First, let's start with a little disclaimer; I am not a hairdresser. I do not have any education or licence what so ever in haircare nor beauty. I am just a simple girl who likes to experiment with her hair. A little too much. And these tips I'm about to share, helped me. Not only did this repair my beyond damaged hair, it made my hair grow in the speed of light. And I really am passionate about sharing this and hope this will help my fellow hair abusers out there, like it has helped me. So with that said, let's get started!
Start off fresh - repair!
Like taken from a horror movie right?
It gets worse: I did not cut any layers in my hair, this is how much my hair snapped off by itself!!
So how could I go from that nightmare to this?
As you can see, I added some pigments to my hair. But mostly because I am a hair dye junkie more than thinking about the condition of my bleached hair. In fact, this is just one of many colors I changed into during my repair and hair growth journey. I even bleached it all over again at one time.
Adding pigments do not restore your bleached hair in anyway, what your hair needs, is proteins and most of all: keratin. So you can repair your hair and grow it long, and still keep your gorgeous blonde hair.
Keratin is not only for us bleach addicts. Regular use of heat, over styling and permanent hair dye with ammonia, also strips your hair from it's natural keratin.
You can either use hair masks or conditioners with keratin, or like I prefer, using an oil. My favourite one is Keratin Healing Oil by Lanza. Now this stuff is expensive! But you kinda owe this to your hair for after what you put it through. It's a pretty cheap price to pay to still have hair on your head right? ;)
You can use this as a finnish product, soak your hair in it over night, or apply it into your wet hair after washing it. Either way works just as good. One nice little bonus with this oil, is that it also protects your hair from heat.
I used this regulary for 3 months. One thing you need to know about keratin, is that you should only use it for a maximum of 3 months, and no longer! The reason is because keratin makes your hair very hard and stiff after a while when the keratin has been restored back.
After these 3 months of keratin shock treatment to my hair, I started to add proteins. Again, bleaching, styling and heat using strips your hair off pretty much everything; it's natural oils, keratin, proteins, you name it. The best protein products I found was Redkens All soft. I used the schampoo, conditioner and the hair milk as a leave in product.
Finally my hair started to feel like actual hair, and not hay. The products kept their promise; my hair really was all soft.
I did chill on the heat too. Going from using my blow dryer and straightener every day, to just once a week, really did help alot. If you absolutely must use heat on your hair regulary, then use a good heat protection. Make sure your heat protection can handle a high degree setting! The higher it can handle, the better.
So after the condition of my hair was starting to get better, I was ready to grow it long. And since I am a girl, I did not want to wait a long time. Here's how I grew my hair super fast!
Grow it long, strong and fast
First; do not cut your hair. You read it right. Hairdressers and experts will probably skin me alive for writing this, but you don't need to cut your hair if it is not beyond repairment.
I have not cut my hair for over a year. Why? Because I don't need to. The truth is, you only need to cut split ends and hair that is breaking off. This is because if you don't get rid of these evil things, they will make a haircut for you by snapping off more and more, until your long locks suddenly are shoulder lenght.
So how could a hair abuser like me keep my ends in good condition for such a long time?
With some simple holy grails: oils.
These are my absolute favourite oils that both moisturize and repair damaged ends:
Castor oil
This magic oil doesn't just boost your hairgrowth when massaging it into your scalp regulary, it repairs damaged hair!
Make sure to wash your hands carefully after using this oil, since it's laxative. Not something you accidently wanna get into your mouth.
Coconut oil
I doubt that this oil needs a furter introduction. Coconut oil works miracle for pretty much everything. Hair, face, body, even eating it is good for you.
Moroccanoil
This oil is my all time favourite. Not only does it smells like heaven, it makes my hair so soft and shiny. It's also packed with argan oil which your hair will love.
One thing people often forget about, is the scalp. Taking care of your scalp is just as important as taking care of your ends. It's impossible to grow long hair with a dry scalp, so you need to invest in a good scalp moisturizer. I prefer using the gel type.
So here's the step by step!
1. Apply your scalp moisturizer and massage it into your scalp.
2. Mix equal amounts of castor oil, coconut oil and moroccanoil in a bowl or directly in your palm. The amount depends on how thick and long your hair is.
3. Section your hair so that every inch of your hair gets its share of the mixture. Then comb it through.
4. Apply the mixture. By apply, I mean really soak your hair in it. I prefer leaving the scalp, but if your hair is damaged all over, then apply it all the way up to your scalp aswell.
5. Braid your hair. This helps your hair really absorb it. I prefer doing two braids, but one braid works just as good.
6. If you want to, put a shower cap on and leave a towel on your pillow if you don't want the oils to rubb off everything.
7. Get your beautysleep! And make sure to wash your hair the morning after.
I do this about 3 days a week, and my dry, damaged hair has completely restored! Most of all, no split or snapping off ends as far as the eye can see. No split ends = no hair cutting!
Pill poppin'
Like I mentioned in the beginning, I am not much for waiting. So I decided to take a little extra help from the good old pill. There are many good supplements out there that boost the hair growth and makes your nails stronger as a nice little bonus.
When chosing the right supplement, make sure to look for these ingredients:
Biotin- A.K.A the hair growth vitamine
Silicium - strenghtens hair and speeds up the hair growth process
Zinc - prevents hair loss
Iron - helps the cells provide oxygen to the hair follicles
Calcium - makes hair thicker and stronger
Vitamine D - helps the production of natural calcium
Vitamine A - helps your scalp produce its natural oils
Vitamine C - stimulates the scalps blood circulation
Kelp - an alga full with iodin that makes your skin and hair glow
Propolis - a key ingredient that makes your hair super thick and strong
Warning: hair growth supplements makes your hair grow faster and thicker, but not just the hair on your head. So be prepared to tweeze and shave a little more often than you usually do.
I took my suppliments for about 10 months, and I can promise you my hair has never grow so fast before. I'm gonna let the before and after pics speak for themselves.
Before
After
These pictures are about 10 months apart, and all it took was using the oil mixture regulary and taking the supplement. And what I loved most about this, was that I could still practice my favourite hobby: changing my hair color often.
Good luck!
Again, these are the tricks that really did it for me. The time it takes for your hair to recover depends on everyone's individual hair quality. Fine hair might need a little extra care since it's more sensitive than coarse hair for example.
I never thought I could have healthy hair concerning how I have treated my hair for years and years, but this has been a life saver for me.
I really hope this will help you as well! Please feel free to comment or ask any questions! :)
