CARING FOR YOUR HAIR EXTENSIONS
Corinne Asch- Feb 8, 2017
- 3 min read
Now that you've spent all this money on your hair extensions it's important to know the proper way to care for them.
When we wish for things we often only see the benefits and not the drawbacks, but, believe it or not, there are a couple of drawbacks to having thick hair. For one thing, it takes a lot longer to dry. Of course it does, but it's not something we think about before getting extensions. Time is an important factor in today's fast-paced, never-enough-time world we live in.
Another thing I see happen with clients and their extensions, is that most people who get extensions get them because they have thin hair (duh), so far so good. People with thin hair use lite conditioners that won't weigh their hair down and maybe even a conditioner that is made to create fullness (which technically means it blows out the cuticle. Not good). Those kinds of conditioners are all wrong for hair extensions, that, no matter how good quality they are, will still need a strong conditioner to keep them looking their best, as anyone with thick hair knows. A good strong conditioner is the best styling tool thick hair can have. It not only tames the hair, it will keep it healthy and shiny beyond it's projected life!
Taking care of extension hair is rarely the same as taking care of your own hair, mostly because the extensions are heavily processed and have had a lot of chemicals applied and if you've ever overprocessed your hair, you know the importance of a good conditioner. Some of my favorites are Gotukola, Enjoy, and Brazilian Blow Out. If you have thin hair be sure to use the heavy conditioner on the extensions only and not on your hair.
Resist the urge to go for the natural products.
Resist the urge to go for natural products.
I never thought I would ever make that statement.
I'm obsessed with natural and organic products. Unfortunately, they just don't work for hair conditioners. We are so chemically advanced that anything natural pales in comparison. Think of shampoo as you would your face products. You want them to be pure and healthy, deep cleansing without causing any drying. Your conditioners, on the other hand, are your face make-up. We are not as concerned about the ingredients (to a certain extent) as we are about what it makes us look like.
Keep a detangling brush in your shower because when you have conditioner on is when it's the right time to detangle and brush your hair out.
Do it gently and work your way from the bottom up. When you hit a snag, don't force it. Instead, gently pull the hairs apart.
Something else that a person with thin hair would never do that really helps with styling thick hair is a good leave-in conditioner. I personally am miserable without one (my own hair has lots of frizz). There are many on the market. Some of the ones I personally use and recommend are, it's a 10 miracle leave in, Enjoy leave in, Living Proof leave in, and L'anza leave in conditioner. Leave-in conditioners do have a tendency to build up on the hair so if your ends start looking oily be sure to clarify .
The last thing I want to talk about is, I have found a lot of clients (and hairdressers) that are used to getting a trim every few months to keep their ends fresh, think they have to trim their extensions as well. This is a misconception. Hair extensions only split when severely abused. When treated regularly, they do not need trimming. I have seen clients often complain that their extension have become too short and can't understand why. In trimming the extensions we forget that they will never grow back. Extensions rarely need to be trimmed. I kept mine for 3 years once without ever trimming them. They got thin from the natural shedding that occurs but the ends were fine. I don't recommend trimming extensions unless it's to change the style.
Like in all things, you are ultimately responsible for how long they will last and how well they will look.
Read "Which Extensions Are Right For Me?" next.
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