Hair extensions give us effortless glamor. However, like every other hairpiece product, we must take care of hair extensions. An excellent hair extension care routine will keep us away from dull, matted locks or irreversible damage to our natural hair.
“What is the lifespan of human hair extensions?” Wearers and hair distributors often ask. The answer is, “It depends.” Appropriate hair extension care will indeed maximize their lifespan. Remy human hair extensions at New Times Hair can last more than a year if properly cared for.
We’ve listed some practical tips on hair extension care. Stick to them, so you or your customers may continue to shine.
Hair Extension Care Tip 1: Install Your Hair Extensions Correctly
Great hair extension care starts with how it is installed. Ensure that your hair extensions are installed by a professional hairstylist trained in that extension method.
If you own a salon or work as a hairstylist and want to install hair extensions for your clients, ensure you or your staff are trained in all the hair extension methods you will use on your customers.
Poor installation can damage the wearer’s natural hair, and the wearer has to remove that hairstyle sooner than she wants to. For those who care hair extensions stronger than others, correct installation is super critical on how to take care of hair extensions.
Hair Extension Care Tip 2: Care for Hair Extensions at Night
How to take care of hair extensions on the bed? Excellent hair extension care also relates to wearers’ sleeping habits. And yes, the wearer’s job is to care for hair extensions while sleeping.
We all know that wearers of professional hair extensions cannot remove them whenever they want. The hair extensions will stay in their hair until a hairdresser reattaches them or replaces them. How shall we take care of hair extensions at night? Here are some practical tips.
- Sleep on Silk and Satin
A rough surface like cotton will harm the hair or cause it to tangle. A satin pillow, on the other hand, reduces the friction between the hair and the pillow surface and will keep the hair in excellent condition. Similar to using scarves or bonnets made of silk or satin, a silk or satin pillowcase adds additional protection to hair extensions.
- Never Sleep with Wet Extensions
Excellent hair extension care includes drying your hair and the extensions thoroughly before bed. It is common sense that sleeping with wet hair will end up with knots and tangles.
Because of friction between the hair and the pillow, the hair will become frizzy once dry. The same applies to hair extensions. Having to untangle hair extensions can be a big hassle. Separating extensions from natural hair takes time and patience. Because of the frizz, your hair extensions could also look dull.
Hair Extension Care Tip 3: Brush the Hair Extensions Daily
Daily brushing of the hair also contributes to excellent hair extension care. Brush your hair and hair extensions 2-3 times daily to ensure that the oils from the scalp reach the extension ends. It effectively moisturizes and nourishes the hair and hair extensions.
Brushing the hair daily is the key to keeping the hair extensions soft and tangle-free. But how to take care of hair extensions by brushing them properly? If applicable, apply oil to the mids and ends of the extension hair daily. It will help keep the hair nourished and extra soft while preventing split ends.
Hair Extension Care Tip 4: Separate the Bonds Daily
Separating the bonds daily will be helpful in the daily hair extension care routine. Most professional hair extensions are attached to the wearer’s hair bunch-by-bunch with bonds, such as fusion hair extensions, micro links, etc.
Because the bonds are so tightly fitted, flying or shed hair may become entangled between them over time. Separating the extension bonds daily can avoid potential tangling. You can do this by gently running your fingers from the root to the tip of each hair extension.
How to take care of hair extensions? Are there any daily hair extension care routines? Separating the bonds is a quick and easy process. It usually takes only minutes. However, it will significantly impact your hair extensions in the long run. Failure to look after your bonds may cause your stylist to tell you at your next visit, “Sorry, you can’t wear this set of hair extensions anymore; the bonds and hair are all messed up, and you have to get a new set.”
To ensure your hair extensions last longer, take care of the bonds by keeping them separate.
Hair Extension Care Tip 5: Wash Your Hair Extensions Properly
Some wearers have the impression that hair extensions are delicate and fragile, so we better not wash them so frequently, or they may not last. That’s not true. Just because the hair looks silky smooth doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be washed. So it is recommended that you wash your hair extensions regularly to avoid oil or dirt buildup, especially if your natural hair is oily.
- Do not Wash Hair Extensions Frequently
Although washing hair extensions is an essential part of good hair extension care, you should not wash them as frequently as you do your hair. Excessive washing can set the bonds or tapes loose, and the hair extensions will not last. Especially when you shower, avoid showering your hair with hot water, as hot water may melt the bonds, and the hair extensions will fall.
People might have told you to wait to wash your hair extensions until there’s excessive product buildup or dirt. That’s true, but it only applies to temporary hair extensions, such as halo or clip-in hair extensions, which you can attach or remove any time you want.
Ideally, with professional hair extensions, our New Times Hair recommendation is to wash them no more than twice a week. If you must shower daily, wear a shower cap to prevent hair extensions from getting wet.
- Choose the Right Shampoo and Conditioners
The right kinds of shampoo and conditioner are also essential to wash your hair extensions correctly.
But what should you avoid using on hair extensions? Never use shampoos or conditioners rich in sulfate to ensure excellent hair extension care. Sulfates are, in fact, your hair extensions’ worst enemy. They contain salts and only have one function, to make products foam. Sulfates dehydrate the hair by stripping it of its natural oils due to its high salt content. So, stick to sulfate-free shampoos, conditioners, and other hair products.
Choose well-known, healthy, moisturizing shampoos and hair extension care products to keep your hair extensions glamorous. The best shampoos and conditioners usually include coconut milk, natural oils, and whipped egg proteins. Shampoos and products like that help to keep extension hair strong, elastic, and hydrated.
Hair Extension Care Tip 6: Get a Weekly Condition of the Hair Extensions
To ensure excellent hair extension care, you should condition them once a week. Condition your hair extensions every week can keep them smooth and shine, thus last longer. More benefits of conditioning hair extensions are as follows:
- Increases the shine and luster: conditioning the extension hair with generous (not too much) conditioner will nourish the hair and keep it shiny and out of split ends.
- Keeping hair elastic and long-lasting: Using sulfate-free conditioners rich in coconut ingredients and egg proteins will make the hair more elastic and hard to break. Hence it lasts longer.
- Reduces tangles and shedding: Condition the extension hair. So it stays healthy, nourished, and unlikely to tangle or shed.
- Maintains hair color: Most human hair extensions are made of Remy human hair, just like all hair extensions provided by New Times Hair (newtimeshair.com). Remy human hair has intact and nicely arranged cuticles. That’s how it holds hair colors and never fades. However, unhealthy hair or hair with split ends tends to damage the hair and cuticles, so the color will fade quickly.
- Reduces hair breakage: Tangling and matting will eventually cause the hair to break and have split ends. That’s even more so why conditioning extension hair is essential.
Soon you will realize that it pays to condition your hair extensions weekly. Whether a deep conditioner or leave-in conditioner, the hair will stay healthy and keep you shining.
Hair Extension Care Tip 7: Avoid Excessive Dyeing or Use of Heat
To ensure appropriate hair extension care, we also need discipline as wearers. There’s no problem with dyeing, styling, or curling the hair with heat. But do them sparingly.
- Never Dye the Hair Extensions Excessively
Dyeing your extensions excessively will cause the extension hair to dry or break, much like your natural hair. Hair extensions can only withstand so many harmful chemicals, such as those found in bleach and hair dye before they are irreparably damaged. After repeatedly dying your hair extensions, you’ll often find that the coloring process won’t work.
Human hair extensions are generally more robust and durable than synthetic ones. Choosing extensions made of premium human Remy hair is even better. Quality Remy hair extensions, like the ones provided by New Times Hair, have cuticles still attached and perfectly arranged around the hair shaft. Hence, the hair color remains stable and will never fade, and you don’t have to dye it too often.
- Avoid Excessive Heat on the Hair Extensions
To maintain a good hair extension care routine, as wearers, we must try not to let extension hair go through much heat. How could heat damage our extension hair? Simple, our natural and extension hair may burn when it gets scorching hot. Let’s start with high-temperature flat irons.
High-temperature flat irons concentrate thermal heat more than curling irons. As a flat iron runs through the hair at over 350 degrees Celsius, it will quickly singe our hair and the extension hair. What’s worse is repeatedly running it through your hair!
Be sure to use heat protectants before you use irons. But remember that heat protectants cannot salvage the already damaged hair, nor can they protect the bonds.
Blow drying is also never recommended. With New Times Hair, we always advise our clients to air-dry their hair, as the concentrated high heat from the blow dryer will easily cause split ends. If you must blow dry your hair occasionally, use cold or warm air only.
Hair Extension Care Tip 8: Store Temporary Hair Extensions Between Wears
How to take care of hair extensions if they are temporary ones? Temporary hair extensions like halo, clip-in, and ponytail extensions work best when stored correctly. Wearers of temporary hair extensions can attach and remove them whenever they want. They are most likely drawn to temporary hair extensions because they are easy to attach and remove. Hence, they are unlikely to wear hair extensions every day, and most of the time, they may have to store them away.
Make sure you correctly store hair extensions. It is also part of excellent hair extension care. The key to proper hair extension storage is to keep the environment dry, cool (not too hot), and away from sunlight because:
- Too much exposure to sunlight will cause the hair extension to fade in color.
- An environment full of moisture will cause the hair to become a breeding ground for bacteria.
- Humid air will also cause the roots of the hair extensions to tangle.
With temporary hair extensions, let’s say you won’t wear them today, but you will on the weekend. After the weekend, you take them off, leave them, and may wear them again in another 3 or 4 days, and continue this way. In that case, you better get a hair stand, wash and dry the hair extensions, hang them up, and store them in a dry, cool, and dark environment.
With other permanent hair extensions, if you are wearing them for a short time, you’d better wash and dry them as much as you can, box them, and put the box away in a similarly dark, cool, and dry space.
To better understand how to store hair extensions, please read our article: How to Properly Store Your Hair Extensions
Hair Extension Care Tip 9: Replace Hair Extensions Regularly
Every hair extension has a lifespan, after which it must be disposed of. Most wearers wear hair extensions to get a full head of lush hair to flaunt and shine. However, after wearing it for a long time, the hair texture will eventually get frizzy and product-caked, and frequent tangling and matting will become inevitable. The curling iron will become less effective. When these signs start to take place, replace them.
Conclusion
Nothing compares to when you first see your new locks. They will last as long as you’d hoped with appropriate hair extension care. Your hair will remain flawless for months or even up to a year by incorporating those above into your hair extension care routine and making regular appointments for maintenance.
Hair extension care is not just about how to care for hair extensions. It has multiple aspects, such as installing hair extensions and storing them properly. Your sleeping habits may also play a part in determining how long the extension hair may last. Correct installation, products, proper storage, and on-time replacement summarize how to take care of extensions and have them max out their lifespan.
Click the link to shop for our complete collection of human hair extensions, and ensure you take care of them properly.
