So, you've got the mermaid hair of your dreams! Now what?? Read on for the best tips and at home care possible!
Extensions don't damage the hair; PEOPLE damage hair. Either the application NOT being correct, or the care at home is not good.
9 times out of 10, a stylist can do an amazing application and then the extension wearer gets home and tears through their hair with a brush, never brushes it in general, or worse.... uses Pantene on it ( YIKES)
But, if you're a client who wants their extensions to last as long as possible, and to cause no damage to the natural hair, here we go with the do's and dont's of wearing extensions!
I recommend brushing at least twice a day, and to use a mixed bristle brush, like the one from Bellami Hair Professional that you can purchase here. When brushing hair with extensions, never brush the hair when it is wet, and start from the bottom and work your way up. When at the ends and mids of hair, hold onto the hair like a pig tail, brush out tangles, then release and continue to work up the hair, all the way to the scalp and point of attachment.
When its time to wash the hair, make sure to brush out the hair before getting it into the water and make sure you are using PROFESSIONAL shampoo most likely recommended by your stylist. I like to advise my guests to pre-section the hair, while it is still dry. Section out the area of natural hair above the extensions first, clip separately, then work your way down to the nape area, clipping each section out of the way, and leaving the last section down. When you hop in the shower, shampoo the hair in the same sections you clipped up, working in reverse. shampoo each section at the scalp and point of attachment, rinse thoroughly before moving onto next section. Repeat until entire head of hair is shampooed.
After washing, use conditioner only from the mids to ends of hair extensions. Do not put conditioner onto the point of attachment, as it will cause slippage on any form of extension application.
After your hair is nice and clean, towel dry your hair as much as possible, to get any extra moisture out of the hair. Apply any leave in conditioner or any heat protection products at this point, from mids to ends. Then, use a blow dryer to rough dry extensions, starting at the point of attachment. DO NOT use on high heat, and continue to move the dryer as you're drying the attachment in order to not melt, or over heat the extension base. Once extensions are 90% dry, that is when you can start to use your round brush or paddle brush to dry the hair and smooth the ends.
When styling your hair extensions, make sure to style in sections and use approximately 375*F heat, while not using over 400*F . I like to make sure my clients are using high quality hot tools on their hair, and I recommend T3 Micro hot tools. Their tools are amazing quality and will insure that your hair is in the best shape possible for heat styling tools.
Before you swim, get your hair wet with fresh, clean water and apply a small amount of conditioner or leave in through the mids and ends. I also like to use Olaplex No 3 to give the hair a treatment, while also protecting the hair from chemicals. This will help protect your hair from soaking up any chlorine, salt or chemicals from your time swimming. It's also safest to swim with the extensions in a braid or ponytail to contain.
When getting ready for bed, brush completely, then either split hair in two sections and braid or 1 side braid. DO NOT sleep with wet hair! That will cause matting at the point of attachment, and damage to the extensions and natural hair. Also, try to purchase a silk pillowcase to prevent any damage while sleeping. I recommend this one.
Other tips to follow; make sure that you DO NOT try to color your extensions at home! Extensions should only be colored by a professional stylist.
When using purple shampoo, apply the purple shampoo to the natural hair section above your extensions FIRST. Leave on for a couple minutes, depending on your hair, and then when rinsing, let it run through your extensions. That will be enough to tint your extensions if needed. I do not recommend putting the tinted shampoo directly on the extensions because they WILL turn purple.
Make sure you follow the recommended maintenance schedule. There is a reason your stylist recommends a certain amount of time, and its not to make a ton of money. It's because going over a certain amount of time in between extensions will definitely cause damage to your natural hair, and will not make the extension wearing pleasant. It causes matting and tangles. Every day, we shed an average of 100 strands of hair. When wearing extensions, some of those hairs get caught in the point of attachment. After too long, there will not be enough hair per attachment to hold the weight of the extension and the shed hairs caught in the attachment will tangle with each other and surrounding hair. This means dreading and pain, as well as too much pressure on the natural hair strand and scalp. Following maintenance schedules will help with all of these issues!
Make sure you are completely following these steps, and you'll be in great shape and your extensions will last you a long time!
As always, if you need anything at all or have any questions, reach out to me!