#I have so much breakage but I can’t stop lmao

[pocji]

every time I wash my hair I have approx. 10 minutes of allowing my natural curl pattern to form and I think ‘huh, maybe this will be the year I finally master the curly girl method’ but then the siren call of my revlon one step rings out and the Blowout Wins

[verycute]

Any tips on maintaining bleached hair?

I stopped regularly bleaching my hair at the beginning of this year but I’ll do my best to go over what I do.

I’m super picky about my hair, I try and wash as infrequently as possible, which for me is about 2-3 days. My scalp is greasy/ acne prone so I really can’t go longer without washing or wash without shampoo. I also have slightly wavy, thick hair.

Bleached hair is pretty fragile, there are a few products you can use to repair bonds, but that’s something you do super infrequently. I am allergic to olaplex and have yet to try other products.

Only use shampoo on your roots if you’re using shampoo. I like whole blends charcoal shampoo because it helps a lot with my specific grease + acne issues, but what you’re looking for is something without silicones or parabens.

Condition Liberally!!!! I use another whole blends conditioner for my mid length and my ends - I don’t like the charcoal one as I find it too drying. Again, look for something without silicones or parabens. I also use a leave in after getting out of the shower. I keep changing which one I use, I haven’t found my dream leave in conditioner yet. I think one of the more frustrating things about hair products is how individual it is - the specific products I use work for me but they might not work for you. There’s a lot of trial and error in finding the right products.

If you’re trying to stay blonde, I highly recommend buying a hair gloss to use any time you notice you’re getting too brassy. I like the L’Oréal hair gloss! I had to use their “silver” one to get my hair toned from orange to blonde, but I have a lot of natural red hiding in my hair.

Another big thing is avoiding breakage! Identify things that could be causing damage and change that. I sleep in a satin sleeping cap and have eliminated my use of hair ties. I was honestly surprised how much of a difference getting rid of hair ties did in regards to breakage. Most of the shorter broken pieces on the back of my head/neck area have now grown out. I’m not sure how much the satin lined hat does, but it is nice to get it out of my way when I sleep. It also does nice things to my waves. I also brush my hair only when I’m doing certain styles or right before I wash it.

Another thing I did was use the search & destroy method. This is also something that doesn’t need to be done super frequently. I went through all of my hair, found every single split end, and cut each individual split end right above where the splitting happened. It took a long ass time the first time I did it (I split it up into multiple days), but now it doesn’t take as long with monthly upkeep. Having a sharp pair of scissors for this is crucial. I have a pair of dedicated hair shears that I use for this (and for cutting my bangs!).

That ended up being more detail that I thought it would be lmao

[macroglossus]

Sorry I’ve only tried a couple of these myself and don’t have specific product recommendations so idk how well they actually work but the ingredients that I hear about the most that are good for hair thinning and hair loss are argan oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, rice water, and biotin, and probably more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. There are plenty of shampoos, conditioners, serums, treatments, etc. that have those ingredients. Also, just try to keep your hair as relaxed as possible (no tight hairstyles), silk pillow cases might help, and keep your hair hydrated bc drying can cause easier breakage. And as annoying as it is to hear, stress makes it a lot worse too so try not to stress too much about it 😭 so much of my hair turned grey and was falling out A LOT when I turned 21 bc I was so stressed and barely sleeping but once some of the stress calmed down and I started focusing on keeping my hair hydrated, it pretty much stopped greying and went back to a normal amount of fallout LMAO I hope you find something that works for you :)

you are like a god to me tbh thank you so much! i have noticed my hair is dry as hell lately but didnt know it was all interconnected........... weow