Ok Ladies!
Here's a topic that I have been dying to talk about for a while. How to maintain healthy Blond curls despite your damaged hair from highlights. Like some of you I have made some damaging decisions in the past about my hair and namely maintaining its moisture after bleaching or dying and chemically straightening. (I've done it all)
So take it from your favorite curl auntie and listen to the following damage control tips.
AVOID OLAPLEX , KeRATINE Treatments, and excessive blowdrying or heat styling.
Although it "repairs damaged hair" it doesn't do much for the curl integrity.
As you can see in this photo (shown to the left) the curls are dry damaged and have most likely been over processed in one sitting or have had multiple global bleaching sessions.
The result: dry damaged and worse case scenario call in a salon medic....
SOS!! Some curls don't curl up anymore or are breaking off like twigs!
If you have 3C-4C hair your hair is already vulnerable to moisture loss. Bleaching over dries the hair and strips the hair cuticle of melanin. Therefore making dry hair more dry and brittle.
If you want to reverse some damage you can do a protein treatment with some nourishing ingredients from your kitchen such as Olive Oil, Egg, Avocado, Banana or by adding some Blond henna (Cassia) to your deep conditioner.
Leave the mask of your choice on with a heated shower cap for 40 minutes followed by a rinse.
Important Note: Only use henna if you are ready to quit bleaching as they are not friends on a chemical level. Always be honest with your stylist if you have used henna in the past or home box dye kits. As they can hugely change the desired results or cause a chemical reaction.
**Gently lifting the hair color with color and stronger peroxide developer is a better way to achieve a slow process healthy blond curls or brown highlight. Ask your stylist for this alternative but know it will be only two shades lighter and not 4-6 shades lighter. Over time as it oxidizes you can expect it to lighten further naturally with sun exposure and proper care.
If you are in the category of people who don't have color damage but heat damage, this advice goes for you as well. Of course trimming the dead or lifeless coils is always a sure fire way to maintain and control the damage from getting worse. Do both trim and deep condition on a regular basis and you will for sure be happy with the results.
