Hair issues

Unedited fob pose. Look at the crazy light hair color!

Confession: I think the quality of my hair has gotten worse.

When I was younger, I used to have dark, smooth, silky, strong East Asian hair. Later on in life, southern Gulf Coast USA weather sunbleached it to a dark brown.

My hair has been getting lighter in color since.

I have gone to the same cosmetologist for the past 6-7 years. She is very detailed and knows how to do perfect East Asian female cuts. And she charges for $15 a cut + tip. (what a great deal!) Anyway the point is that she's stated that the quality of my hair has been getting worse throughout the years. It's still shiny; it's still silky, straight, etc. But these characteristics are now not because of a result of my natural/inherent body, but because of products as well.

• I now have to put in hair serum in order to make my hair feel smooth and silky
• I do co-washes every other day to prevent shampoo from damaging it
• Split ends come in a lot.

What is going on?

Well, for starters, around the time my hair first started changing quality, I had:

• Changed my diet - a lot less cheese, milk, red meat, etc
• Been under a lot of high school stress - college apps, scholarship apps, etc
• Been deprived of sleep
• Involved in a lot of competitions

Perhaps the chronically high levels of cortisol were diverting resources away from hair quality and more toward surviving?

• During my junior year of college, I started growing it out a lot. I was still shampooing it 1x/day, every day, and I guess the sulfates really got to my hair. Lots of split ends. I had never, ever, ever gotten split ends before. Etc.
• Based on recommendations, I actually have to eat protein and stuff now. So red meat, milk, Greek yogurt, etc - have to be in the equation.
• Now, going into anatomy lab = formaldehyde/formalin exposure (which I have been going to for the past 7 months)
• The condo that I live in is quite old (perhaps around 30-40 years old) so perhaps something with the walls/ventilation system/air created as a result?

What do I do now to prevent this (or at least as much as I can)?

• Use a hair serum every night - rub into hair's roots and ends
• Cut off ends of hair every 2 months
• Do a co-wash every other day
• Use a sulfate-free shampoo

So far it seems like it's worked but I've still got to work on it. I hope it'll get better!