Hi again everyone! I've been on the path to lightening my hair for a little bit now - following all the "rules" taking the great advice from people here (even started several threads in the bleaching section). I'm taking it slow and steady and really being careful with my hair.
I did a bleach bath about 3 weeks ago or so and everything was great (bleach was not my first step, per the usual suggestion I did dye removers like Color Oops first!). I also followed the suggestion of WickedPixie afterwards and did a clarifying shampoo with no conditioner or any other products and let it air dry to see what the condition of my hair felt like. It was in GREAT shape - soft, shiny, manageable. Better than I even realized it would have been!
No more bleach baths since then (I'm waiting a while to do a second one, will probably give it 6-8 weeks) but I did do a protein treatment last night. Just a homemade eggs + olive oil + bit of honey which I shampooed out after just an hour. My hair texture changed immediately. It now has the dreaded "doll hair/synthetic" feel when it's wet!! It's "dry" when wet with no slip at all. Is this what it feels like when there is a protein overload on the hair? Have I used too much? If so, can I repair it by avoiding protein and using coconut oil treatments? Hair felt great and healthy before and then BAM! Totally weird texture after the egg and olive oil mask. I have never experienced this before. Any help is appreciated, thank you! 🙂
Edit to add - I want to add too that I never use heat-styling, I only ever air dry and use very little product on my hair in general aside from coconut oil treatments.
Posted : June 14, 2015 6:42 am
It possibly is. My hair tends to feel dry and limp if i leave protein on for too long. I usually dont leave protein masks longer than 30minutes because of this.
You can rectify this by adding moisture back into the hair and avoiding protein for a few weeks.
Posted : June 14, 2015 10:16 am
Is it possible that it's just not washed out entirely? It can sometimes be difficult to make sure it's all out.
Having said that though, my hair generally doesn't like protein and goes brittle very quickly if I use it. I wouldn't say it feels like dolls hair when it's wet, but it could be that. If it is though, a few washes should set it right again and lots of moisture rather than protein. Oh, but I find if I have over used protein, coconut oil makes it even worse.
Posted : June 14, 2015 12:15 pm
Thanks you guys! Janineb - I actually hadn't thought of that and I'll give it another wash tomorrow to see if that improves it! I have heard that some people don't respond well to coconut oil if they have already used protein and I'm worried maybe I'll have the same issue (I don't know for sure but I like to err on the side of caution) so I guess I'll avoid that too for a bit just in case! 😀
Posted : June 15, 2015 12:35 am
I want to give a quick update in case anyone else sees this and has the same issue. I've done many hours of research on this since yesterday and I'm running into one suggestion repeatedly so I think it seems worth mentioning. Many people seem to think this doll hair feeling is from an excess buildup of cones on the hair. I even found a thread elsewhere where someone had the same problem I'm having after switching to a new shampoo and conditioner - the same conditioner I started using two weeks ago! And that us the Dove intense repair conditioner. I am going to do a clarifying wash tonight with a vinegar rinse and avoid that conditioner and see if it improves my hairs texture. 🙂
Posted : June 15, 2015 2:25 pm
IT WORKED. I don't know WHY my hair got like Barbie hair. I've done all kinds of heinous things to my hair in my youth (including bleaching it TWICE with 40 vol developer within 24 hours) and my hair never felt like that before. I've had stretchy hair, "gummy" hair, dry hair. Never that "doll hair" feeling and it happened very suddenly after doing a protein treatment to my hair. So it was either too much protein, too much silicone, or a reaction between the two. I suppose I'll never really know. BUT if someone else runs into this issue, here's what I did to fix it -
Clarifying shampoo TWICE and it only felt a bit better after that but there was some improvement. Rinsed with apple cider vinegar and then put a silicone free conditioner on my hair under a wrap for two hours. Rinsed and my hair was MUCH improved. I can still feel a little "plasticy" texture at the very ends of my hair, but I think one more wash and condition and I should be good. Just FYI in case anyone else is going through the same thing!!
Posted : June 17, 2015 2:41 am
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