Hair bleach/tint advice

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Jo_r5

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Looking for some advice please - I have natural blonde hair which has gone darker with age, it’s now a dark blonde. I have had it highlighted for years, I used to have bleach ( blondor) then a high lift tint Majiblonde violet/Ash. About 4 and a half years ago I changed my hairdresser and she used Schwarzkopf bleach (not sure what one) and over the last few year has also mixed with Olaplex. From about a year and a half ago my hair has started breaking really badly, to the point where I have a layer the whole way around my head that is about nose length... the rest of my hair is below the shoulder so it looks ridiculous! I can’t carry off short hair as I have a pea head so cutting it short isn’t an option. Although I do kind of think it might be the Olaplex that has caused the damage I have read that this is impossible so it must be the bleach? I used to straighten my hair pretty much every day and have cut this back a lot over the last 4/5 months but it’s so far made no difference other than my hair looks even worse as I can’t style it at all. My hairdresser keeps saying it’s because that section of my hair gets all the elements (wind, rain etc) but I don’t buy it as 1. I don’t spend an awful lot of time outside and 2. Nothing has changed about the way I do my hair or live my life in the past 10 years other than my hairdresser, what she uses and Olaplex. I’ve looked at switching to a high lift tint and it seems there will be an issue matching up the colour and although I’d rather just stop dying it altogether the natural colour is quite dark now so roots will look terrible. Looking for some advice please! Should I switch hairdressers? Mine keeps saying to trim every 2-4 weeks and use Olaplex all the time (the salon treatment with her every 2 weeks and then the No3 plus the shampoo and conditioner) which I have been doing since summer, I’ve also hardly been straightening it, I sleep on a silk pillow and use a Mason Pearson boar bristle brush to minimise damage but it just seems to be getting worse and worse and shorter and shorter and breaking more and more I find broken bits with 4/5 splits in them! Completely lost what to do, I just want healthy hair back that’s not stupidly short at the back. Help please
 
It also gets greasy very quickly so I have to wash it every other day... and is super wavy with cows licks in a number of places so I can’t get away with not blow drying either.. but again, that’s never been any different and it’s never been this bad.
 
From the damage aspect, I wonder if your hairdresser is taking the bleach through to the ends or overlapping at some point?. The fact you haven't changed your hair care regime has nothing to do with how your hair responds to things like bleaches and treatment etc... Our blood / body / hormone levels change all the time all these things have an impact on our hair. That's before we colour it, heat damage it and use product on it. I do like Olaplex and I cannot agree that it would cause damage. If damage is caused whilst using Olaplex it is not the Olaplex, it's either the product its being used with being misused or a poor choice of technique. Providing your hair is in tip top condition or Providing its nothing you're doing yourself. What other products do you use other than Olaplex? Any other shampoos? Conditioners? Styling products?
As for the greasy roots, are you shampooing it twice? And only conditioning the mid lengths and ends?
 
Thank you for your reply. I tend to only shampoo once and condition just the ends although as the damage is now halfway up my head I do condition this area too but not the roots. But I will try shampooing twice also. I have bad skin since coming off the contraceptive pill, I know the greasy roots can also be hormonal but I didn’t realise damage could be also. I’ve only been using Olaplex shampoo and conditioner since September and if I do ever use anything else it’ll be something with no sulfates/parabens. I also now use Olaplex bond smoother to get rid of the flyaways thanks to my many split ends and a Orbe gold lustre oil. And dry shampoo when necessary. It’s possible my hairdresser has overlapped maybe and that’s why it’s all broken off at the same length although I wouldn’t have thought she overlapped the whole way round all at the same time, would more likely have been just one section by mistake..
 
I’m wondering if your regular straightening could be causing the breakage? Long hair will have been growing on your head for up to 7 years so imagine 7 years worth of straightening on each section of hair. Whereabouts on a section do you start ironing your hair, presumably not at the root?

This is a really good video from Guy Tang clearly demonstrating how heat tools will quickly fade your colour and therefore damage your hair.
Guy also explains why washing in hot water and hard water will also cause your colour to wash out.

Note: they talk about straighteners set at 450 degrees (Fahrenheit)
For European spec hair tools the equivalent is 230 degrees Centigrade
His recommended temperature is around 320’F or 160 degrees centigrade. I use Cloud 9 straighteners and I have them set to 150 degrees. You really don’t need them any hotter.

 
Hi, thank you for your reply. Straightening is one of the things my hairdresser has said is causing it so I have really cut this down. The breakage is so high up tho and as you say, I don’t straighten from the root so the broken bits wouldn’t have had as much heat damage as the bits underneath which still get straightened, although not bleached. I guess it’s straightening the already weakened bleached hair but I just can’t work out why it’s gotten so bad so fast. I find split ends and breakage right at the top. Hardly been straightening since summer and having regular small trims and the broken bits at the back have got shorter and shorter.. ‍♀️♀️
 
What temperature is the iron set at?
 
I use GHD’s which are always at 185 I think. When/if I do straighten the weaker bits though I turn them off and let them cool down for a few seconds so those bits are straightened at a lower temp
 
Like the others have mentioned there are a whole host of factors that can lead to breakage like you have described.

Given the fact it is isolated around the top it seems plausible, just like your hairdresser has suggested, that it is because this area is taking a battering as it’s the most exposed, to the environment and heat styling etc.

It sounds like you have invested a fair bit of money by now into products and salon appointments trying to solve the problem. While you do have to be patient I think I would probably consider the costs long term and look into visiting a trichologist. Hopefully they might be able to narrow down more precisely what is going on and you would be able to spend money buying products more specific to your hairs needs. I have had one client in the past whose thyroid was under active leading to a lot of breakage and weak brittle hair. While I’m sure good quality products were helping their hair no amount of them would have solved the underlying problem!

In the mean time definitely keep up with the Olaplex treatments, avoid heat styling where at all possible and wear protective hairstyles.

I hope that helps and that you get to the bottom of it!
 
The reason 2x shampoos is recommended is because the first will only disrupt and losen up the oils and dirt off the scalp, the second will then actively remove the oils and dirt out of the hair. Notice how sometimes your hair doesn't really lather?) This way you will have a cleaner scalp and will then feel like you can go longer inbetween washes, which will hopefully cut down on heat styling.
 
Like the others have mentioned there are a whole host of factors that can lead to breakage like you have described.

Given the fact it is isolated around the top it seems plausible, just like your hairdresser has suggested, that it is because this area is taking a battering as it’s the most exposed, to the environment and heat styling etc.

It sounds like you have invested a fair bit of money by now into products and salon appointments trying to solve the problem. While you do have to be patient I think I would probably consider the costs long term and look into visiting a trichologist. Hopefully they might be able to narrow down more precisely what is going on and you would be able to spend money buying products more specific to your hairs needs. I have had one client in the past whose thyroid was under active leading to a lot of breakage and weak brittle hair. While I’m sure good quality products were helping their hair no amount of them would have solved the underlying problem!

In the mean time definitely keep up with the Olaplex treatments, avoid heat styling where at all possible and wear protective hairstyles.

I hope that helps and that you get to the bottom of it!
Thank you for your reply! I will definitely look into a trichologist
 
Thank you for your reply! I will definitely look into a trichologist
Hi there, how did you make out with your hair? I am having problems and issues and I believe its the Olaplex. I don't think ever person's hair like this product.
 
As Ronray said in his post, the likelihood of it being the olaplex is extremely low. Olaplex is a bond repair treatment, and is not damaging. As has been mentioned in this thread, there is a host of factors - heat damage, application of product, type of lightener, hormones, environmental factors etc - that can lead to breakage but I've never heard of a bond repair treatment actually doing the damage. I use Matrix's version (Bond Ultim8) and it only makes things better. 😊
 
Hi there, as everyone else has suggested heat and bleach have damaged your hair over the years.
sounds like your doing all the right things to look after your hair.
maybe try going a bit darker or a balayage look that will need less maintenance with color less often.
try to limit heat as much as possible and invest in a good heat protection spray before drying and never blow dry your hair from wet try to towel dry hair as much as possible.
hope that helps a bit x
 
I have always used blondor on myself and my clients with great results. I had another stylist foil my hair with the same brand your stylist uses. My stylist used blonde me lightener. My hair started breaking just as you have described. I felt that I was doing something wrong, or to much heat. I condition, stop heat, and got my hair healthier before touching up. I continued with blondor and everything was great. I then went back to my friend/stylist and she used blonde me. My hair was fried and I had to cut it off. I have now learned that blonde me is designed to lift 9 levels and very aggressive. If you are a dark blonde, then you don’t need such an aggressive lightener. I would recommend finding out what she used, or find a stylist that uses wella blondor since you had great results from it. I don’t feel that olaplex damaged your hair. Your hair can still get damaged while using it. It’s not a miracle cure, just helps with bonds. It also helps to use the number 3 once for twice a week for ten minutes before shampooing.
 
I have always used blondor on myself and my clients with great results. I had another stylist foil my hair with the same brand your stylist uses. My stylist used blonde me lightener. My hair started breaking just as you have described.

Do you know what strength developer was used? That’s more likely to be the cause of the breakage.
There’s no need to use above 6% (20vol) in most cases.
 
I am not sure sure what strength was used. I have fine wavy hair that lifts easily. I can’t imagine her using higher than 20 volume. It happened in February 2020. My new growth is much healthier since switching back to my old lightener. She also used olaplex.
 
I can only repeat what others have said but it is generally either the stylist overlapping bleach too much or, and this is the one that it normally is, it's home damage due to straightening/curling too much i.e. washing too often (blowdrying on high heat) and the over-styling or too many passes over the hair, generally the sides and top layer of hair. Again products that you use are very important and the stylist should offer help here to meet your needs and give advice for take-home products (I know they can be more expensive than the supermarket but your hair just cost approx over £100 and you don't wanna use a cheap product to protect it). The Olaplex will never harm your hair it only protects so you can rule that out - hope this helps
 

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