Hey!

I'm working on growing my hair out, but I dye it once every 8 weeks.  And its usually a color that has to be bleached first (pink, blue, purple, etc) and a change in streak width and placement, so the rest has to be redyed.  Plus, my roots have to be done, because I'm a natural blonde, but I prefer to keep it black because I like how it looks better.

Anyway.

I'm concerned that I may end up with hair that's long, but because of repeated dyings, completely dead on the end and look horrible.

I avoid washing it whenever I can, but after about 3 days its greasy and it has to be washed.  I always use a conditioner after I shampoo and once a week or so use a deep conditioner (pantene pro-v restore)

My hair is pretty healthy, but my last dye job (about 7 weeks ago) I had her bleach about an inch or so in the front of my hair as white as it would go, because I didn't want to end up with that piss yellow color you get so often when bleaching black hair.  I love the way it looks and really want to keep that as part of my dye style, but its coarse and almost like African-American hair (i only make this comparison because a lady I work with is African-American and she made a comment about it being like hers) and I'm afraid that if I continue this, it'll all end up like that instead of looking healthy and natural and start requiring an every day washing, as the bangs have to be conditioned everyday as it is.

So does anyone have any ideas on a care system that I could use on my hair so that I can continue dying it and keep it healthy? While still being affordable?

Here is the most recent picture I have where you can tell how long it is at the moment.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/trippen_turtle/100_1932.jpg

Any help about be extremely welcomed!

-Trip

Welcome to LL! Your hair must look rather neat when it's an unnatural color. I bleached and dyed my hair fuschia last year, but it was too much of a pain to keep up.

Anyway, I think you're doing a good job washing your hair every three days and using a deep conditioner. To keep your length from getting really dry after a wash, you might want to start doing a CWC: condition your hair from the ears down, use shampoo on just the scalp area, and rinse all of that off. After that, use a heavier conditioner and then rinse that off when you're ready. Also, you'll want to do a periodic vinegar rinse to get rid of shampoo/conditioner build up. Check out Anais Satin's website for more information on CWCs and vinegar rinses.

I think you're well aware of how damaging bleaching/dyeing is so try to avoid using blow dryers and heat styling as much as possible. And getting rid of split ends between trims would be a really good idea.

HTH. I'm sure the other members will have more suggestions.

ETA: I forgot to ask, how long is your hair now and are you thinking of growing it out? If you're going to maintain your present length, I think having healthy hair would be easier than if you're going to grow it longer and continue to bleach and dye your hair. I say that because your hair's length will probably show more damage as it gets older and longer.

It hits about the middle of my shoulder blades right now (lol, I know that because I was getting my shoulders tattooed and my tat artist kept bitching about it)

I'm wanting to grow it out and my hair does grow pretty fast, but that's what I'm afraid of, cause I'd don't want to get it all long, but be all dried out and dead and stuffs.

Thanks for the extra info! Argh, I'm drawing a blank about what else to tell you. Hopefully Khrome will drop by soon and have some suggestions. She has more experience with long-term coloring than I do.

The bleaching and dyeing of your hair will damage it.  

That being said, if you must color your hair, you will need to keep it moisturized.  Regular deep treatments and oiling of the ends will help,

I know it'll damage it, lol, people that don't should have to sign a waiver before going to the salon.  

Thanks for the help though, I'll try that!

Oiling is a good idea; it'll help keep the ends from drying out. A lot of people use a tiny bit of jojoba oil on their hair, but other oils work too (eg. sweet almond oil). But avoid things with mineral oil or petroleum because those block out moisture. If oiling leaves you with crunchy ends, you could try shea butter instead.

I was coloring my hair before I decided to grow it out, but chose to stop coloring because I don't want the significant change in color as it grows out.  My hair is definitely damaged on the ends.

While oiling is helpful for dry, damaged hair I think if you apply it too soon after coloring it will lift some of the color off the hair.

Good Luck!