Post-bleach gummy hair can be awful, especially if it results in a lot of snagging and breaking. Hair’s gummy effect is typically the result of chemical damage from bleach and an imbalance between the moisture and protein content of your hair.
The use of bleach on the hair alters the hair’s structure and promotes protein loss. As a result, your hair is gummy and prone to breaking.
I’ve compiled a list of the 5 simplest methods for repairing bleached-out gummy hair.
Table of Contents
Gummy Hair After Bleaching?
For over two decades, I’ve worked in the hairdressing sector. In my experience, hairdressers rarely mention gummy hair to their clients.
Hair elasticity is what we mean by “hair gumminess.” This is due to the fact that it demonstrates your hair’s overall health and ability to retain moisture.
Most of us don’t think about hair gumminess until our hair starts to seem unmanageable. It might also grow brittle and crack. Hair can also lose its tensile strength if it becomes too gummy.
After bleaching, hair gumminess can be a serious problem, resulting in hair that is very flexible, matted, and prone to breaking.
5 Ways to Fix Gummy Hair after Bleaching
Hair that is well-balanced has exactly the proper amount of gumminess to prevent breaking without losing its natural shape.
The moisture for a hair strand is kept in the cortex, or core, of the hair. The cuticle, which is found on the exterior of the skin, is in charge of retaining moisture. The cuticle is a layer of tiny scales that covers the hair strand’s protective outer covering. The hair is more resistant to moisture loss when the scales are smooth and flat.
Bleaching can cause your hair to become too gummy, resulting in damage and breaking.
Here are some quick and easy ways to restore bleached hair that has an extreme gummy feeling. Make sure you don’t miss any of these because they all have various levels of efficiency.
Cause 1: Insufficient Moisture and Protein balance
Your hair’s excessive gumminess suggests that its underlying structure is fragile. A lack of moisture or protein causes hair to become fragile, elastic, and brittle. It’s also possible that it’s a mix of the two. You may need to condition, apply protein treatments, and/or remoisturize your hair more regularly. Conditioners with a suitable protein-moisture balance and that are intended to heal damaged hair should be chosen.
The key to restoring healthy hair gumminess is getting moisture into the hair’s core and keeping it there with a sealed cuticle. Use a liquid moisturizer, an oil to seal it, and a cream to protect it to keep your hair healthy.
The purpose of your conditioner is to hydrate your skin and smooth the cuticles. This is necessary for hair’s healthy elasticity.
Bleaching will cause your hair to become porous. Because porous hair absorbs moisture fast, it may appear as if no quantity of product is ever sufficient. In certain cases, use a small amount of leave-in conditioner on a regular basis.
Apply a moisturizing shampoo to your hair to help it retain its moisture. Do double-check the contents before buying. When shopping for a moisturizer, look for one that has a lot of Vitamin E, as well as amino acids and silicones. These ingredients help to strengthen hair and prevent breakage. Apply a small quantity of conditioner no more than twice a week. If you have greasy, sticky hair, take a day off between shampooings.
Moisture is necessary for maintaining a healthy scalp and hair. Make sure you get enough water each day. Use a humidifier in your home, bedroom, or workplace when the weather is dry to protect your surroundings from drying out too much. Using a humidifier during the winter months can help prevent your home from being overly dry as a result of the drying impact of the heat.
Cause 2: Chemical Treatments
Bleaching and other chemical treatments may diminish the natural elasticity of your hair and make it gummy.
When hair is bleached, it is given a chemical treatment to open the cuticle. As a result of the cuticle opening process, the hair is sensitive to moisture loss.
If as all possible, avoid utilizing chemical treatments on your hair, such as bleach. These harsh chemicals alter your hair’s chemical composition, making it more brittle and susceptible to breaking. If you decide to go through with any of these procedures, make sure you choose a specialist to do them.
Cause 3: Excessive Heat
Excessive heat can change the texture of your hair and make it gummy.
Blow dryers and other high-heat styling equipment can dry out your scalp and cause damage to your hair. The hot air may cause your hair to dry out quickly. Use the cold setting instead of the highest heat setting if you’re intending to use a blow dryer or other heat styling equipment on your hair. Additionally, you should strive to utilize these tools as little as possible or store them for exceptional occasions only.
Drying out your scalp may be caused by hot baths as well as styling products. While you may like a hot shower, you might consider turning it down a notch or two. I’m not recommending that you take cold showers, but do what you feel comfortable with!
Cause 4: Too much Hair Styling or Processing
Excessive strain from hairstyles is another common cause of gumminess. Make sure your protective style isn’t too tight, such as a weave or a natural look. Constant stress and manipulation of the same regions of the scalp can lead to hair breakage and gumminess.
The act of manipulating your hair in any way, shape, or form is referred to as manipulation.
To enable your scalp to relax, switch between clips and ponytails in different places. Make sure buns and ponytails aren’t too tight when wearing them.
Instead of keeping your hair in a tight bun or braids all the time, try wearing it down when you have the chance. If you can’t let your hair down, consider a new, less-tight haircut or loosen up your present one. For the sake of your scalp’s health, avoid pulling your hair too tightly if at all feasible.
Cause 5: Over Washing
Your scalp is more likely to be oily if your skin is oily. As a result, you may feel compelled to wash your hair more frequently than is necessary.
Even if your hair is greasy, you should only wash it once each day. Really dry hair, on the other hand, may only need to be shampooed once a week.
Also, carefully wash your hair, paying special attention to the scalp, and apply conditioner evenly from ends to roots.
Bottom Line
Excessive gumminess can affect your hair in a number of ways, from making it more difficult to maintain to causing it to lose its luster.
The good news is that you can reduce your hair’s extra gumminess by sealing it with moisture and taking a few simple steps on a daily basis. If you absolutely must use heat, make sure to dry your hair first to get as much water out as possible. A blast of chilly air or a medium heat setting will keep you warm. Use a leave-in conditioner to hydrate your hair and prevent dryness from heat styling.
For optimum effects on bleached hair, use a lot of deep conditioners.
Do you know that you can naturally bleach your hair by simple sun exposure? Check the article on All About Sun Bleach Hair – The Science
FAQ
What does it mean when your hair feels gummy?
Hair gumminess mostly occurs due to severe damages to the hair’s core structure.
This can occur if your hair is chemically treated too regularly or if it has sustained a great deal of damage.
When your hair’s support system is compromised, the texture changes and you get a gummy sensation.
Why does my hair feels like elastic after bleaching?
After bleaching, if your hair feels stretchy, gummy, or elastic, it could be due to over-bleaching. The cuticle will not lie flat again if the hair is over-bleached, and this results in coarse hair that appears lifeless, gummy, and dull. Bleaching weakens hair strands, resulting in them snapping off like a rubber band. This makes hair appear gummy and stretchy.
Creative, versatile, and passionate about her craft, Rupa Das is a well-recognized name in the world of fashion and makeup! This is a woman who has been in the fashion and makeup industry for 24 years and is still one of the leading international makeup artist in the circuit! She has worked in big brands like Lakme, Green Trends, Colors and transitioned to become a Beauty (Hair & Skin) Trainer.