My Crown Has Been Stolen: Hair episodes

I had just gotten some gorgeous red highlights. I'll never forget that day because the excitement was high. I had been longing to change my style for quite some time, and I felt red highlights would be an amazing change. I had virgin hair so I was a little nervous about the process but decided to go ahead with this new hair adventure.
As the stylist began applying the chemical solution she raved and raved about the thickness, texture, health, and overall beauty of my hair. I was privileged to have been able to achieve many different hair styles, many different lengths, and my hair always maintained it's glory. I could not wait to see the final results. After a long process of heat and chemicals, to my delight, the highlights turned out to be absolutely stunning! My hair was transformed into a beautiful mixed shade that complimented my skin tone like pure perfection. To heighten the appeal I had the stylist bring the length to my shoulders in a sassy bob-like shape. Everyone loved it, especially me. That day I left the salon overjoyed. I was rocking a new look and had bought every hair product in the salon that promised to maintain my gorgeous mane. My confidence was unshakable.......so I thought.
Months passed and I continued to enjoy my red and brown streaked bob. I must have been in the mirror every five minutes gazing in sheer admiration, inventing different dos.....up, down, half up, curled, waved, stick straight, everything I could think to do. This was my daily routine until one day something changed, and it changed drastically. Suddenly, as if someone had flipped an internal switch, my scalp began to go haywire. I don't remember the exact day, but I awoke to find my scalp inflamed and bleeding. The entire crown of my head had broken out in puss filled bumps, some the size of dimes. The pain and itching almost pushed me to rip the very hairs from my head. I wish I could say that this was just one weird and unpredictable hair episode, but these mysterious bumps continuously appeared over a period of three years. From that day forward these hair episodes became a thorn in my side, a painful experience that I wasn't sure would end. Day to day, month to month the bumps would appear then disappear for a while only to flare up again without warning. Each time, my scalp was left scarred and as smooth as a marble stone. I'm not even sure where the hair went for I never saw it on my pillow or in my comb. It never came out in handfuls. It was as if my hair had evaporated into thin air. Wherever a bump appeared the hair disappeared and there was not a thing I could do to stop it. Where would I start? Trying desperately to determine the cause, my initial thoughts led me to believe that my scalp was suffering from an allergic reaction to the red highlights I had gotten. Now six months or so had passed since my trip to the salon, but I thought of nothing else as a possible cause in that moment. Over and over I asked myself, what's happening to my scalp?
Through the course of those three years I was in search for a possible cause which had yet to be revealed. I cried. I cried a lot. I cried not only for the state of my hair but for the state of my esteem. My hair was no longer the same, and neither was I.............