The best shampoos and products for fixing bleached damaged hair

Broken.

Broken in a thousand pieces.

That was how my hair was a few years ago.

 

My hair was so abused because of bleaching that I thought I was going to go bald.

Can you imagine a 22-year-old girl bald?

How horrible.

Just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

 

 Luckily, with patience and the right products, I was able to restore my hair. 

It wasn’t easy

Nor fast.

But I was able to restore it.

 

How did I revive my hair that was so destroyed from so many bleachings?

What products and treatments did I use?

That is what I want to tell you about today.

 

In this article, I’m going to tell you exactly what shampoos and products I used to rescue my hair after so many bleachings.

When you finish reading, you’ll be one step closer to restoring your hair.

 

This is what hair looks like after 20 bleachings

In the last few years, I have changed my hair color more times than my underwear.

I would see a look I liked and change my hair color.

Two weeks later, I would be bored and change the color again.

 

My hair has been every color imaginable.

Fucias.

Blues.

Silvers.

Between ages 17 and 22, I have bleached my hair at least 20 times.

The problem is my natural hair is very dark black.

So, the only way to get those eye-popping colors was to bleach my hair.

 

 But what I didn’t know was that with each bleaching, I was one step closer to the abyss.  

One step closer to ruining my hair completely.

Until one day, my whole world turned upside down.

 

One day, I went to dye my hair at a professional salon for the first time in my life.

Yes, because what I didn’t tell you is that up until that moment, I had done all the bleachings myself at home.

 

Just as the hairdresser looked at my hair, she didn’t say anything to me.

She called over one of her co-workers.

Then, she called over another.

At one point, I was sitting there with at least five people looking at my hair as if it were an alien.

They could believe what they saw.

They told me they had never seen hair so abused.

I had dry hair.

Split ends.

Some parts of my hair were frizzy, and others not.

It looked like the hair of a person 70 years older than me.

 

Can you imagine the hair of a 120-year-old woman?

Well, that’s how my poor hair was after at least 20 bleachings.

 

I’m not going to lie to you.

When they explained to me how bad my hair was, I started to cry inconsolably.

I hadn’t cried like that since I was five years old, and my sister stole my favorite doll out of my hands.

I knew my hair wasn’t perfect, but I could never have imagined that it was that bad.

 

In the salon, they told me that there wasn’t much they could do to restore my hair.

The only option was to let it grow out.

But I wasn’t ready to give up yet.

 

What did I do to revive my hair?

What products and shampoos did I use?

This is what I’m going to tell you now.

 

How does bleaching work? Why does it do so much damage to your hair?

Can you put both legs behind your head?

I bet you can’t.

 

Unless you are an acrobat in the circus, or something similar, surely you cannot do it. It’s an unnatural position. The human body is not ready for that.

The same happens with bleaching. To lighten your hair in this way, you have to generate an artificial chemical reaction in the hair. It’s a unnatural process.

That’s why bleaching is so unnatural for your hair.

Of course, I didn’t know this when I started bleaching my hair when I was 17 years old.

At that age, the only thing that mattered to me was having my hair whatever color I wanted.

 

The pigment that gives color to your hair is called melanin. The more melanin your hair has, the darker it is. My hair has a lot of melanin, which is why it’s so dark.

When you bleach your hair, you take out all the melanin.

If you get rid of all of your hair’s melanin, it shines white. This process is known as bleaching.

 

That doesn’t sound so bad.

If this process is done by a suitable professional, respecting the necessary time to do it, you shouldn’t have any significant problems.

But since in this world we live in, people are very rushed and need results right now; they do things poorly. The bleach their hair at home without knowing how to do it, and the results are disastrous. This is what happened to me a few years ago.

 

The damage of each bleaching accumulates in the hair.

Many people think that by doing a keratin treatment, you’re going to get rid of the damage to your hair. The truth is the only thing these types of treatments do is hide the damage.

 

The first step to restore your hair is sad and painful, but it’s something that must be done…

 

The first step for repairing your hair is sad and painful

The first step to start to restore my hair was cut off the split ends.

It was painful because some of the ends were so damaged that I had to cut off a lot more than I would have liked.

 

With some sharp scissors and the help of a mirror, we are going to cut off each of the split ends in our hair.

If you don’t have experience trimming your ends, I recommend that you go to a professional salon and have them do it.

 

What shampoo should you use for hair damaged from bleach?

Is your hair damaged from bleaching?

If you have damaged hair from bleaching, you have two options

1. Hide your head under your pillow so that nobody can see your hair.
2. Start to repair your hair today with one of the shampoos or treatments that I’m going to explain right now.

I chose the first option:

Repair my hair.

What option will you choose?

 

If you choose to stay in your house and cry, I don’t think what I’m going to explain to you know will be of much use to you.

Now, if you decide to repair your hair, then keep reading because I’m going to tell you everything you need to do to get back to showing off your beautiful hair.

 

Shampoo is your hair’s worst enemy

The shampoo that you are currently using is your hair’s worst enemy.

Instead of helping you repair your hair, it’s damaging it even more.

Why?

 

Most classic shampoos have a ton of chemicals, sulfates, and other ingredients.

In healthy hair, these ingredients don’t do as much damage to your hair. A person could use these shampoos their whole life, and their hair would never have a problem.

The problem is our hair is not normal.

Our hair is weaker because of so many bleachings.   So weak that if on top of we wash it with those chemicals, we are going to end up killing it. . 

What can we do then?

 

The first thing I did was change the products that I used to wash my hair: Shampoo and conditioner.

 

Before, I used to use the classic supermarket shampoo. Most of these shampoos have an ingredient called sulfate.

Sulfate (SLS) is too strong and aggressive for hair that is as damaged as ours. Because of this, I recommend using a shampoo without sulfates.

 

If you don’t find a shampoo without sulfates, another option would be an organic shampoo.

 

The shampoo that helped me rescue my hair was from the brand Art Naturals. It is a shampoo without sulfates and is made with natural ingredients, exactly what our hair needs.

Check shampoo and conditioner price on Amazon

 

But that’s not all, my dear friend. I wish it were as easy as changing shampoos. If you want to get your hair back to normal, there is still a long way to go.

 

What conditioner should you use to repair hair damaged by bleaching?

We talked about what shampoo to use.

But washing isn’t complete without a good conditioner.

 

Before this happened with my hair, I rarely used conditioner, which is truly crazy for bleached hair like mine was. Sometimes I used it, and sometimes I didn’t. When I remembered, I would steal some conditioner from my mom.

 

But now, things were different. My hair was damaged.

If I wanted to repair my hair, I had no other option than to use conditioner every time I washed my hair.

The question is, what conditioner should I use?

 

In the process of getting my hair back to normal, I tried various conditioners. I wasn’t satisfied with any of them.

Until one day, I discovered leave-in conditioners. They changed my life.

The thing about these conditioners is that you don’t rinse them out. That way, they help the hair maintain moisture throughout the day.

Check leave-in price on Amazon

 

How often do you wash your hair?

In addition to changing shampoo, we have to reduce the amount of times we wash our hair.

I have read in some places that it is recommended to wash your hair once a week.

Now, let me ask you the following question…

Would you be willing to wash your hair once a week?

Definitely not.

 

If your hair is damaged from bleach, the worst thing you can do is wash it every day.

I’m not saying to wash your hair once a week but  the less you wash your hair, the better. 

Maybe if now you wash your hair every day, you could try to wash it every other day. If you wash it every other day, try washing it every three days, and so forth.

 

Don’t use flat irons or hair dryers

If your hair is damaged from bleaching, I recommend that you  don’t use flat irons or hair dryers. 

 

I was accustomed to using my hairdryer every day, and the flat iron at least twice a week. Without a doubt, that helped wear out my bleached hair.

 

I know that it’s not easy to stop using your hairdryer. It wasn’t for me either, but there is no other option. If you want to show off your beautiful and healthy hair again, you have to dry your hair with a towel.

 

Up until now, everything we’ve talked about is related to washing your hair.

We talked about what shampoo to use, what conditioner to use, and what things to avoid,

But we are still missing the last step.

 

Treatments and masks to repair bleached hair

When they told me that there was no cure for my hair, I cried.

I didn’t leave the house for a few days.

By the fifth or sixth day of hiding in my house, I told myself that I couldn’t go on like this.

And that is when I started to research how to repair my hair.

 

Many Friends started to recommend to me treatments and masks that they used.

The truth is that up until that moment, I had never done any of that stuff. In my 22 years of life, I had never done a single hair treatment. I also hadn’t used masks. The word mask scared me for that matter.

 

But, I didn’t have much to think about. My hair was so bad that even though I started to use these treatments, my hair wasn’t going to get better ever.

 I knew that to repair my hair after bleaching it so much, it wasn’t enough to change the products I washed with. I needed much more. 

 

Today, I’m going to tell you about the treatments and masks that have given me the best results. Some are home recipes. Others are products that I bought.

These days, between work and studying, I don’t have a lot of time. So, I prefer buying products ready to use, but this is up to each individual.

 

Products you can buy to repair hair damaged by bleach

My hair was bleached and very, very dry.

To moisturize it, I started using a product that immediately turned into one of my greatest weapons in the fight to repair my hair.

Argan Oil.

 

What is Argan Oil?

It’s an oil that is extracted from the seeds of a plant that is native of Morocco.

Argan provides vitamins and antioxidants, in addition to having a ton of other benefits for hair.

 

These days, there are a lot of types of products on the market with argan oil.

You can find raw argan oil, but they’re also exists an infinite amount of products that contain argan oil as a principal ingredient — for example, shampoos, masks, hair treatments, etc.

 

My favorite products with argan are from the brand Art Naturals.

 

After each wash, I put a few drops of the oil in my hair, putting particular focus on the ends.

I’m also using a mask with an argan oil base and other ingredients. This mask changed my life. I love it. It is specially formulated for damaged and bleached hair like ours.

Check hair mask on Amazon

 

Now I use it two times a week, but at first, I used it up to 4 times a week. This argan mask was a turning point for my hair. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

 

Home treatments

Many people prefer homemade recipes instead of buying products.

 

What’s nice about homemade recipes is that you know what you are putting in your hair. It’s as if you can feel the freshness of the ingredients. Meanwhile, with store-bought products, we never know very well exactly what it contains.

At first, I experimented with various homemade recipes that gave me great results. When my hair was a bit better, I started using store-bought products. I also started to work, and I didn’t have as much time to dedicate myself to homemade recipes.

 

How do you make a homemade recipe to repair damaged hair from bleaching?

One of the primary components of hair are proteins. When hair is damaged after so many bleachings, the proteins of the hair become damaged.

 

This is a more complicated topic, but I don’t want to bore you. The question is if we need treatments or masks that provide proteins to repair our hair.

What foods can provide us with those necessary proteins?

Foods with high-protein content are eggs, mayonnaise, banana, avocado, almond oil, and olive oil.

Any mix of these ingredients will be beneficial for your hair.

 

The easiest thing to do is make a mask from the products you have within your reach. For example, in my house, there are always eggs, bananas, and avocados, so I used those ingredients.

 

 My preferred mask is with avocado, egg yolks, and mayonnaise. It’s straightforward and inexpensive to make. 

Mix one avocado, one egg white and one tablespoon of mayonnaise in a bowl. Then, mix it well until you have a paste without lumps.

And now, apply the mixture to wet hair. Massage it well to that the mixture penetrates the hair. Lastly, let it rest for at least 15 minutes.

After rinsing, your hair will feel so soft and silky that it will seem like someone else’s. Try it and then tell me.

 

How often should I apply this type of mask?

At first, I would use these masks 3 or 4 times a week. Now that my hair is healthy, I try not to abuse it, and I use it once a week. Two times at most.

 

A product that can speed up your hair’s recovery

What would you say if I told you that there is a product that can help speed up your hair’s recovery?

This product exists, and it is biotin.

 

So that I’m not misunderstood.

I still insist that your hair cannot be repaired from one day to the next. It is naturally impossible.  But with help from a supplement like biotin, we can speed up the process. 

I was taking biotin supplements for 4 months.

Before starting to take biotin, my hair would break as soon as I touched it with a brush or as soon as I dried it with a towel.

After four months of taking biotin, my hair was much stronger, and only a few hairs fell out.

 

Conclusions

Was I able to get my hair back to normal after doing all these things?

Yes, I was able to.

But don’t think that it was a quick and easy process.

It took me many months to have more or less healthy hair again.

 

If you have damaged hair from bleaching, I’m telling you not to lose hope. If you follow this advice and use the products that we talked about within a period of time, you will have glowing hair.

 

After this recovery process, I never again bleached my hair.

Still, when I see a girl pass by with blue hair, it gives me chills because I remember when I was that girl. It makes me want to tell her not to dye her hair, that she is ruining her hair, but I know that it would be in vain because she wouldn’t pay any attention to me.