Deep Conditioners

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Deep Conditioners

I have been bleaching my hair for the past year or so. I do this because I don't like the way regular blonde dye on top of my dark brown hair turns out, so I've always been a fan of the bleached look. I've found that I either look good with super dark brown hair or super light blonde hair. This is known from years and years of experimenting.
Anyway, I had bleached my hair for the last time. It was seriously breaking off and fried to the core. It just doesn't bounce back from the bleach like it used to when I was younger.
So, I had to go dark brown. I've dyed my hair brown on top of bleach before and never had a problem. Until now.
My hair got completely and utterly fried. I mean crazy fried. Think of the worst possible hair you could ever think of, and then times it by 10. The worst it has EVER been. I seriously thought it was all going to just fall off. The only choices I had were to deep condition or cut it all off. And by cut it, I mean up to like 2 inches from my scalp. Well, I look better with my hair in a bun or pony than I do with super short hair. So, conditioning it is. Along with drinking a lot of water, taking prenatal vitamins, and laying off the heat.
I don't even want to get into the emotional roller coaster my fried hair has put me on this past week. You really don't realize how much your hair means to you until it's ruined. I think women hold a lot of power and sexuality in their hair too, if that makes sense.
This past week I've been experimenting with deep conditioners. I have found two amazing ones that I wanted to share. Even if you don't have damaged hair, these are great products to use for extra "umph".
The first is Aussie 3 minute miracle. It really does work miracles!

I read online that you can leave it in longer for more damaged hair, so I left it in about 30 minutes. When I rinsed it out I could already tell a difference. My hair was a lot smoother and felt so much better.
Another one that I love is Garnier deep conditioning masque ($4).

I also left this on a bit longer, maybe 20 minutes, and when I rinsed it out my hair instantly felt better. Smoother, shinier, and not as frizzy.
Finally I've also been using the Garnier leave in conditioner ($4) and it's been working pretty well too.

My hair is far from healthy, but at least I know there are good products out there to help me along the way!
And if anyone has any suggestions regarding deep conditioners, I'm all ears!
Oh, I forgot to add that for shampoo I've been using L'Oreal's Everpure. It's sulfate free, vegan, and super gentle for color treated and damaged hair. It's been good except I'm not in love with the smell (rosemary and juniper).