Let’s be honest, ladies: do you know how to take care of your extensions properly? There are multiple reasons why many of you are answering no to this question. In this blog post, we will be spilling all the tea about how to take care of your virgin hair properly. We’ll explain the different types of hair extensions, different stages of care during the wear process and also how to take care of your extensions that have been altered (dyed, bleached or permed). Go ahead and get your pen and paper ready because this is information you’re going to want to remember.
Before we start with these tips, let’s talk about the signs of not taking proper care of your extensions. If you're an avid YouTube watcher, you're probably familiar with the common problems women have with their hair extensions: tangling, dullness, and shedding. When they receive their new extensions, the hair is perfect, but after installing the extensions and as time progress, they notice these problems and place the blame on the hair. While there are bad hair extensions on the market, the hair should not always receive the bulk of the blame. Sometimes these problems arise because of poor care given to the hair extensions. We’re going to help with this problem so you cut down on the amount of money you waste, and in return, you will learn how to invest in lasting hair that you can style for years to come.
Not so fast. We know you’re ready for the tips, but there’s one more thing we need to address. This is maybe the most important factor and will change how you look at your hair extensions. While you may see your extensions as basic protection from your hair and as minimal work with the option to do experimental styling, extensions are still hair. The hair reacts to chemicals and manipulation just as your natural hair would react. Just because it doesn't grow from your scalp doesn’t mean it still does not need basic treatments and overall care. This goes along with the maintenance cost for hair extensions. Although it is not your real hair, you should still be purchasing healthy products and not cheap chemicals. Now that you realize the importance you should have on your extensions, let’s get to the tips.
Picking out Hair: Extensions Hair Type Care
As you know, there is an abundance of textures of hair extensions on the market, and while all of them have basic maintenance requirements, some of them have their own ways in which they need to be properly cared for. You may be treating all of your hair textures the same, though some curl patterns may require a higher amount of maintenance. Let’s go through the different hair textures that require more attention/proper care and talk about how to safely style them.
Deep Wave: Unlike Body Wave hair extensions, Deep Wave virgin hair has a tighter curl that needs to be hydrated often. To enhance the deep wave pattern and avoid dryness or frizziness, use a spray bottle to mist hair with water before adding a creamy moisturizer. Comb hair with a wide-tooth comb while damp and scrunch the hair with your hands. Allow hair to dry to set wave pattern.
Curly/Kinky Curly: For Kinky Curly or Curly hair you will want to wet your hair and gently comb out your extensions with a wide-tooth comb on a daily basis. Use a spray bottle to mist your hair with water followed by a creamy moisturizer to help avoid dryness or frizziness.
To style, comb hair to the desired style using a wide-tooth comb and let wave pattern dry to set. After wave pattern has set, you can finger-comb your hair gently to add volume.
To Safely Straighten: We do not recommend straightening curly hair textures like kinky or curly as you can risk heat damage as you would on your own hair. However, since True Glory hair is premium high-quality virgin hair you can get your curly extensions to bone straight if you would like. To do so, part hair into four sections to ensure all hair gets the heat it needs to straighten. Lightly mist your palm with a light heat-protectant product, and then apply to the hair in each section. Use a blow dryer with a comb attachment followed by a paddle brush to loosen the wave pattern before applying heat from a flat iron.
Take a small subsection of hair and use a ceramic flat iron to grip the hair firmly. Start at the root and move slowly until you reach the end.
Initial Care
You’ve just received your True Glory hair extensions in the mail and we know you’re eager to install those bundles, but there is a highly-suggested pre-care wash and condition procedure you should conduct. Some women install the hair directly into their head without washing the extensions, which is not suggested as you want to install clean hair into your head. Start by co-washing your bundles with a moisturizing conditioner before installing. Your products for your hair extensions should be similar and as healthy as your natural hair products. This means using sulfate-free shampoo and a moisture-infusing conditioner. This will leave the extensions feeling its best. As we wrote in another post, It's also important to take proper care of your natural hair to avoid breakage as you are installing clean hair.
After washing the hair, let the extensions air dry instead of using a blow dryer. Just as you don’t want to use an abundance of heat on your natural hair, the same goes with your extensions. If you have kinkier/curlier hair extensions, letting them air dry before installing is key to preserving the moisture and a non-frizz curl.
Installation Care
After pre-washing the extensions and letting them air dry, it’s finally the time you’ve been waiting for. Get ready for that install, sis! There are multiple ways you can install hair extensions into your hair. We’ll get into the installation methods in just a moment, but there’s one hair care tip for your extensions that we need to touch on before then. Prior to installing your extensions, make sure that you don't oversaturate your hair with oils, grease or heavy products. Your extensions will be directly touching your scalp, which will transfer most of the products from your hair and onto the extensions, making it extremely greasy, unnatural and bad for the extensions. It is best to apply a light moisturizing product to the scalp that won’t transfer over to the extensions once installed.
Let’s move on to the different installation processes. There are multiple ways you can install extensions into your hair, all of which require care. Some installation methods are basic, while other methods require specific care routines that need to be performed in order to maintain the installed style. Below are some of the most popular installation methods and the care needed to preserve them.
Sew-In: Sew-in is the most popular method of installing extensions by sewing the extensions onto cornrows braided on your scalp. For those wondering how to care for sew-in extensions properly, there are a couple of steps to focus on. After installing, it is important to either wrap the hair or sleep with a protective satin bonnet on your hair to protect your extensions from getting tangled. When untangling the hair or simply doing basic brushing, start with brushing the ends of the hair and lightly work your way up with gentle strokes. When brushing the hair from top to bottom with pressure, this will cause the hair to shed and be violently pulled out of the weft.
Extensions do require washing while it is installed in your hair. Using the sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner, wash the extensions gently. For added moisture and health, do deep conditioning to the extensions just as you would to your natural hair. After washing all of the conditioner out, it is very important to thoroughly dry the hair. This means drying the extensions and your natural hair that is braided underneath. If the hair isn’t properly dried, this can create a mildew smell along with unhealthy bacteria that can damage your hair and the extensions. You will need a hooded dryer to sit under to dry your natural hair and weft.
Glue (Bonded): Glue-in or bonded method is another way to install extensions to your hair. A special glue is applied to the weft and attached to the hair, not the scalp. As you are dealing with glue, it is important to follow how to take care of bonded extensions. Not only can you pull the extension out, but you can also damage both your natural hair and the extensions.
During the installation and when wearing a glue-in, it is important to avoid heavy oils as they can break down the glue causing the extensions to come out. An oil-based product is used to remove the extension from the hair, so if you’re not ready to take the extensions out, avoid oils. While wearing a glue-in installation we do not recommend washing your hair. In fact, this style should be seen as a quick temporary style that shouldn't last more then a few days. If it is necessary for you to wash, then you suggest using a dry shampoo if you need to cleanse your scalp.
Clip-Ins: Clip-Ins are a fun and easy way to add length and volume to your natural hair. It also allows you to wash your hair when you want and easily remove your hair extensions them when you need to. Just like glue, it is important to be careful when combing or brushing them as they can damage your natural hair. Softly brushing starting from the bottom then working your way up will protect the hair. Washing clip-ins is easy; pre-install washing steps can be used to wash clip-ins. After you remove the clip-ins from your hair, store them in a protective hair bag between uses to avoid tangling.
After Install
When you’re ready to take the extensions out of your hair, no matter the method, there are a couple of procedures to follow to keep the extensions at its best quality for use again. Washing and conditioning your virgin hair extensions followed up by deep conditioning will help increase the span of your extensions. Wash the hair gently when you remove it from your hair as it could be tangled and you do not want to pull any hair from the weft. Wash very gently while finger combing or using a wide-tooth comb during the conditioning process. Allow the hair to air dry after the deep conditioning process. Make sure the hair is dry fully before placing in a protective bag for storage. If the hair isn’t dry, the dampness will create mildew.
Extensions still require the same maintenance, safe-styling, and respect as your real hair. If you are a newbie to the extension’s game, don’t feel intimidated by the work it takes to uphold the style. Take care of the style and establish a healthy hair care regimen early on that you will be able to follow. How you care for your hair extensions will ultimately determine how long your hair will last.
Photo credit: @amari.nashae @_hairbyjalissa_@_beautyslave.