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You knew peroxide wasn't the healthiest thing for your mane, but it's just another sacrifice for a new and exciting style! But, the fact of the matter is bleach breaks up the cells on the outer part of your hair and leaves the inner part exposed to a scary world of heat and cold, so without some extra care, your tresses are likely to dry out, weaken and break. It's never too soon, or too late, to nourish your bleached hair and get it back to beautiful.
1.
Use shampoo and conditioner made for color-treated or bleached hair. Regular shampoo might strip away what little oil is left in your strands, which is no bueno for delicate hair. Using a special conditioner for color treated hair is essential, too, since your hair just can't hold moisture the way it used to. If you're worried about a heavy conditioner weighing down fine strands, look for a volumizing or body-boosting variety.
2.
Focus on protection if you use hot styling tools. Use heat-guarding products before blow drying, flat ironing or even going out into extreme weather. Heat isn't the only culprit -- dry air and cold wind can get deep into your hair and dry it out, too. Use conditioner that includes sunscreen if you'll be outdoors for a long period of time: it'll protect your strands and keep your scalp from getting burned, too.
3.
Cut your hair every six weeks to eliminate split ends. Split ends aren't actually "bad" for your hair, but once they've split, they continue dividing up the hair shaft and weakening it, meaning over time a head full of split ends will look thin and unhealthy.
4.
Do a deep conditioning treatment (buy a bottle at your drugstore) as often as needed. If your hair starts to feel gunky or isn't responding to added moisture, there's a chance you have a protein buildup in your hair --- in this case, use a clarifying shampoo just once to bust up the buildup, and reapply regular conditioner for moisture.
5.
Don't bleach it again! Touch up your roots alone when they grow back, but don't even think about bleaching the rest of your hair --- unless you want to wind up with a head of broken strands.
