Regrowth and Repair: How to Fix Bleach-Damaged Hair

At some point in our lives, we each make a hair decision that comes back to bite us. Be it blunt-cut fringes (Jane from Big Little Lies comes to mind), the voluminous side-sweeps of Bebo and Myspace times, or cuts so awful you immediately wish your mane would grow right back: we all make at least one misguided call throughout our hair's lifetime.

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I have made several. Up until last year, the worst of the bunch was 13-Year-Old Me's demand that my stylist give me a haircut inspired by a Twilight Saga character. I loved it at the time, but the remaining pictures are peak Awkward Phase™.

9 years later came my biggest regret to date. Last summer I made the mistake of entrusting a salon I had never been to before with turning my already blond hair an icy, platinum shade. The bleaching and subsequent toning session resulted in half my hair being fried off and the remaining half being more of a mint-grey colour than an icy blond.

This photo was taken the day of the dyeing (July 2018), when I didn't yet realise the full extent of the damage. You can see silvery, blue-ish, yellow and icy blond tints throughout my hair, while I'm covering one side with my hand as it was noticeably thinner than the other. I left the salon giving off the impression that I was happy with the outcome, probably trying to convince myself that paying so much was worth it. Within the next few days, I was crying at how much stringy, chewing-gum-like hair would come out in my hand while washing and brushing.

My hair was so uneven in thickness that cutting it right away would have given me a weird, mullet-like shape. The fallout continued for several weeks and all I could do was wear my hair up with accessories to disguise the damage. By the end of August, the length had come down enough that a cut would balance the volume without me looking like Billy Ray Cyrus. And so I went for a chop.

You can see how thin my hair was even after the first cut. I was growing out my roots to give my hair a chance to recover, but was disheartened by how limp my hair fell. Before my hair was ruined I had such naturally thick waves that (depending on the day) people would ask what curling wand I used to create them. I wanted those back even more than the length.

I started researching to see what products might help recover my hair, and after a lot of time, effort and money, I've seen a massive improvement. I usually measure my hair's health by the state of my waves and they're currently back to their bouncy selves. My hair's thickness and volume has also come a long way.

In the twelve months since it was badly damaged, I've managed to recover my hair while staying blond. Because I used a variety of products, I can't pinpoint which were more effective than others. Here's a full list of what helped resurrect my limp locks.

SALON SHAMPOOS & CONDITIONERS

Before this happened, I sort of believed that expensive hair products were a gimmick that didn't really do anything different to their cheaper counterparts. But having spent the past few months investing in my hair, I now see why salons don't rinse with shampoos straight from supermarket shelves. Cheaper products are able to sell at lower prices because they contain less expensive ingredients. This means the hair products in your shopping trolley are likely filled with sulfates, parabens and silicones, which don't do anything to maintain your hair health or colour. Nor do they protect your hair from breakage and split ends.

Salon-used products contain less of the above and more high-quality ingredients, such as essential oils and plant extracts. This helps keep your hair healthy in the long run as it doesn't strip your hair of its natural oils, but moisturises it. The drier your hair is, the more brittle it is, so a well-hydrated mane is less prone to breakage.

For the most part, I used the L'Oréal B6 + Biotin Inforcer shampoo and conditioner from their Serie Expert range. At first the shampoo felt a little bit sticky and was hard to work into a lather in comparison to the cheaper shampoos I was used to. But after a few washes you figure out how much or how little works for your hair and what way to best apply it. Both the shampoo and conditioner come in coral-coloured bottles, the large of which are pictured. Our house had three girly heads to be washed so we opted for the higher volume, which we picked up from a salon service. The smaller versions can be picked up online for around €10 a bottle or €20 a set.

I've recently switched to the Olaplex shampoo and conditioners, which I get into a little more below.

HAIR GROWTH OILS

As established, essential oils are, well, essential to keeping your hair healthy and moisturised. Well-moisturised hair is less prone to breaking, and if your hair isn't breaking, it's growing. Ever felt like your hair must be growing because your roots were out, but you weren't noticing any difference in its length? Our hair is always growing from the root, but brittle and snapped ends stop the length from coming down. This is why hairdressers suggest people who are trying to grow their hair get dead ends trimmed off.

While essential oils are great for keeping dry hair at bay, some lend themselves better to hair growth than others. Instead of buying individual oils and making my own concoction, I saw these Wild Growth bottles online. Both received rave reviews on various sites, so I decided to order a set. I had gift card credit for US Amazon so bought them there at $16.49, but the Irish and UK versions of eBay do them at cheaper shipping rates for those on that side of the Atlantic.

These are primarily designed for African hair types but the box offers instructions on how those with other hair types can use them, too. I followed the instructions on how many drops to use per application for the first few weeks. Now (before washing) I'll get a few drops from each bottle and rub them into my hands. I usually apply the mix to my ends and massage it into my scalp as massaging stimulates growth.

OLAPLEX – BOTH IN THE SALON AND AT HOME

If you've been a salon blonde before, you know how expensive it is to get your hair done. It's therefore understandable why people would pass on handing out extra cash for a bond-building treatment during their trip to the hairdresser's. But there's a reason Olaplex has gained the level of notoriety it now has – amongst consumers and hairdressers alike. Celebrity stylists have credited it for keeping their clients' tresses healthy. Kylie Jenner's even says it's a large part of how she was able to infamously go from black to platinum blond in a day without her hair falling out. So what is it, and what does it do?

There are currently seven Olaplex types on the market, named by number. Each one does something different. No. 7 is the spanking-new, most recently launched of the bunch, a "Bonding Oil" which I'm assuming styles and repairs your hair at the same time. I haven't yet tried it so it will be interesting to see how No. 7 fits with the others.

No. 1 and 2 are for professional use only; if you want to avail of them, you'll have to ask your hairdresser to apply them during your colour session. The first is a "Bond Multiplier," which strengthens the bonds in your hair throughout chemical treatments. No. 2 is branded the "Bond Perfector" and hairdressers usually apply this between processing sessions. This works to rebuild any remaining broken bonds so your hair gets maximum protection during your colouring.

No. 3, the "Hair Perfector," is an at-home treatment for reducing breakage and maintaining hair strength between salon visits. You apply it to towel-dry hair before shampooing and rinse it out after at least ten minutes. Because I'm still trying to do the most for my hair, I'll usually leave it on overnight if I can or for a few hours on a day I don't need to leave the house.

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Despite its positive press, there is a bit of confusion around Olaplex No. 3, which you might see if you look at the brand's Instagram comments. Some users complain that it doesn't actually make their hair feel soft or silky like most hair treatments would. However, No. 3 isn't a conditioning treatment. Even on their site, Olaplex are pretty adamant that it "is not a conditioner", so that's not the job it's supposed to do. It's focused on repairing your broken bonds rather than conditioning them.

Like I said, I've recently began using the shampoo (No. 4) and conditioner (no. 5), which make for a great pairing. They're available in a number of bottle sizes (I bought the 100ml bottles for $14 each at Sephora, the next size up is $28). No. 4 is similar to other professional shampoos in that it's hard to work into a lather and judge how much you need. I'm still figuring it out and sometimes get scared the sticky consistency will leave my hair feeling a little rough. But if it's silky-soft you're looking for, No. 5 does the trick. It smooths instantly on application, and a little goes a long way in covering your mane.

Earlier this year, Olaplex launched No. 6, their leave-in "Bond Smoother" styling creme. It's supposed to keep hair hydrated and protected while reducing frizz, which I've already found it to do on my few times using it. No. 6 is the only style cream I've found that rids me of frizziness without weighing my hair down. Just be careful not to apply too much for your hair length or you'll be left with a 'just out of the shower' look.

Both No. 3 and No. 6 come in a small, 100ml bottle that can be quite pricey depending on where you are and where you get it. Having recently moved to NYC, it's more affordable and accessible to me now (Sephora's wide in-store availability allows shoppers to by-pass shipping fees). If you're in Ireland or the UK, you'll find some sites can charge up to around €40 (gasp!) just for the one bottle. I've found parfumdreams.ie to be the most affordable for Sephora-less European shoppers: No. 3 came in at €23.50 for a single bottle or €44.95 for a two-pack (excluding shipping). Unfortunately, No. 6 is not yet available at this site. Sephora sells both for $28 each.

Using Olaplex products at home and availing of their salon treatments has massively improved my hair's quality. My hair feels thicker and shinier and just generally has more substance to it. Where essential oils have helped with growth, Olaplex has helped my hair feel like hair again.

HAIR MASKS

I was a hair mask fan before my hair was near fried off. But since I've been focused on repairing the damage that was done, masks have become an even more important part of my hair care routine. I wanted to invest in one that was deep-conditioning because of how parched the bad bleaching session had left my hair.

This Living Proof 'restore mask treatment' popped up in my recommended while browsing products online so I did a bit of research before adding it to my cart. Most verified reviews on Amazon and Sephora were positive, so I decided to give it a go. Silicone and paraben free, the mask is designed to specifically treat damaged hair and restore moisture levels to that of healthy scalp. It also works to repair damaged cuticles, thereby preventing further breakage and making your hair more resilient.

You apply after shampooing, leave it on for at least 5 minutes and rinse it out. It's colour safe and suitable for all hair types so you don't need to worry about leaving it on longer. I started using the mask in January and by March I had noticed a fair difference in my hair's thickness and consistency. My hair now has a nice sheen to it, making it look much healthier than the dry, broken strands last year's salon trip left me with.

It is another pricey investment, coming in at around €43 from parfumdreams.ie and $43 in Sephora. I ordered my first tub with Olaplex No. 3 from parfumdreams as they had free shipping over €50. Your money also goes a long way: my first tub lasted until June while using it 2-3 times a week. 

PURE RESISTANCE...AND A PAIR OF SCISSORS

All of these great products don't change the biggest factor of recovering your hair from major damage: waiting it out! You've got to exercise extreme restraint when it comes to recolouring, touching up roots and using heat tools to style your hair. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used heat on my hair in the past year, and I waited six months before going to a (different!) salon after the damage was done. Hide your wands and straighteners, wear your hair up, ditch the hairdryer for air drying and stay away from home or salon colourings.

Otherwise, your attempt at fixing something will add damage on top of damage and your hair will be left in unsalvageable ruins. And then you'll be stressed about the fact that your hair is falling out and stress makes your hair fall out so you'll be left with even less hair and even more stress and stresses just don't help your hair grow back.

On top of that, you're going to have to cut your hair. Dried, broken hair is only going to break further and won't have a chance to come down. In getting rid of the damage, your hair can grow fresh from the root with unbroken ends in its length. The first cut (shown above) got rid of a large chunk of the damage. By the time I returned to a salon in January, my hair had grown quite a bit so the bleach damage that had been closer to my roots could now be cut off. I got yet another trim in June to keep dead ends at bay and ensure I was moving country with the healthiest head of hair I'd had in a year.
This is a before and after of my January salon visit (taken by my stylist at Mirror Mirror Hair & Beauty). As mortifying as the left picture is, it shows how much I had to let my roots grow out before I could trust my hair to handle any type of processing. This hairdresser only did a half-head of highlights and lowlights as she felt some parts of my hair needed more time to recover. I felt so much more at ease that my hair was in the hands of someone who was honest with me and put my hair's health above a sale.

We did Olaplex throughout to again ensure my hair was as protected as possible, and my hairdresser told me of each step she was taking so I wouldn't be worried. As pictured, she also managed to turn the uneven chunks of hair the bleach had fried off at different lengths into pretty, feathered layers. I've had two salon visits since and my hair is in great shape. Now, the challenge is finding an equally good salon abroad!

This is where I'm at now. My hair sits at shoulder length in its natural curl and below my collarbone area when straight. I'm still putting effort into maintaining its health. But my hair has come a long way after the hard lesson I've learned.

The consciousness I've gained about product ingredients will only continue to improve my hair, possibly even better than it was before my bleach nightmare. I still have a way to go in terms of how long and thick I want my hair to be. But I can finally look in the mirror and see a healthy, blond me again.