A mum-of-three is warning others against home bleaching after a kit left her long locks falling out in clumps.
Eden Gilliam, 26, decided to dye her hair blonde after years of being brunette.
Making the decision to do it at home instead of going to a salon, the mum visited a hair care shop in her home of Tennessee, USA.
Eden claims she was advised to buy a bleach and a hair 'relaxant', so she picked up the treatments and set to work.
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Soon after putting the products on her hair, Eden noticed something was wrong.
She discovered the combination had left her once beautiful locks "melting to her head".
Eden quickly jumped into the shower to wash out the treatment, but was horrified to find clumps of her hair coming outing her hands.
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Within a matter of minutes, Eden's gorgeous hair was in clumps around her feet in the shower.
"It looked like my hair had melted to my head. It was coming out in clumps," says Eden.
"I immediately panicked and hopped in the shower. Handfuls of it were coming out.
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"I was running my hands through my hair and the one thing I can compare it to is in movies when chemo patients are in the shower and their hair keeps coming out.
"The more I brushed my hand through it, the more it was hitting the shower floor.
"It's the hardest thing. I went through a phase where I cried for three days solid. It's so depressing.
"My hair couldn't handle it anymore. The bleach had already damaged it so much, then when I put the treatment on it made it worse."
Eden, who is naturally blonde, had decided to give herself a makeover after being brunette for so many years.
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After the disaster, the mother discovered the hair treatment was usually used on 'more resistant' African-American hair.
"[After it went wrong] I called my friend Kristen asking 'what can I do?'," says the mum.
"She said 'Eden, there's nothing you can do. It's gone. The best thing to do is cut it and hope it repairs'.
"I'm naturally a blonde anyway and a few years ago I dyed my hair brown. After having a few kids, I decided to go back to blonde hair.
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"I went to a hair care shop and they'd given me bleach and a treatment for it. That's the first time I'd dyed it in years."
She adds: "I had really long hair too. It was past my ribs and I'd been growing it for years.
"I treated my hair so well. I would oil it and take care of it every day. I never put hot irons on it.
"Kristen helped me wash all the stuff out, but my hair was so melted it was almost to my scalp. It just curled up and frizzed to my scalp.
"She got me some oils and said not to do anything else to it but condition it. If I could avoid washing it, don't wash it at all.
"I wasn't supposed to mix [the bleach and relaxant]. She called the lady from the hair care shop, who denied ever selling them to me."
Eden claims her once long hair has now gone to being so short it barely goes pasture ears.
"It's really short right now. It probably goes down a little past my ears," says Eden.
"I still can't do anything with it because it's so fraught and coarse. I keep leaving coconut oil on it hoping to bring it back.
"My kids can't get used to it. They loved my long hair and always want to run their hands through it but they can't now.
"I don't even want it touched, it's awfully frizzy and hard to deal with right now.
"It stays so greasy on my head all the time that you really can't style it - especially being as short as it is.
"People have been very nice. I've been sent in wigs.The school I went to years ago saw my post and wanted to send money so I could get a wig.
"I'm going to try some wigs, but it's a case of leaving it short really."
Eden is now urging people to visit salons to get their hair dyed, instead of doing it at home.
"I'd urge people not to bleach their hair at home. Wait until you can get help," warns Eden.
"At least take a step back and know what you're getting into - or go to a salon. It'll be worth it in the end."
Eden's friend and hairdresser, Kristen Rankin, 25, claims the two treatments were a toxic mix that shouldn't be used on Caucasian hair.
"I feel terrible for her," said Kristen, also from Tennessee.
"[It was the] mixing of chemicals. The relaxer after bleach is what melted it but the bleach over box colour had already damaged it.
"Box colour is rough on your hair if you try to remove it because it contains metallic salts which doesn't mix well with bleach.
"Relaxers are mainly for African American hair which is much more resistant than Caucasian hair. It was just too much for her hair to handle.
"Anyone with training would have known not to sell someone with bleached hair a relaxer."
There's you warning, guys: go to a salon.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy NewsTopics: Beauty, Life, Hair, Real Life