Severe Bleach Damage Advice?

Hi everyone!

I'm super new here and I am also very new to the world of taking care of damaged hair. I was hoping that someone could point me in the right direction to help me breathe some life back into my platinum bleached hair.

The story behind how my hair got this way was a salon visit this last Wednesday in which their senior hair colorist took on the job of fulfilling my request of going platinum. To be fair, I wanted to go from dark brown (level 3 I think) to platinum blond and then silver. I had also box dyed my hair black about 4 or 5 months back. She warned me about possible breakage from doing this, and that was fine~ I'd been wanting this hair color for many years, so I went with it. I paid extra for a Kerastase protein treatment to go with it too. It took about 3 and a half hours in the salon and if it helps you get the gist of the damage my hair sustained from that ... the strands were literally stretchy and elastic when wet! Pieces of hair were definitely falling out during the wash and dry at the salon, it was a little bit scary to see! It's only been a few days since I had it done so I haven't washed my hair yet, but it feels super brittle and tangles very easily. Thankfully the breakage didn't ruin my hairstyle since it's short and kind of spiky already, but I can really feel how damaged it is. I have an appointment to get my hair cut today and I'll be having layers cut in, but not anything significant enough to chop away the all-over damage.

I know that no amount of product or treatment is going to fix the damage. But of course I want to be proactive about what I can do to improve upon the damage that I have accepted to achieve the color I want. My knowledge about caring for such "special needs" hair is very minimal though. So I was wondering if someone would be so kind as to tell me what they think I should be doing with my hair to strengthen it and get it looking/feeling more healthy.

I have not yet washed my hair since I was directed to wait, but in the interim I bought:

Shimmer Lights shampoo by Clairol (for turning my platinum into silver)

Coconut Oil hair serum by Hair Chemist (instead of argan oil because they all have a yellow tint to them)

K-Pak Reconstruct Deep Penetrating Reconstructor by Joico

I've heard people mention everything from hair masques to protein treatments, but I don't know much about them and have no clue what would be most useful for hair as significantly damaged as mine~ Any advice for a newbie like me would be really appreciated!

My roommate had pretty damaged hair from bleaching- she ended up only washing it once or twice a week, and putting argan oils in it every night, along with deep conditioning masks (and leaving in some deep conditioning masks- I recommend Amika's Deep Conditioning Mask, it's magical).  Absolutely no heat styling because heat breaks down hair as well.  Mostly just be really nice to it, brush it gently- use tons of things to strengthen and repair and nothing for styling or drying.. try to go for non heated styles for a while until your hair feels happy again /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I used to bleach my hair for years and my hair was fried. I think you'll be happy with Joico, they make some good stuff. If you can find a place that has it, Enjoy makes a really good reconstructive mask, it comes in a dark purple tube unless they changed it. I put coconut oil on my hair today and let it sit for about an hour and my hair feels a lot better now. Your hair needs to be babied right now! I hope this helps!

 Once the cuticle is destroyed and you start getting breakage anything you attempt is just putting a bandaid on a hemorrage. All bleaching and dyeing needs to stop, all heat styling and blow drying as well. Find a cute, short style you like, cut off as much of the ruined hair as you can. Trust me, long fried hair looks much worse than a cute short style. You need to start over with fresh undamaged hair.

  Bleaching and dyeing nightmares in my younger years was how I got started with wigs. Now if I want to be blonde I throw on a wig, ditto for red.

This is what I reccomend (I'm a hairstylist and have silver-ish hair myself so know what you're going through /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> )

* Don't wash it often. As long as you can wait, the better. Use dry shampoo in between. 
* Don't blowdry/use heat-tools. Just let it towel dry. Also don't comb it while wet as it's the most fragile state of the hair. Wait until half-fully dried before combing.
* Use deep conditioning + proteintreatments. You need both as your hair lacks heavily of both right now. I would reccomend: Nexxus emergencee (protein treatment) or Redken CAT and then for a moisturizing mask I would go for something like Redken All soft, Joico Moisture Recovery, Pureology Hydrate etc.
* ALWAYS use a heat protectant if you need to use heat tools. 
* Cut your hair regulary
* Eat healthy and taking hair supplements would do you good. I love Philip kingsley's protein capsules, they have really helped me out.
* Use an oil every night could also benefit you well. Most preferably one without silicones. (Pureology precious oil is one for example)

Crossing my fingers for you! Know this isn't a funny period to go through, just remember it will get better /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Here's my advice for treating severly bleach damaged hair-

• Try deep conditioning treatments once or twice a week.
• Don't go for any coloring or bleaching until the damage is 100% repaired.
• Stop using styling tools like blow dryers, flat irons, rollers, etc.
• Medicine like Biotin tablets are helpful. Seek advice from some medical professional.

Good Luck for your hair. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Coconut oil. Pure unadulterated coconut oil. Wet your hair a little first, this helps the coconut oil seal in moisture. Then apply the oil liberally, put your hair up in a shower cap, and chill for a couple hours. Watch a movie, do your laundry, take a nap! Heck, I've even left coconut oil in overnight with great results! Wash out gently with a sulfate-free shampoo (sulfates strip the hair's natural oils, and you need all those you can get in this case). You may need to do an extra wash to get the oil completely out, but your hair will probably just drink it up if it's as dry as you say. Good luck!

Nice post and all of you shared great experiences. Always use a dry soft towel to wash your face and hair after bleaching. That will give you a fine refreshing experience and do a nice face oily. You will feel great!! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

*edited by KellyKaye to remove hyperlink that is against our TOS*

 i want to suggest you using shimmer lights shampoo its can do a big job for you hair

good luck !!

*edited by Director to remove hyperlink that is against our TOS*

Platinum did you manage to restore your hair back to health???

thank you

@@Theblondeangel,  * Don't wash it often. As long as you can wait, the better. Use dry shampoo in between. 

I think this is wrong- yes, you should not wash it often, but using the dry shampoo everyday can cause serious damage to your scalp and dandruff may appear as well

Hey, ladies! I have super over processed bleached hair. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly. Coconut oil treatment at least once a week and a deep conditioner. Avoid shampoos with sulfates and conditioners that contain silicones. Also, avoid any hair products that are alcohol-based. Biotin is great for strengthen your hair, nails, and skin. Try not to wash your hair every day! We are kind of brainwashed into thinking we are so dirty and need to soap every crevice. Our skin and scalp actually do a great job at cleaning itself so you don't have to do it as often as you think.  

Have you tried Olaplex? I don't have bleached hair but I do colour it, and use hair straighteners so its not in the best condition especially at the ends. I have had the Olaplex treatment twice and it was fantastic, only down side is its quite expensive. The at home Step 3 conditioner is ok priced, I just use that on the split ends.