8 Hair-Mistreatment Stories That Will Make You Cringe And Say "Me"

What did our hair ever do to us?

We asked people to share their most horrifying hair stories. Then we talked with a beauty professional to find out how to deal with these common hair struggles!

1. Blonde isn't necessarily always more fun.

Sam C.

The Story: "I wanted to go blonde in 2015, so I entrusted my friend (whose mother is a professional hairdresser) to do it. She knew a lot about the process and had all kinds of hacks to make the bleach gentler on my hair, recommended special conditioners, etc. Sadly, when I tried to bleach it a second time myself, I didn't remember any of those hacks. My hair did get blonde, but predictably also died and was pretty much dead straw for nearly a year. It took hundreds of dollars' worth of product to get it back to its natural state. Needless to say, I'm never messing with my hair again." —Sam C.

The Struggle: “Dead straw” aka split ends

The Solution: Using an intensive post-color-repair treatment like Elvive Color Vibrancy Repair & Protect Balm, which is specifically formulated for dry, damaged hair, will help smooth and protect hair.

2.

The Story: "I tried to tease my hair with hairspray and then curl it. I wound up melting it with the curling iron and ended up with a chunk missing from my right temple for months. My roommate witnessed the whole thing...and the ensuing hysteria as I laughed myself to tears. I wish I had a photo." —Michelle S.

The Struggle: Hair vs. heat

The Solution: Your hair needs protection before using heat tools such as curling irons. The Elvive Total Repair 5 Protein Recharge Leave-In nourishes hair with every use, and it's formulated to help increase strength and flexibility as well as protect against everyday damage. Plus, it offers 450 degrees of heat protection!

3. It's all fun and games until you fry your hair.

Emily C.

The Story: "Like any sophomore in high school, I thought it was cool and edgy to dye my hair blue. It looked really good for a hot sec, but then the dye faded into a nasty seafoam green after two weeks. The constant bleaching and dye jobs eventually fried my hair, and I had no choice but to cut it very short (and lemme tell you, short hair does not suit this round face). My hair also grows excruciatingly slow, so I was stuck with short hair until mid-college." —Emily C.

The Struggle: Side effects of constant coloring

The Solution: It’s important to care for your hair during the full color/bleaching process. L’Oréal Paris Elvive Damage Erasing Balm repairs up to one year of damage to hair’s smoothness, so if you’re bleaching your hair, use this product one to two times per week to keep it healthy.

4.

Mandy C.

The Story: "I used to box-dye my hair every month (even my naturally dark brown roots weren't acceptable to be shown in public), and that's just the least of it. I also would straighten my naturally wavy hair pin-straight every morning, my metal-plated (cringe) straightener on the highest heat setting. I didn't feel good about my hair until I could smell it burning. To achieve the spiky, layered look that was finished off with a big hair bow, I took paper scissors to my own hair on a weekly basis to get the perfect choppy look and would spray the absolute crap out of it with the cheapest hairspray out there (because I read on MySpace it was the best at holding the style all day)." —Mandy C.

The Struggle: Tools that are too hot to handle

The Solution: If you are properly treating your hair after shampooing with a product like Elvive Damage Erasing Balm, you’re providing protection against common aggressors like heat tools.

5. There should be a college class on hair maintenance.

The Story: "In college, I would put this 'transforming paste' in my hair and then put a beanie on before I went to sleep. Post-puberty, my hair was thick and unruly, and that was the only way I could figure to control it. I always had an itchy scalp. Also, I was an idiot." —James F.

The Struggle: Unruly locks (and an itchy scalp!)

The Solution: Try using Elvive Extraordinary Oil before styling to discipline that unruly hair!

6. Going blonde is like a part-time job.

Eileen C.

The Story: "This summer on a whim I decided to go blonde. At first, I LOVED it. But I quickly discovered that it's crazy difficult to maintain a good shade. To keep it happy and healthy, there were a whole bunch of products, like shampoo and toning masques, that I had to buy. It ended up costing a ton of money and was so much work that I went back to my old color after about a month. I'm still dealing with the damage it did to my hair." —Eileen C.

The Struggle: The dreaded color fade

The Solution: Use the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Color Vibrancy Repair & Protect Balm one to two times per week to maintain the health of your color-treated hair.

7. Synchronized swimming is an extreme sport.

The Story: "When I used to do synchronized swimming, we used boxed gelatin to plaster our hair into styles that would stay put while we were doing our water routines. We would style it and then let it set until it was so hard you could punch your bun and it wouldn’t budge. And we added sequins. Of course, it took hours to get all that out." —Stephanie C.

The Struggle: More hold, less hassle

The Solution: Excess product build-up can be damaging to your hair. Elvive Damage Erasing Balm repairs the five signs of damage: split ends, weakness, roughness, dullness, and dehydration.

8. When teasing goes too far.

Alex S.

The Story: "I used to be obsessed with teasing my hair. I have super-fine, flat hair, so I would tease the shit out of it to get any sort of volume. I think my hair suffered the most when I was in college because I would always try to get it extra big for parties, sorority events, costumes, etc. While the teasing did give my hair the big, messy look I was going for, I was actually tearing out full chunks of my hair in the process. I'm super careful now when I brush my hair because I'm sorta traumatized from the teasing years." —Alex S.

The Struggle: Good ol’ fashioned tangles

The Solution: Before shampooing, add a few drops of the Elvive Extraordinary Oil treatment to nourish your hair. Then, after styling, add a few more drops as a finishing touch to add luxurious softness and shine!

Have a cringe-worthy story of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Hair damage doesn't have to be a life sentence. Elvive Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm erases one year of damage to hair's smoothness in one use!