Bleach is, without a doubt, the best way to lighten the hair. Whether you want to be platinum blonde or lighten it before dying a more vibrant color, bleach is pretty much a necessity. Unfortunately, damage to hair due to bleach is a common occurrence.
Did you know that bleaching your hair can also dry it out? While bleached hair may look glossy and smooth, the damaging effects of bleach on your hair are often overlooked. When you bleach your hair, the chemicals in the bleach break down the natural oils and moisture from your hair.
This leads to dryness, a lack of volume, and an unbalanced pH level in your hair. You may think that this means you must double up on conditioning treatments to prevent further damage. While this is a good idea, there's more to it than that! If you want to learn how to fix dry damaged bleached hair, keep reading!
Bleach vs Highlighting: What's The Difference?
Let's start with the basics. Bleaching your hair is a process that lightens your hair and removes the natural pigment from it. This is a permanent change and can only be reversed by recoloring your hair. Bleaching your hair comes in two forms – single bleaching and double bleaching.
Single bleaching is the process of using bleaching cream to lighten your hair. You should leave this on your hair for 30 minutes before rinsing it out with cool water. Next, you can wash your hair as usual.
Double bleaching is applying bleach to your hair and then toning it the same day. You can do this at the salon or do it yourself if you feel confident. You leave this on for 5-20 minutes, depending on the strength of the toner.
Double bleaching is a more intense process than single bleaching, so it's best to go to a professional. Bleaching your hair will remove the natural pigment from the hair, which means you can go lighter.
Highlighting your hair is a less intense process than bleaching. Highlighting involves using a color that's a few shades lighter than your natural hair colour. The highlights are painted on using a brush or hands, so they're less noticeable than if you had bleached your hair. You can highlight your hair as often as you like, but you should leave at least four months between each session.
What Is Hair Damaged By Bleach?
So let's discuss how hair bleaching functions. A substance called melanin, which resides inside the hair shaft, gives our hair its color. The cuticle, a protective layer of scaled proteins, covers the hair shaft. This cuticle is opened when you bleach your hair, which affects the melanin within the hair by changing its structure.
However, during the process, the hair bleach removes the natural oils and fibers that protect the hair.
Even though, in theory, the cuticle should close once more and return to normal. Hair bleach has a way of causing those scales to become distorted and unable to lie flat(which is why each bleached strand takes up more space and looks extra voluminous than normal virgin hair.)
As a result, the inner portions of the hair shaft consequently lose moisture. Drying out hair and resulting in dry, breakable, and fragile hair.
In a nutshell, this is what hair damaged by bleach means.
How To Spot Bleach-Damaged Hair?
The question is, how can you tell if bleaching your hair actually results in damaged hair? Following are warning signs to watch out for
Loss Of Natural Luster: Typically, the hair cuticle is flat, allowing light to reflect off and giving hair a nutrient-dense, shiny appearance.Knotted & tangled hair: The rough cuticles of bleach-damaged hair "stick" together, resulting in tangles.
Brittleness and Dryness: Bleach-damaged hair allows its inner moisture to escape because the protective cuticle is disrupted—dehydration of hair results in brittle, fragile hair.
Flyaways: Breakage, which frequently manifests as flyaways and frizz, is more likely to occur on brittle and dry bleach-damaged hair.
Split ends: Similar to this, breakage may manifest as ragged split ends.
If you see the above warning signs for damaged bleached hair look very similar to heat-damaged hair, it is because bleached damaged hair and hair damaged by heat have a lot in common. Even if you have never bleached your hair, you may still be at risk. Like bleach, hot tools can permanently damage the cuticle layer and dry out hair.
All this makes your hair look appealing and dull and makes your ends weaker and prone to all kinds of damage. If all of this sounds like a nightmare, and you want to find plausible solutions, then keep reading, as many of our suggestions for repairing bleach-damaged hair will also work for hair that has been damaged by heat!
How To Fix Dry Bleached Hair
The best way to fix dry bleached hair is to avoid damage in the first place! Chances are you have picked a bad habit along the way and keep repeating it. In the long run, this routine can lead to unrecoverable damage. A common mistake people make when treating bleached blonde hair is using the wrong shampoo or skipping conditioners. Not trimming your hair regularly can also lead to split ends. When left unchecked, these gnarly splits can keep climbing higher and higher up the strands.
One should avoid bleach coloring their hair as it saves you the hassle of fixing it. However, if you're already dealing with dry hair and want to know how to fix dry bleached hair, here are a few tips:
Choose Suitable Shampoo And Conditioner
Make sure you go for a shampoo and conditioner specifically designed for bleached hair. There are lots of different kinds to choose from, so you should be able to find one that suits your needs! You can also mix your shampoo and conditioner to get the best of both worlds. If your hair is feeling extra dry, you can use a deep conditioner once a week. Add protein to your routine.
Bleached Hair Is Protein Deficient.
Protein is what helps keep your hair strong and hydrated. If you're experiencing dry hair, try adding protein to your daily routine. You can do this with products like amino acid shampoos and conditioners or use natural ingredients like avocado and bananas. Avoid heat as much as possible.
Heat
From blow-drying to straightening, heat dries out your hair. So try to avoid using heat on your hair as much as possible. If your dry hair isn't responding to other treatments, try switching up your routine and avoiding heat to dry, curl, or straighten your hair. Use a microfiber towel or a cotton T-shirt to let your hair dry naturally, and if you want curls, try the "No-heat curls" technique. One must also avoid UV rays as much as possible.
Use More Conditioner
A great way to fix dry bleached hair is to use more conditioner. While shampoo strips your hair of the natural oils and proteins that keep it hydrated, conditioner replaces these. This is the main reason why conditioner is so popular. You can also use a deep conditioner once a week to hydrate your hair further. In order to use more conditioner, it helps to know how much you should be using in the first place!
There's no set rule for this, but most people use around half the amount of conditioner against shampoo. A great way to remember how much conditioner to use is to use the "ponytail" method. Part your hair down the center and tie it into a ponytail on top of your head. Squeeze the ponytail so that it's nice and tight. Now, using your fingers, gently run them through the hair underneath the ponytail. This is how much hair you need to be using conditioner on.
Intensive Treatment (only if nothing works)
If your dry hair is truly unresponsive to other treatments, you can skip shampoo and conditioner altogether and go straight to intensive treatment. This can be a deep conditioner or a hair mask. You can use a different product for both, but you can if you want to.
Hair masks are a great way to hydrate your hair, and they're super easy to make at home! A great deep conditioner to use is coconut oil. Coconut oil is excellent for repairing damage, and it smells fantastic! Coconut oil is an emollient which helps condition your hair and soothe any dryness.
If your hair is dried, skip the shampoo and conditioner altogether. This will give your hair a chance to rest, and it will help to keep your hair hydrated. You can use a hair mask once or twice a week to boost your hair's moisture. Olive oil also helps reduce dryness and brings back the natural lustre and shine.
Moisturizing Hair Masks
If you want to fix dry bleached hair, you can go wild with hair masks! Hair masks are super easy to make at home. You can experiment with different ingredients and flavors to create your own unique recipe! There are lots of different types of hair masks you can try!
Vanilla Bean and Coconut Hair Mask - An excellent hair mask recipe to try is a vanilla bean and coconut hair mask. This hair mask recipe combines vanilla bean, coconut oil, and honey (which are all great for dry hair), and it's very easy to make at home.
Lavender and Avocado Hair Mask - Another excellent hair mask recipe is a lavender and avocado hair mask. This mask is easy to make at home and works wonders on dry hair.
Try A Leave-In Conditioner That's Made For Dry Hair.
If you're finding that you're still struggling to fix dry bleached hair, you can try a leave-in conditioner that's made for dry hair. A leave-in conditioner is a great way to boost hydration and shine in between hair masks. You can use a leave-in conditioner on freshly washed or dry hair.
They're very lightweight, so there's nothing to stop you from styling your hair as usual with a leave-in conditioner! There are lots of different types of leave-in conditioners on the market, so you should be able to find one that suits your needs!
Takeaway
Dry bleached hair can be frustrating, but there are ways to fix it! The best way to avoid dryness is to start with the right products in the first place. If you are experiencing dry hair due to bleaching, try using more conditioner, skipping shampoo when possible, and using an intensive treatment. If these tips don't work, you can also try a leave-in conditioner that's made for dry hair. With these tips, you should be able to fix dry bleached hair in no time!
If you want to know more about your hair health or the excessive breakage due to dry, brittle hair, take the ultimate hair test at Traya Health. We not only provide you with a detailed analysis of your problem, but we also provide personalized solutions catering to your individual needs and issues.
FAQs
Q1 - How do I make my bleached hair soft and silky?
Ans: The disruption of the hair cuticle is one factor contributing to bleached hair looking frizzy or damaged. The cuticle of the hair is the layer that seals in moisture. You can try using hydrating and moisturizing vitamin-based oils like Argan oil, coconut oil, Olive oil, almond oil, etc.
A change in diet can also help. Oats contain melanin which can aid in reaching your goal. Food loaded with protein is also essential to keep the hair healthy. Mixing and matching these techniques and a deep conditioning hair care routine should help you retain the moisture and give your bleached hair a soft and silky natural glow.
Q2 - How Do You Revive Dry Bleached Hair?
Ans: It is difficult to revive dry bleached hair once it is damaged beyond control. Prevent coloring if you can. However, try using home remedies and over-the-counter solutions if the damage is done. Also, ensure you have a strict routine involving nutrient-dense meals, deep conditioning treatments, avoiding heat styling, using sulfate-free shampoos, and covering hair from sun damage AT ALL TIMES.
If you are too worried about your hair health, take a test at Traya Health. We remove the ambiguity and give you a plausible medical-backed solution.
