- This wasn't an at-home dye job. She went to James @ James Brown Hair (see this post or this post for more about him, he IS a great stylist, she just had a bad experience with dying).
- My mom also goes to James & gets her hair colored - it comes out great every time. That said, my mom doesn't relax her hair & is fully natural. Here's a couple of pics of my mom for reference (first pic is her hair air-dried, second is blow-dried/styled):
June 2012 | Dani gets highlights 2 weeks after she last got a relaxer. The picture on the left is about a half hour after she left the salon - her hair was so fried, she put it up because she didn't like how it looked. Her hair was breaking off in the sink at the salon & didn't look healthy when she was finished getting styled. The picture on the right is her first time blowdrying it at home after getting the highlights. Her hair felt very brittle, and would break off as she brushed it.
July 2012 | Six weeks later, she gets her first relaxer since the highlights. Her highlights all broke off, leaving her with uneven length. Wherever highlighted hair met new, un-highlighted growth, it fell out. Hating how unhealthy her hair looked, she got creative with braids, twists, and buns to hide the damage.
September 2012 | By September, effects of the relaxer + manipulation of her hair (brushing, etc) were really catching up with her - one side was now longer than the other even though she was doing her best to go easy on her hair.
January 2013 | After trying to wait for her hair to grow long enough to trim, she went to Jamez (see this post for more about him) and let him cut all the damage off. It was the shortest she'd ever gone, but he did an amazing job!
February 2013 | With the highlights gone, Dani returns to her regular hair routine, giving it a chance to re-grow.
June 2013 | One thing we both love about Jamez's cuts is that they grow out beautifully!
July-August 2013 | Fast-forward to today, and she has regained most of the length she lost, and it's all healthy!
My sister talked to Jamez about how she could get highlights/color with relaxed hair, and he said it's possible with an experienced stylist. The next time I see him I'll ask about how it can be done & will share his tips with you guys!
3 Comments
I just want to say that I totally agree with this post! i have lived it and lost half the hair on my head (from my ears down the bk of my neck). I was young and knew next to nothing about dying and relaxing hair. it took me over two years to grow my hair! and cried a lot. At the time my hair had been down past my shoulder the longest its been my whole life. After it grew out bk to the orginal length i then had to cut all the other hair down to make it even. it was a horrible horrible experience to go through and i hope no one else has to! I am happy to say that my hair is now almost to the middle of my back. I am also hoping to learn more about how to care for my hair through this site so i can keep my hair strong and style it as beautiful as Lauren herself and Dani. (who did a far better job then me pulling off short hair. Gorgeous)
Welcome!
So sorry this happened to you, but happy to hear you’re back!
This was a great story, very helpful and informative for someone who may be on the verge of making the same mistake. Gorgeous hair!!!!!! love love love