[Sticky] Share your Bleaching Horror Stories

As you've basically cracked your scalp open with third degree chemical burns, I'm sorry, but saying your hair is "just fine" seems to be a really intense denial of the actual state of your hair.

Or you're currently smothering it in silicones under the common delusion that just because hair might feel healthy, it is healthy.  Tell us how it feels after a clarifying wash with no conditioner--then you'll know the true state of your hair.

And again, I strongly suggest going to a doctor to get burn oitment for your scalp.  Chemical burns are just as bad as actual burns or scalds (in some cases, they can be even worse).  If you refuse to seek medical attention for the state of you scalp, I sincerely hope you don't end up with an infection in it.

Hairforever..x just so you're aware, chemical scalp burns which I am absolutely sure are as serious as yours, can end in serious scalp scarring. This means your hair is unlikely to ever grow on that scar tissue, and if it does you will have damaged your hair to the point that it will grow out in a different colour. And if it doesn't heal correctly, it can result in infection and permanent damage only surgery will repair. Not to mention that if it isn't treated properly, chemicals and infectious substances can enter your bloodstream and cause serious damage.

Go to a doctor, now.

Hairforever..x just so you're aware, chemical scalp burns which I am absolutely sure are as serious as yours, can end in serious scalp scarring. This means your hair is unlikely to ever grow on that scar tissue

This! My mum has a bald patch because she used a really cheap hair dye, so make sure to go to a doctor!

Even if you DONT have a burn as bad as we might describe in here, please see a doctor to make sure that everything is indeed fine.

I had a chemical burn creeping out on me the only time I asked a hairdresser to bleach my hair. I dont know what was she using but it was stingy like nothing I ever felt and I demanded it to be rinsed off the moment I felt something awfully wrong.
About a week later a certain area in my scalp was painful and flake-y, I had someone check my scalp for me and started using burn creams and other stuff asap.
That area is super sensitive to this day (perhaps it always was, but that didnt help) and I -HAVE- to bleach it VERY softly and it takes me 2 highly controlled bleach bathes, so the moment I feel this might be too much I just rinse it off even if the shade isnt anything near.
No bald spots, thank god.

Yes, I know I'm constantly posting in here haha, but I just remembered something: I had chemical burns on my scalp once, I did not go to a doctor, and to this day there's a patch of hair at the back of my head that keeps matting up and feeling fried 🙁

Edit: Should we put something about chemical burns/an irritated scalp into the thread about overprocessed hair? I mean the thread that Intemp linked in her sig, maybe we could write something about the signs of it/possible consequences (e.g. bald patches)/possible remedies?

I think it would be a great information pool for anyone to come across 🙂

Okay, I guess I'll put something together and put it in there 🙂

thats brilliant naomi! we seem to be getting alot of noobs with chemical burns lately.....

I don't get how, after doing all that to her hair, she says she has no burns or hair falling off. Either her head is bionic or she's in denial, so with all due respect, I hope she really is ok but won't do that again, ever.

That said, I wanted to share my recently discovered horror story. And I say recently because I certainly didn't pay any attention to it being a problem back then. About 4 or 5 years ago, I wanted to have purple hair, so my mum asked the hairdresser and at first she was hesitant, she said she wouldn't do it. But after we asked again, she agreed.

EDIT: I forgot to say that it cost me about 60€ for it...!
So the day had arrived, and I entered the hair saloon. She seemed in a bad mood about it, which scared me a lot. I was hmmm 17 probably? So imagine. She started applying the bleach, and I don't know which volume it was or anything. So she put it on and I spent one hour with it on. I promise you, one whole hour. It started to sting a bit, but then she rinsed it off. Without even saying a damn thing, she decided to reapply the bleach, and this time she put me on one of these huge blow dryers - heat machines, you know. And this time it really was painful. So I told them and they rinsed out. The result was orange-ish, thing is I have black hair naturally but used to dye it black because of some white hairs I have (I no longer do that D:, but damn white hairs), anyway she was so lame that even though I told them about that, they did 2 bleaches.

They put the whateveritwas purple on top of that orange base, and it became quite amazing, to tell you the truth. But after one wash... it ran away. Like, literally, I was left off with a brown/purple-ish colour and I was so mad! And what was worse, when wet, the hair was like chewing gum. Not to the point where all of it would break off, but I was definitely seeing something I didn't know what was then, but now after a long time I realized that it was overprocessed hair.

After it went completely orange, I spent some time with it like that, and then went for red. Which didn't last anything but a week? Seriously, do they expect us to go top up the colour every week, when we do it at home and it lasts for a month at the very least? Crazy.

Luckily, my hair seems strong and it didn't snap off or anything, so I grew it out, because it grows faster for me uff, and yeah ever since then all I did to my hair was top up the black for the white hairs. I swore I wouldn't bleach ever again... but I realize it was THEIR fault for being incompetent. So I'm going to try it out myself how I've seen here it should be done, and I hope for the best results!

And that's the reason why I won't let any hair stylist do anything like this to my hair. I may be wrong, but most stylists don't seem to be prepared or trained for bleaching so I prefer to do it "the right way" knowing I did what I did. Now if only I knew how to properly cut my hair, I would never go into a saloon ever again. And then you see people who call you ignorant because you intend to do this yourself. Go to a hair stylist! they said. As if all of them were properly trained for that.

I had lovely shoulder length black hair. It was so smooth and straight. I wanted a change so I bleached it because I wanted to be blonde so I could dye my hair a cool colour. I bleached it three times in a week and a lot of my hair broke off and I had horrible short blonde/ginger hair for ages. It was so damaged I couldn't do anything and I had to go to school like that. I couldn't tie it up because my ear piercing wasn't allowed and my hair covered it. I was so upset but a few people said they liked it. I'm still growing my hair after I had the damaged ends chopped off. I dyed it purple a few times but I've recently gone back to black because I want blue and black hair. Unfortunately I can't have blue put in yet because it simply won't bleach.

I am so glad I found this forum before even attempting to bleach my hair myself! Can't imagine anything worse than chemical burns on your head :X. I get scared whenever any of my friends get their hair bleached at a salon, some of the things they tell me is frightening!

My first time colouring my hair was February 2011. I decided to go pink and blue, and my sister joined me in doing this. We bought XXL Absolute Platinum, applied it, and being absolute noobs we didn't think our hair was light enough (when it really was), so under the reassurance of my sister left it on for 6 hours! When I washed it off some my scalp was sore and red so I put moisturiser on, but thought nothing of it. A week later we bought Jerome Russell 30Vol and I applied it to her hair, and then thought what the heck, I'll test how it works on the whole left side of my head. It certainly worked! Then the next day I bleached the whole of my head (I did leave that side last though  :laugh: ) and dyed it. It turned out well but having double and triple processed hair the damage started to show 2 weeks later on the ends of my hair. I looked on boots and bought Aussie 3mm based on the reviews. Have to say it did save my hair from getting a massive chop. Reading all these we was bloody lucky not to have it all breaking off at the root and a bleeding scalp. Although now my scalp doesn't ever get greasy (it certainly used to!) and the hair from my crown grows crappy, Really wish I'd found this forum beforehand :/ We did however decide we must have Spartan hair  😛

6 hours.

SIX hours.

:'( 😮  *stars*

I don't know what else to say.

If your hair is growing differently, then you might have physically damaged the follicles ... which is irreversable.  Burns are burns, and think of how badly burned skin heals shiny, dry and hairless.

Forget breaking off at the root; you're lucky you're not permanently bald.

How do you still have a head?! ouch