Question To Those Experienced With Hair Colour

[Fierce Critter]

So, I love my new hair color.

And I bought the right kind of shampoo to use directly from the salon when I had it done.

And I go to wash my hair in the shower.

And when the shampoo is on my hair, and when I rinse - my hair feels NASTY. Like, as if I have a brillo pad on my head.

So I apply the tiniest bit of conditioner - and it feels fine again, even after I rinse the conditioner.

Now, the way I style my hair is to sort of fake-rat it. I dry it, then put a dry towel on top of my head and swish it around like the Karate Kid. When I take the towel off, I have Jiffy Pop hair. And I smooth it down with my hands and then slightly comb the top so it looks like my pictures in the "my new hair" thread in this forum.

So I expect that when I wash it, I'm going to feel something of a birds-nest.

But this is waaay more than I expect. And before my hair was colored and I did this same technique, I never felt the brillo pad.

I haven't wanted to try a different shampoo to see if perhaps it's the shampoo feeling that way. Because I don't want my color to fade by using a non-colour friendly shampoo.

But is this basically telling me that my hair is now hopelessly fried?

It looks fine. Despite the hairspray I have in it, it feels fine.

But this has me worried that as October approaches and I'm feeling like going back to being blonde, I can expect my hair to fry right off my head. Even though I am going to get extensions anyway, I don't want to be BALD.

Comments? Thoughts?

[freydis]

Get a better grade conditioner, and let it soak in for a few minutes. I've had this happen with my reds a few times, and it's usually come down to how much and how long i processed it. That treatment type conditioning stuff always had it feeling better. I sure some professionals on the board will have a better answer, but I usually put on that conditioning treatment stuff that comes in a packet?

[Rayne]

I am no help.

I go through about 4 bottles of conditioner to every bottle of shampoo. I used John Frieda RedHead after the shock of colouring in the first place has worn off my hair -- I'm currently still restricted to using Loreal's Colourpulse since my hair isn't quite healthy yet still.

[Brenda Starrr]

Purology Nanoworks. I swear by it.

[Fierce Critter]

The conditioner I have on hand is Nexxus Humectress. Before coloring my hair, I rarely used it - with my hair being as fine as it is, ANY conditioner just weighed it down too much. I only ever used it when I needed to detangle it.

Like I said, just the tiniest bit, and the brill-pad feeling goes away.

Munin - I have used those before. But I never had this much damage (I'm still assuming I'm fried?) before.

Rayne - sounds like you can use way more conditioner than I can.

Brenda - you're the resident expert. Where can I find Purology, and is it expensive? Do you also recommend some sort of deep treatment like Munin suggests?

As a few months go by, I will start shampooing my hair more with less colour-friendly shampoos. I will want it to fade as much as possible that way so that when I go back to blonde, it won't take quite as much processing. I hope that by the time I'm ready to rid the red, the next decolouring won't break the hair right off my head... eep

[Rayne]

They still have me using Aphogee damage repair shampoo, some kind of Biolage Reconstructing Conditioner for a week or two after I colour my hair and anytime it feels odd. I also use a weekly conditioning (Potion Number 9) treatment.

My hair is MUCH better than it was ... I could probably colour it again now ... I just don't want to chance it yet.

[TomCat]

Brenda is almost all knowing...oops, I see she already chimed in.

[bean]

Nexxus Humectress was wonderful for my hair when I fried it.

From my experience, some shampoos make my hair shitty. Redken shampoo made my hair like a brillo pad.

[Fierce Critter]

They still have me using Aphogee damage repair shampoo, some kind of Biolage Reconstructing Conditioner for a week or two after I colour my hair and anytime it feels odd. I also use a weekly conditioning (Potion Number 9) treatment.

My hair is MUCH better than it was ... I could probably colour it again now ... I just don't want to chance it yet.

I already have Biolage shampoo (I believe the one for permed or coloured hair) and Potion Number 9 in the bathroom cabinet. I've always liked those products.

The Humectress works good thusfar.

[Destroit]

Change your shampoo and go with a leave-in conditioner at the moment. Get a damage repair conditioner and then also get a leave in (I use Infusium, they have all different formulas and makes your hair feel like teh sex). If you want faster results, forgo the shampoo (just scrub real good, shampoo dries out hair generally making it worse) and just use conditioner for a week or two.

They didn't have to lighten it before putting the red in, did they? That would be the most likely culprit. If that's not the case than your hair is just damaged from the dying, either from the type of dye they used (it's so hard to predict how certain color treatments will react to individuals), or they over-treated your hair and left it in too long.

[Kit Kat P]

I've used Infusium after every hair shock (I tend to dye and perm simultaneously) and it has always been used in my parent's house as a detangler (3 girls w/ long thick hair and 2 of them had sensitive scalps) and my hair has pretty much always stayed healthy.

[Fierce Critter]

I reluctantly went and tried a different shampoo the other day - I think I used either a Redken for chemically-processed hair or something similar. I didn't get the brillo-pad feeling from it. So it's obviously the shampoo.

I'm relieved. I knew the processing would damage my hair. But I didn't think it was that damaged.

Makes me more comfortable with the plan to go back to blonde with extensions in the fall.

[EnViOuSPoPpEt]

I love the stuff they sell at Tj Maxx.. any of their shampoo's. It's the products that you would find at the mall or very expensive stores, but they have them for very cheap @ Tj Maxx. Try their products and see what works for you. Right now I have this Summer Set collection shampoo and I love it It makes my hair very fluffy ^_^.