the darker hair look healthier. Might be because it's got a lot of fatty/moisturizing stuff in it. But it does a good enough job to keep his complaints at bay ...

I have been craving guacamole for about a week now. Yummy!

 

Why did I have to get the gray genes? And the cellulite genes? And the myopia genes? The list could go on, but I'm convinced tat bad genes are dominant traits.

 

I wonder if that shampoo has a toner built in that is slightly darkening the grays.

but I'll bet it looked good DDL!

I can't deny that my hair looked fabulous. And I have always loved the pampering feeling of someone else washing, drying, and styling my hair, not to mention that it looks better because they can actually see what they are doing in the back.

[Porn_Guy]

not to mention that it looks better because they can actually see what they are doing in the back.

its funny that the entire hair cutting/styling business is totally based upon the fact that people can't cut their own hair (and make it look OK)