3 years down the drain....

[wheezy807]

I don't have anything to add except if you think your hair to porous Sistaslick has an article how to test to see if it is. She also has an article on how to correct it (she's relaxed). I'm gonna go and find them. I hope your hair will make a quick recovery. Sorry this happened to you.

EDIT: Porosity Series

Pt. 1: Is My Hair Porous? 3 Simple Tests.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/367189/hair_porosity_help_for_dry_damaged.html

Pt. 2: Yes! It's Porous now Help Me Fix It!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/375435/hair_porosity_help_for_dry_damaged.html

 

[Twisties]

Hi Silvergirl

So sorry for the color troubles. I hope you're able to find a solution to this.

Did the color come with a conditioner in the box? Maybe the company who makes it has a particular conditioner they recommend that you use that can help return your hair's moisture level - can you call the manufacturer 800 Hotline to see what they recommend?

 

[bgsix]

Silver, you mentioned your mom has a salon. Did you ask her what you should try? I agree with the other ladies though: clarify, protein, porosity control and deep condition.

 

[Platinum]

Aww, I'm sorry to hear about this. I agree with the other ladies, using a relaxer will only make matters worse. I can't add any advice, the other sistas pretty much said it all. (Sending you a hug)

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

I know this sounds archaic, but can you get it cornrowed for awhile so that it can rest? Also, it sounds like you could use some of your own natural oils...cornrows always helped me with that.

Sorry this happened to you...your hair will be fine.

 

[Allandra]

I wouldn't put a chemical (relaxer) on top of it. It may cause more harm than good. I would give it some good tlc and do as little manipulation as possible.

 

[silvergirl]

ill have to head out and get some clarifying shampoo. and that porousity control. thanks everyone for the help.

i did do some protein treatments at the beginning of the month, thats probably why i dont really see any breakage. i just hope i can try an get my hair in working order again.

 

[silvergirl]

Please do not relax your hair. I thought that would solve my color damage as well, and the stylist was like no we need to cut. I chopped from BSL to above SL. I will never get color again. It will grow back. Better to start over with a fresh new head of healthy hair. Im not one for the "salvage" team. My hair was a tangling frizzy mess. The curls were never quite right.

thats kind of what i was thinking, i was like "hey if the relaxer takes out my hair, at least id get a fresh start. its just frustrating when ive been trying for a month and i dont see not one tiny bit of improvement..

 

[silvergirl]

Silver, you mentioned your mom has a salon. Did you ask her what you should try? I agree with the other ladies though: clarify, protein, porosity control and deep condition.

yes,,

but its quite unfortunate that she doesnt really do black hair, ( not because she doesnt want to, but because there arent that many black ppl around here)

plus shes a type 3a/3b. all she knows about natural hair shes learned from me.. ironic i guess.. since shes the stylist. in any case she told me that i shouldnt even think of putting in a relaxer. but just to do protein at the beginning,,, ( which i did do and its helped. i dont have any breakage) followed by dc till it get better. but the dryness, the frizz hasnt gotten better at all.

 

[Vshanell]

OMG ... I swear my heart almost stopped when I saw that it was you, Silvergirl. I absolutely love your natural hair and you've been a huge inspiration during my own transition.

I am soooo sorry this is happening to you, but please don't act in haste again and slap another chemical on it. I fear that would be a recipe for disaster. Maybe you need to rebuild both your protein and moisture levels in your strands, since your protein bonds have been broken down by the commercial color. You might want to do a protein treatment and then deep condition and see what that does for you. Just make sure you don't overload on the protein and make matters worse. I say condition, condition and then condition some more!

I really hope it gets better for you.

ETA: I also agree with everyone who says you need to clarify so you can start with a clean slate.

I agree. Don't put anymore chemicals in your hair. I'm so sorry this happened to you silvergirl. You'll come back from this (((((((HUGS))))))

Try wearing some braid-outs, twist-outs or rollersets for awhile if you feel you can't wear it curly. Focus on doing lots of dc's and trimming off any damage. Things will get better.

 

[silvergirl]

I know this sounds archaic, but can you get it cornrowed for awhile so that it can rest? Also, it sounds like you could use some of your own natural oils...cornrows always helped me with that.

Sorry this happened to you...your hair will be fine.

i dont think my hair does well in braids or cornrows. ive never had luck with growing/ or retaining the length of my hair that way.

i havent ruled out anything though... including the relaxer... but ill wait a lil longer to see if anything changes..

 

[janeemat]

For Lord sakes don't relax! You will have MAJOR damage. Like so many of the other posters stated, clarify and just use tons of moisturizing conditioners. Good Luck!

 

[sareca]

I had a similar experience with black hair dye during my first year here. I'm sorry to say I could never stop it from breaking off. Clariol's Uncolor helped a bit.

 

[ladylibra]

i'm so sorry to hear that this happened silvergirl... i love your hair

hope you pull thru okay...

 

[tld723]

Hi there! This past summer I pretty much did the same thing and my hair was seriously po'ed at me. It took a couple of months of intense conditioning for my hair to feel normal to me again. I did a small trim in January,maybe 1/4 to 1/2/inches and it is soooo much better now. Oh, and I really know better, I used to be a hairdresser years ago

 

[JustKiya]

Oh, no, silvergirl!!!! I nearly fainted when I saw the thread title, and who posted!!!

I think a lot of the above ladies have good suggestions - I would STRONGLY suggest that you try henna. I damaged the everloving LIFE out of my hair with color, and henna - henna was the only thing that prevented my strands from breaking off and being horribly gnarly. It still wasn't in as good condition as my uncolored hair - but I had damaged mine MUCH worse than you've done yours.

Citric Acid rinses - it's a chelating agent, so it will lift any metals left in your hair from the dye, and it will 'close' your cuticles.

I don't know what else to suggest - I hope your hair comes back to itself soon.....

 

[Traycee]

I sent you a pm.......With tips..To correct your problem

 

[TLC1020]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this as well. My suggestion is to keep your hair moisturized and protected as to not dry out your hair any further.

I went through this my second year of college, I cut it off and started over but I don't suggest you do that. It's obvious your hair need some serious moisture, so I would keep the hair moisturized as much as possible.

 

[nurseN98]

I don't have much advice past what you've gotten (moisture, porosity, no relaxing) but i hope you can repair the damage. Let us know what ends up working for you. Good luck

 

[DeepBluSea]

I'm so sorry to hear this because you have a beautiful head of hair. The hair gurus have given you some good advice. Please don't relax on top of color gone wrong. If you have to cut at least you can do a controlled cut now. Maybe consider transitioning from the hair color and cutting off an inch every other month.

 

[ChocolateSoda]

Don't give up!

I've always secretly admired your hair. When I'm on the boards I always stop in my tracks to look at your hair

Keep your patience!
Your hair will eventually forgive you!

 

[GoingNatural]

Everyone has pretty much said it all. Please don't relax! I guess I won't be dying my hair black anytime soon which sucks, but you just scared me straight!

Good luck! You are definitely an inspiration to me

 

[SEMO]

I'm sure you have all the advice you need from everyone else. I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your hair. I've always loved your natural curls. Don't relax if you can help it .

 

[Monigirl]

Have you tried Porosity control and doing a deep condition? Maybe that will help. I hope so. I hope and pray you don't have to cut your hair.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

So sorry to hear about this . Your hair always looks so healthy, curly, and just doggone beautiful, I hope you can find a solution to your problem.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Don't relax your hair, please! This happened to me, too. The permanent hair color killed my curls. I had to cut and start over. I hope all goes well with you. You are one of my favorite hair divas.

 

[Priss Pot]

So i will admit that this is entirely all my fault. im fine with that and ive accepted that fact...

heres the short back story.. i love my natural hair, love the options that being natural gives, love playing with hair colors. now normally id just go to my moms salon to get proffesional hair colors an do it myself. and for the past 2 yrs till feb 08 my hair has been fine with colors, no side effects.

well in early march i decided i wanted a jet black color in. but in my hast instead of getting color from my mom, i decided to get a store bought color instead.. long story short.. i dont know what to do with this thing on my head.. i cant even do a decent wash an go, instead of curls, i get half curl definition . half frizz. nor can i do a decent ponytail, again its half frizz. buns dont even look good anymore

im seriously thinking of just putting in a relaxer and call myself a transitioner again... but i dont know how the relaxer will react, for all i know it could break my hair off to shoulder length or worse.. but i cant do anything with what i have right now.. if i had some more guts id really just BC and cut it all off. i just dont like short hair on myself... seriously my hair right now looks like crap...this doesnt even feel like my hair anymore..

any advise would be appreciated....

I understand your pain, silvergirl. I put store color in my hair, and a few months later my hair started acting crazy. My hair barely got any curl definition, and my wash 'n gos didn't look the same anymore. I ended up cutting all of my hair off and starting over.

Maybe you could try an ApHogee treatment. I did it and it brought my hair halfway back to life. Maybe you could try it to see where it leaves your hair. And maybe you can hold off on doing anything more drastic, like cutting or relaxing.

 

[BlackPearl1]

Ok bare with my story a little . My friend last summer decide she want to loosen up her curl pattern, so she used a texture softener by Just for Me. I told her not to because her hair was already pretty curl and I feared the texture softener would make her hair straight. So she got the curls she want but in other areas she had straight hair . My friend decide to cut or relaxer her hair because of the two different textures. I told her she should not cut or relaxer her hair, instead wash and condition for the next few months and see what happen . In about two months her curl pattern was the same all over her head.


So with that story Pretty Please don't cut or relaxer your hair, just gave it some time to find its way back home. After a few wash and some TLC, your hair well return to that state you love so much . Just gave it some time before you make any decision on whether to relaxer or cut.

But what ever you decide to do I'm positive your hair will be lovely

 

[MissMasala5]

I echo all the sentiment from the other ladies, but I will admit I got a lil to read that you don't DC. Hair always needs a good DC after chemicals. Coloring is very drying, either lifting or depositing, and even with those little tubes if conditioners that are included in those color kits, instant conditioners are not enough. Now I am biased and all with my DC, but I think a good cholesterol cream (I prefer Queen Helene) mixed with EVOO and a good 30 minutes under the dryer will give you visible results after one treatment. Make sure to cowash after, and your moisture levels will be boosted 1000-fold.

 

[sweet mocha]

i normally dont DC, but ive been dc'ing all month. trying to get some moisture back, when my hair is wet its as if nothing has happened. its super moisturized and soft , silky as usual but when its dry ... its literally DRY horrid pile of frizz...its still feels like straw after all this Dc'ing.

Hi Silvergirl, don't cut your hair!!!! I read about this product Stablizer Plus. It is a rinse out. It is suppose to restore your ph balance to your hair. Do a thread search. See if you can gather info on this. I just bought it. Some ladies put it on after a relaxer and others just did it to restore their ph balance. I haven't tried it, but i'm trying it on my next hair wash day.
You can get at Sallys Beauty for about 7-8 dollars.
Good luck. - stay positive!!!!