“Blondes have more fun” is a real thing until your hair breaks off, and then what? A little over a year ago I same out of the shower after having my roots lifted to platinum for the 8th or 9th time and I had clumps of hair in my hands. I started crying and screaming while lost in my anger and sadness. I felt hopeless when I saw a 2 inch long faux hawk along the middle of my head of beautiful Khaleesi blonde hair. My hair then continued to break in other areas around my head until I couldn’t recognize my head anymore (see my picture below). If you think those are layers, they are not! This was after my faux hawk had grown a few months and I was still refusing to quit the platinum blonde!
So I did a ton of research and began restoring my hair right away! It requires patience and consistency, so you just have to stick to it! Even if your hair didn’t break these are still useful tips to keep your hair happy and luscious!
These are the 7 things I did to help repair, restore, and get my hair back to beautiful
Don’t Stress: I know it’s easier said than done when your hair feels dry, gummy, broken, and you have strangler hairs (short cut-off ends) everywhere. Stress can have a serious impact on your overall health and your body needs as many nutrients as possible, when you stress your body may go into an inflammatory response that could make it even more difficult to get your body the nutrients it needs to get your hair back!
Collagen: Collagen helps repair damaged hair and stimulates new hair growth, not to mention it's great for other parts of your body! I like Hearthy grass fed halal collagen because its very high quality grass fed and it’s halal! It contains both Type I and Type II collagen which are essential for hair, skin, nails, and digestion. If you are pescatarian, marine collagen like this one. I usually make a smoothie in the morning and put 1-2 scoops in the smoothie and chug it. Marine collagen can also be found in pill form, if that is something you prefer. If you’re vegan you may want to consider taking a collagen booster like Ora Vegan Collagen-Boosting Powder. Keep in mind collagen is a great source of protein and is great not just for your hair but for your nails, skin, joints, and gut health!
Cut Your Hair: This was probably the hardest thing for me, when my hair broke it was down to my lower back and all of the sudden I had a faux hawk at the top, breakage in the middle, and a tail left on the bottom. I decided to bite the bullet and chop it all the way to just below my ears. You’re going to need several haircuts and even if you love your hairdresser you should probably look for someone else with a little more experience. You may want to save up and pay a bit more for a haircut but never see anyone you haven’t been referred to or seen 4.5-5 star reviews. Cover your eyes and chop chop chop!
Cut Back on the Blonde: This was also hard for me because I loved my blonde hair but I cut back, big time! I went from a full head of platinum blonde hair to having dark roots and just a few highlights. Your hair needs a break, so cut back on the blonde and hot tools (i.e. blow-dry, curling iron, flat iron) and even purple shampoo because it can be extremely drying which can cause more breakage. Another great tip is to never brush your hair when you’ve just come out of the shower, if you hair some time to air dry and be sure to use a wide tooth comb. The best technique is holding onto your hair and brush the ends first and work your way up.
Invest in your Haircare Products: This was difficult to do because it was expensive to do but I managed to buy one thing at a time. Kerestase exilir ultime hair oil is great for adding shine back into your hair after you shower. High quality shampoo like Kerestase Genesis Strengthening Shampoo, and Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo, and if you don’t want to break the bank this Nexxus shampoo is also a great option. You’ll also need a great hair mask, I like Gisou Honey Infused Hair Mask , Devynus The Resistance , and amika Soulfood Nourishing Hair Mask. These can be pricy but a little goes a long way and even though you pay more up front the amika and Gisou mask can last 3-4+ months.
Kerestase RÉSISTANCE Soin Premier Thérapiste Pre-Shampoo is also a great product that can help improve the texture and quality of your hair. With this product you apply the pre-shampoo first and it helps soften and strengthen the hair and then you follow up with the Kerestase RESISTANCE Bain Extentioniste Shampoo.
Oil, Oil, Oil: There were so many oils I tried to help stimulate my scalp and rehydrate my hair. Some that I tried and showed results were Castor oil+ a few drops of peppermint oil (stimulates the scalp for hair growth and moisturizes), coconut oil baths (warm up the coconut oil just a bit and massage into your scalp and hair) for shine and hydration. Finally, Pumpkin seed oil— this one can get messy and could make your hair brassy if you’re blonde BUT works like crazy! If you do choose to go darker temporarily or you don’t care about a little brass this is great . Use the oil baths overnight, so make sure you have a pillow case you don’t care too much about. Massage into your scalp and comb through, now with COVID you can probably do it during your zoom meetings throughout the day and wash before bed! But never ever sleep with wet hair when you have breakage unless you have a silk pillowcase this can increase breakage if your hair is already damaged!
All these oils can be found on amazon!
Hair Vitamins: This one was tricky… I tried a lot and I mean A LOT of different vitamins and here is what worked for me. HAIRFLUENCE vitamins from amazon worked really well, I did however, have to take them every day for 3-5 months and it took a while before I felt like it was working. I also took Viviscal Women's Hair Growth vitamins which were also great but just a bit fishy. Other essential nutrients for healthy hair include protein (if you’re vegetarian you can try plant based protein, iron (I prefer the liquid form floradex), and other nutrient dense foods. Remember to consult your doctor before taking any supplements. Prenatals are also a great option, if you’re already on them; Great! If not, Prenatals are filled with all sorts of vitamins including Iron and Biotin. You can talk to your doctor and see which one works best for you or you can search on amazon and find one that works for you. I personally like Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multivitamin Tablets, Superfoods & Probiotics.
These are some of the things that I did that helped me restore my hair as you can see in my hair below, it is in a much better place than it was 2 years ago (yes its taken two years!), time flies!
I hope you found this helpful, comment and ask questions below, looking forward to hearing from you!