engelhare

[engelhare]

May 27, 2025

- 11 months / 334 days without bleach!

- 239 days without heat!

- 4 days since last haircut

I am so happy about making it this far.

[engelhare]

Some old hair photos. This was back when I was strict with my no-heat rule. I did not use heat under any circumstances since around 2012.

My hair began quickly deteriorating when I started heat-styling it weekly. I thought I would be safe because I used plenty of high quality heat protection from the salon I worked in.

Still, my bleached hair did not do well with the heat.

My hair started breaking, the heat made it dry like straw. I was using deep conditioning and protein masks all the time, so I felt like my hair should be ok. But the heat damage was greater.

I was careful to alternate between moisturising and protein masks to not overload my hair with protein too. I felt like I was following every rule in the book that would make it okay for my hair to use heat.

My final straw was when I used a curling iron (at this point I had to heat style it for it to even look somewhat decent) and all the hair on my whole crown and around my face just broke off at the very top of my head. It looked like a mullet.

At this point my hair didn’t even look good with heat styling anymore either.

I couldn’t even have it in a ponytail because most of the hair would not join in the ponytail.

Fortunately I went on sick leave from work due to pregnancy symptoms right after this happened, so I didn’t have to go to work in a hair salon with hair like that.

That’s when I decided I had had enough. No more heat ever in my life. My hair before heat - while bleaching my roots every 2nd month - was in as great condition as bleached hair could be. Soft and long (except maybe needing a trim from time to time).

Now I’m babying my hair like crazy. No heat, being kind to it, treating it gently. My hair is growing and I’m feeling much better about it already.

I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to bleaching it, right now I’m enjoying seeing my own natural colour. It’s much prettier than I remember.

[engelhare]

Okay, but why does my hair low-key look better without any conditioner or oil in it? Washed my hair two days ago with Redken Acidic Bonding Shampoo twice and just let it be without any product in. It feels so soft and bouncy.

I think the products I’ve been using are working their magic (K18, oils and conditioners) but I’m pleasantly surprised at how good my hair feels without anything but shampoo as well.

I’ve also began loving my natural hair colour, which I didn’t before bleaching it the first time back in December 2015.

My natural hair colour is like a level 6-8. Level 6 in the back of my head, level 7 on top and level 8 around my hairline.

[engelhare]

Did this cute little hairstyle after the haircut 💖 I think this will be my go-to hairstyle for now <3 Looks cute and hides the damage a little bit.

[engelhare]

My mom cut my hair today 🩷 It looks so much better! I know I need to cut more, but I want long enough to wear it in a bun and ponytail.

Alsooo … the MASSIVE difference in my hair texture and feeling after using K18 for the past washes?! I’m astonished. Never had results like this from any other product (my hair does NOT like Olaplex). I am genuinely in shock at the difference of how my hair feels and behaves in comparison to before.

[engelhare]

Products I’ve been using lately

Redken Extreme Length

These are really nice! I like them. They are not heavy at all. My hair feels lighter and thoroughly cleansed. I don’t know how much impact they have on hair growth, but my scalp has had no negative reactions to them (my scalp tends to be itchy and dry).

The conditioner is light weight. My hair is naturally thick and wavy (not the bleached fried parts though), but I’m pleasantly surprised at how soft it makes my bleached hair feels.

K18

Okay.. I noticed a huge difference in the feeling of my hair strands after the Leave-In Molecular Repair. I’ve tried it two times so far. I was interested in trying this on my destroyed bleached parts because I wanted to see if it actually works or not.

I would say it does work, since my hair did feel softer and stronger and more “whole” or “intact” in a way. It almost feels thicker as a whole? The structure feels more compact. But again, my bleached hair is destroyed beyond saveable. Still, very interesting to feel a difference in a destroyed hair!

The oil is quite heavy. Even when I used barely a tiny drop, my hair became greasy in the ends. Fortunately it dries up after a while, so it feels nice in the end. I’m very happy with both of these products and can’t wait to continue using them.

[engelhare]

28 April 2025

- 10 months since bleach!

- 210 days without heat!

- 20 days since last haircut (yes I know it needs much more than a trim.. a big CHOP)

I can’t believe I’ve come this far. It makes me want to go on even more. I’ve seen such big results in less than a year, giving me hope that I will have long, healthy and beautiful hair again some day. Can’t wait to see more!

[engelhare]

Growing out my hair from scratch feels like it takes forever, but seeing photos from the past months makes it easier to be patient.

I feel like this hairstyle looks semi-decent now. I still don’t feel comfortable having hair down around my face since the breakage is so bad.

[engelhare]

I couldn’t manage to wait until next month, so I cut a few centimetres of my hair! God, the difference it made! My ends are still fried, but it looks instantly so much better.

All of the bleached hair is obviously fried and destroyed beyond repair, but I’m keeping some length just to be able to do hairstyles like ponytails and braids.

I braided my hair like this today and it doesn’t look too bad. I can definitely wear this hairstyle in public.

I love the way my natural colour is starting to seriously show up. My natural hair is insanely soft, thick and healthy! I can’t stop touching it.

[engelhare]

- 9 months since bleach

- 178 days since heat

- 18 days since last haircut

[engelhare]

28 February

- 246 days, 8 months since bleach

- 162 days since last haircut

- 151 days since heat

My hair still looks terrible, but the regrowth is so soft, thick and healthy. My hair has started getting greasy again (it stopped getting greasy when I bleached it). I honestly missed having greasy hair - washing your hair when it never gets greasy doesn’t feel as good.. it also feels like the grease is a natural hair mask. Hair “should” get greasy, so I’m happy about it.

I wash my hair anywhere between 4-12 days now, depending on what I’m doing. I just had a baby and I’m exclusively breastfeeding, which is like a full time job 24 hours of the day.

I haven’t noticed any hair loss during or after pregnancy so far.

I just bought the Redken Extreme Length shampoo and conditioner, which is meant to be length retaining and stimulate hair growth. Can’t wait to try it.

Also just moved to a different part of the country I live in, which has a different water quality, so I’m excited to see if there’s any difference to my hair the next time I wash it.

I still haven’t decided whether I’ll bleach the regrowth in the summer/at some point or if I’ll just let it all be natural. I’m torn. I don’t feel comfortable with my hair at all right now, cause it obviously looks horrible and breakage everywhere. I’m always wearing it up in a ponytail which I also don’t like.

It’s weird having to adjust to not using my hair as a shield or identity anymore. I used to have long thick luscious hair, which made up most of my identity. Now I almost have to figure out how to be strong without it.

[engelhare]

November 27, 2024

153 days / 5 months regrowth

58 days with no heat

69 days since last haircut

Unwashed hair in these photos. So many new baby hairs, and they're getting longer <3 I feel no difference from day to day, but when seeing the pictures I can tell my hair is really growing out. Feels good.

My new regrowth is so soft and silky compared to the rest of the bleached hair, it's kind of crazy how different it feels.

I've been thinking about what I could do with my hair when it's grown out properly. My goal is long, healthy hair. I think I will stick to not using heat whatsoever because that's what really took a toll on my hair. Bleach is damaging, but my hair was bleached, long and thick for 8 years until I started experimenting with heat. Heat was what really took a toll on it. We'll see..

Also curious how my hair will feel after pregnancy. I'm making sure I take all the necessary vitamins.

I really noticed a huge difference in my nails after I began taking zinc and iron (I had iron deficiency). I think those two has a lot to say about hair and nail quality!

[engelhare]

October 29, 2024

40 days since my last haircut

29 days without heat

My hair looks.. awful! Lol. I don't even know what to say. I wear my hair in a ponytail every single day because it's so embarrassing. I don't want to trim my hair to above my shoulders (even though that's exactly what I should) because then I won't have that much of a ponytail.

I know I should actually cut off most of it, because none of my lengths are redeemable or saveable, but I'm just going to trim the ends every 2nd to 3rd month to remove the damage slowly without cutting it all off.

Current shampoo: Kérastase Genesis Bain Hydra-Fortifiant

Current conditioner: Kérastase Blond Absolu Bain Lumiére

[engelhare]

October 29, 2024

124 days, 4 months and 3 days regrowth

29 days with no heat

40 days since last haircut

I can see a difference since last month. My baby hairs are coming back fully. My roots feels so soft, smooth and thick compared to the bleached hair. I love the feeling of it.

Currently washing my hair as rarely as possible, since I'm on sick leave due to pregnancy symptoms (pelvic pain, nausea and dizziness).

[engelhare]

September 25, 2024

6 days since my last haircut

[engelhare]

September 25, 2024

90 days, 3 months regrowth

12 days with no heat

6 days since my last haircut

So many new baby hairs <3 I can't wait to see more of my natural hair colour.

About the pink colour: I removed it at the salon using Redken Color Gel Oils with Clear and 3% (10 volume developer). The pink fell out within minutes.

I've been washing my hair with clarifying shampoo for a while, but the pink was staying. Using Clear in Color Gel Oils is a good option if your hair is damaged and you can't afford to do another color removal or bleach bath.

[engelhare]

September 16, 2024

81 days and 11,5 weeks since I did my regrowth

My hair looks greasy because I just washed it and it’s still drying. I washed it with Olaplex clarifying shampoo in order to fade the pink. Although I just dyed my hair pink, I regretted it a few hours later.

Pink hair is beautiful, but it requires a lot of styling and makeup for me to feel good in it. This happened the last time I dyed it pink as well. I felt good in it for a few days, but I feel like when my hair is not healthy, pink hair gives off an uneasy vibe.

I can see lots of new baby hairs around the hairline growing out. Since I’ve been bleaching my regrowth every 2,5 months since 2016, I think I’ve forgotten what healthy, strong hair actually feels like.

My goals are:

- Not bleach my regrowth until 2025, maybe longer

- No heat

- Regular trims every 2nd to 3rd month

- Fade the pink and get back to blonde

This will be hard, since I’ve been addicted to bleach and heat styling my hair for years. I don’t know if I’ll go back to all over bleached platinum when my hair has gotten healthier, if I’ll start doing highlights or just let my natural hair grow all the way out. We’ll see how I feel about it when the time comes.

One thing is certain: My bleached hair was actually really strong and healthy (as healthy as bleached hair can be) when I did not use any heat. I was relentless on avoiding all kinds of heat since 2012. All of my hair problems began when I started using heat. Even when my root touch up got slight overlapping, my hair integrity was still there. When I started using heat, my hair was breaking and its health deteriorated quickly over time.