Help with professionally bleached medium density baby fine alt-ish hairstyle, currently having fun while I’m growing it out!
Hello kind folks of fine hair! I have some styling questions with a lot of lore, as well as just a general need of steering. I am finding out the terminal length of my hair while maintaining a Targaryen blonde lightness.
I have very baby soft and quite fine hair (it’s a side effect of a medical condition) that is around medium density, denser than it used to be—as I’m FtM and noticed major thickness increases over the last two years with testosterone— with a wave pattern that can be encouraged into a more proper curl with salt spray and proper diffusing. If I don’t try to curl and scrunch it, it falls into a frizzy but mostly straight manner. I can also brush it fairly straight and style it sleek easily.
I get my hair professionally bleached with diafiaba charcolite cream bleach and a gentle strength developer to get me near white blonde, but I live in an area with Extremely hard water. I have started washing it with distilled water (I’ve seen that sub recommended in here before, long time lurker finally brave enough to say hello and ask for help!) and have been trying, but it’s quite expensive and I’m not sure if I can keep it up for long. It does seem softer and I like the idea of minerals not building up in my hair though. I’m going to try and go through a few more gallons at least to make up my mind. It does seem softer and more manageable lately….
I use k18 mask and spray as needed. I do not overuse these products.
I’m currently using the L’Oréal clarifying shampoo (makes my hair feel slimy?), the k18 blonde shampoo (it’s a VERY VIOLET foam, tones well but is very expensive. I bought it for its chelating properties, hoping it would pull out the yellow mineral tones visible at the ends of the bottom of my hair in the third photo), the diafiaba charcolite conditioner to tone ( makes it a gorgeous silver when a tiny bit is used as a leave in, although it makes it feel gross and heavy), and occasionally the matrix bond builder conditioner (should I be using a protein conditioner with bleached hair? What’s the difference in protein building and bond building? How does it help with curling?) and a new set of Marc Antony curl shampoo and conditioner are arriving my tomorrow, which will be added in as I’ve used them before and enjoyed them.
I try and sleep in a mulberry silk bonnet night cap at nights. I shower with a silk lined shower cap on non hair wash days.
Now to the ISSUE AT HAND: styling this mess!!!😱
My curls look best with just a bit of salt spray, but they don’t last long, and when I try and add holding products, they destroy the curls and weigh down my hair.
In the photos, I have brushed out my baby bangs (I love them but I’m growing them out,open to suggestions for what to do with them next that isn’t grow them out and isn’t have a mullet. Something in between. I’m thinking the front of Ryan goslings hair in project hail Mary, with the choppy v cut layers that I’ll fluff forward) and I have v cut layers in the back, with the longest point being somewhere in the middle of my neck. It fluffs into a kinda shaggy Mohawk with some scrunching and hair spraying and maybe a little mousse. In the last photo, that was styled with scrunching and diffusing on medium temp alternating low with a bit of high speed to get it fluffy.
Im trying to grow it out, but its obviously very stained the bottom due to some unfortunate hard water stains from a hot spring (note to other platinum blondies: that tip that you can rinse your hair with clean cold fresh water and it’ll protect your hair from hot springs water? It’s a lie. I didn’t even dip my hair in it. This was all minor splashing and stream) a lot of these stains have come out with chelation from the k18 shampoo, but I’m definitely in need of a haircut after we do my next root touch up in two weeks, so three weeks for a haircut.
I trim my own bangs after they’ve been set in place by my cosmetologist, but we haven’t done a true haircut since we’ve started bleaching, just a little trim here and there. I trim up the front sections, I suppose they’re undercuts? that I’ve shaved past the bleach line and are now back to my naturally mousey hair, or what other flattering terms do they call ah yes, dirty blonde. Dishwater blonde. A very light brunette post puberty that easily turns to pure gold and silver under the sun and easily lifts, and a childhood of the purest blonde hair.
As for products…
I’m still learning how to use my tresemme curl mousse, I think I was using too much and today used a lot less. It was making my hair so unreasonably crunchy and no amount of oil would crunch it out. I’d just brush through it but that hurts and I’m trying to be gentle with myself and my hair.
Haven’t had much success with gel, aloe Vera and the Olaplex gel. It’s either too heavy or too sticky and is a sensory nightmare but I’m still figuring it out. It’s gross over mousse, but I heard to try LOG somewhere recently, which means I’ll whip out the ole leave in from somewhere in the under-sink exile.
Curl creams pull the curl out of my hair, even if I water down a tiny amount. I just moisturize well and honestly I don’t need it. I have the ouidad featherlight curl cream and even the tiniest dot watered down with my spray bottle of distilled water makes my day one hair miraculously turn into day three/four hair.
I wash my hair every two to four days (5 is my hard max. I cannot go beyond that, even for a scalp reset.)
I scrunch in 3-5 drops of k18 oil (very expensive, still undecided if it’s worth it) and I also have a pure argan oil from Amazon that I’ll use more generously, as my hair can take a bit more oil since it’s bleached.
I will brush it out with a boar bristle brush if I’m not trying to maintain a curl or if I want to try and reform them in the morning (sometimes a few sprays of distilled water has them springing back to life. Sometimes, it has them flopping down into sad little waves. Not sure why-) or I just slap in some pins and hairspray and be on my way. I have a casual job where I can be as weird as I wish to be.
So yeah. Anyone that made it this far, honestly you’re a trooper and probably the best friend in your personal friend group. You’re the one who listens to that person that gets talked over at a party. I wish you love and happiness and joy, and if you have any advice or take any words of wisdom from me, I’d be grateful. 🙏✨
We’re born to love each other, help each other, uplift each other. Every person here is gorgeous and we have amazing hair 🥰