Epic Hair Fail

This has got to be the biggest mistake/set back that I have ever done to my hair. Last month I wrote a post about wanting to dye my hair. Well, I got the urge to do it yesterday, I just decided to go for it. I have dyed my hair many times in the past and never had a problem.

I am four weeks post relaxer so I figured that I am far enough along from my last relaxer to dye my hair without any problems. I followed the directions on box and mixed the dye and let it sit on my hair for 20 minutes. When I rinsed my hair out....I am cringing right now just thinking about it. Anyway, when I rinsed my hair out my hair felt horrible!!! It felt weak, fragile, thin, the cuticle felt rough rather than smooth, and my hair was tangled. I began thinking that this dye just ate through my strands. Looking in the bottom of the bathtub confirmed that because I saw lots and lots of little strands of broken hairs. I began thinking that I really messed up this time with my "do it at home haircare" and that I was going to have to cut all my hair off and start from scratch.

After I washed my hair, I immediately thought to use protein so I saturated my hair in ApHogee 2 min recostructor. My hair immediately felt better as far as strength and texture, but my thickness was gone. Even wet, I am used to my hair having a certain amount of thickness. My hair was feeling half as thick as it normally does when it is wet. I rinsed out the ApHogee after 5 mins and used the moisturizing conditioner that came with the hair color, it was the Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural moisturizing deep conditioner. I actually liked the conditioner alot and I'm not sure whether it was because of the state my hair was before the conditioning or if it is actually a good conditioner.

I blow-dried my hair because I wanted it dry and straight so I could see the damage. I definitely noticed that my strands are finer, and my thickness is about half of what it was before I colored. It also seems as if the dye changed the texture of my hair because it is much straighter than it normally is. If there is a texture call extra-bone straight, that is what my hair looks and feels like to me now or at least in my mind it does.

• Am I happy with my results? Absolutely not.
• What do I think I did wrong? I believe the color over-processed. I did not do a strand test because I felt it was unnecessary. I think I should have let the color stay on my hair for 12-15 minutes rather than 20mins even though the directions did say 20.
• Is the color worth it? Absolutely not, looking at my jet black hair, I actually realized that I am fond of my natural color because it looks "natural." I'll get use to this color though because the difference is not that much.
• Will I color again? Never. I really mean this. It is not worth the health of my hair, even if a professional does it, it is still damaging.

Here is a picture I took just now on my cell phone so the quality isn't great but I wanted to have a pciture to go with this post. I tried to smile a little, but it just would not come, lol. I am just glad I still have some hair to work with, now it is time to nurse this head of hair back to health which I am assuming will take one or two years of diligent care and growth to get my back healthy again. Lesson learned :(