The damage was irreversible and getting worse, so I went back to black (again). I couldn't handle the greenish blonde, gray roots and orange ends, and another coat of bleach would've completely destroyed my hair. The first black dye job didn't take and I had to go back one week later for another. After just one wash, the color diminished and the greenish/blonde was visible again (pictured here). 

During the first month post botched, bleaching job, I lost a lot of hair in the shower, while styling my hair (I was super gentle with the blow-dryer and absolutely no straightener), and while sleeping. There was hair all over my house! My hair is broken half way and even down to one inch in length in some areas. It feels like slime when I wash it and despite the two Olaplex treatments (one, two and three), I don't see a significant improvement. 

I had to consider a new hair style, cause my straw-like do was terrible. I went to Miami to see my long-time, AMAZING stylist for treatments and a cut. The hair on the top of my head and at the front was more destroyed than the back and had to be chopped off. I was hoping for the Alexa Chung style, but it didn't work with my face, so we cut bangs. 

My stylist in Miami suggested Kérastase Bain Force Architecte shampoo, Kérastase Resistance Cement Anit-usure Strengthening Anti-breakage Cream, Bumble and Bumble Mending Complex and Bumble and Bumble Repair. 

I was harping on Olaplex bad and explained how I was loosing so much hair and saw no improvement. He says Olaplex does work and links the broken bonds in your hair, but mine was so damaged that only time and proper care would repair it. My stylist said that it may not seem like the Olaplex is helping, but maybe if I hadn't been using it, my hair would be in worse condition - I can't imagine it being worse than this! 

I'm no hair specialist, but from my experience, I'm gonna say that Olaplex may work and link the broken bonds in your hair caused by chemical treatments, but there are limits. Olaplex can't immediately repair damage caused by hair bleach and will not maintain your hair through 5+ applications of bleach. Hair stylists may be able to push the envelope further, but Olaplex is not a miracle treatment and won't maintain the integrity of your hair if you push the bleaching process too far. Unfortunately, I've learned this the hard way. The stylists who bleached my hair went too far and greatly compromised the integrity of my hair. For details on my botched, bleaching job see below..

While laying in bed perusing the Internet for a hairstyle to mask the damage from my recent salon experience, I can feel my face heating up (rosacea - there's no hiding when I'm mad). I gotta get out of bed and tell you about my botched, bleaching experience. Imma try to keep it short, but it's been tragic watching my hair deteriorate and I have a lot to bitch about!

I wanna start by saying, I'm no stranger to bleaching my hair. I tried to go from black to blonde last year. My stylist at the time insisted we take it slow and after two rounds (four weeks apart), I decided to go back to black. I didn't like the in-between, warm shades. There was minimal damage to my hair - it was dry for a few weeks, but the integrity of my hair remained strong. My recent bleaching experience was very different..

My stylist was on vacation, so I booked an appointment with the salon owner. She started off with her thirty-second elevator pitch and I gotta say, I was impressed. She had decades of experience and was operating out of her second salon. Y'all know I have color-treated, black hair. At the time it was short, very healthy, and super shiny. The salon owner asked if I'd consider lightening my hair and I explained the experience I had one year prior (see video on the blog). She said there is a new product called 'Olaplex', that will allow a stylist to bleach the clients hair many times without comprising the integrity of the hair. She claimed that I could go from black to blonde in one day and my hair would remain healthy. 

I went home and researched Olaplex. There is not one bad review on this stuff. I bought into the hype and three weeks later was ready to bleach the shit out of my hair! I'd had black hair long enough and the trendy silver/blonde shade was a much-needed change. Eight weeks later, I realize that these reviews are not entirely true - Imma call it 'photoshopped' reviews. They ommit the 'hair drama' and 'time-lapse', to produce a dramatic hair transformation and promote their expertise. 

My stylist was back in the salon and hesitant to make me silver/blonde, but the salon owner was there to mentor and seemed confident. The first bleach was on the ends, the second bleaching went from root to ends and the third was a purple colored bleach to combat the orange. At this time, my head is burning, we're all tired and my stylist says it's enough for today. I was in shock - they expected me to walk around for one week with bright 'leeloo' hair?! To add salt to my wounds, I had a birthday dinner to attend that weekend. FUCK! 

The following morning, I woke up and felt crusty blobs in my hair. After further examination, I realized I had many burns on my scalp that had secreted and clumped in my hair throughout the night. Not pleasant. Oh and it's been eight weeks and the wound (pictured above) just healed completely. 

One week later, I went back to hopefully finalize the process and leave with silver/blonde hair. The first bleaching (fourth in total) didn't remove the orange, so we did another. Then she applied the gray color. I honestly didn't think the gray was gonna cover the orange. Now my hair is green and both stylists are panicking. The salon owner calls Wella and Olaplex for advice. This is a bad sign.. She says 'you know what we have to do' - 'go back to black'. Are you fucking kidding me?! After thirty minutes of them pondering the botched job done on my hair, speaking in Dutch (I don't speak Dutch), she suggested we apply a blonde color. I asked if there was bleach in it (it's blonde after all) and she said no, just color. The color wasn't evenly applied and my head started burning (hmm..). I told my stylist and she said 'can you go another ten minutes?' I'm desperate, so ok.. The green diminished, but I was not happy leaving the salon AGAIN with hideous hair color. It was greenish/yellow, with gray roots and orange ends! Oh and my scalp was bright red.

While the interim greenish/blonde shade was bearable, the damage was irreversible and getting worse everyday. I couldn't get a brush through my hair and had to go back for treatments and a blow-dry twice a week. My stylist said the treatments were at her expense. Oh gee thanks. You destroyed my hair, it looks terrible, you still charged me full price and for every blow-dry, but you'll cover the cost of treatments - you're so generous (insert sarcastic tone).

I know I agreed and I have myself to blame. If something is too good to be true, it ain't true! I still can't help but feel mislead by the salon owner - she was negligent and experimented on my hair, lacked hair bleaching/Olaplex knowledge and showed no empathy for the damage caused. She didn't apologize, accept blame, say hello, or look me in the eyes during the following weeks of treatments and blow-drys. My stylist didn't apologize either. During my last blow-dry she said, 'I didn't want to do this and now it's my problem'. I could sense that she was upset with her superior and felt bad about the outcome, but still showed little compassion. It's unfortunate that she will go down with the ship, but I had to share my experience - I realize she didn't endorse this hair transformation, but she did administer it. 

You can't go from black to blonde in one day. It takes time and patience. Don't trust any stylist that claims you can go from black to blonde in hours or that Olaplex will maintain your healthy hair through five+ bleachings. It's not the fountain of youth for hair and can't instantly reverse the harsh effects of hair bleach.