10 hair care tips to increase the lifespan of your hair extension
1. Don’t wash your hair extension, wig, or weave too often
Remy human hair extensions deserve the same hair care as your natural hair. One of the hair care tips from Her Imports is to reduce the frequency of washing them. While they have the advantage of having intact unidirectional cuticle, washing too often can misalign them causing frizzy hair and therefore reducing their lifespan. Only wash the extensions when it’s necessary. On the other hand, you can use a deep conditioner. Also, when washing your hair extensions, avoid using hot water.
2. Go slow on the heat.
If it were your natural hair or human hair extensions, then heat wouldn’t be that big of a deal. However, with synthetic wigs and weaves bundles, heat has a damaging effect to their structure. It causes wear and tear.
It is therefore advisable to avoid using high temperatures on your extensions especially if they’re synthetic. Dry your hair by using warm temperatures instead. Synthetic hair extensions also do not do well with hair accessories such as curling iron and other hot tools. So keep those at bay. If you must blow dry, then ensure you apply a good heat protectant product before doing so to protect your extensions.
3. Avoid cutting the wefts
When you buy your weaves or extensions, they come in long wefts. It is advisable to keep the lengths of these wefts as long as possible as it’s easy to manage them. Once the wefts are cut into shorter pieces, it increases the susceptibility of the hair to get damaged. For instance, the hair becomes frizzy, tangled, and may develop split ends. So keep the wefts long as much as possible.
4. Avoid regular dying
Well, of course, once in a while we want to rejuvenate our looks. And we get so many beauty tips about hairstyle trends and trending hair colors to dye our hair extensions every so often. But dying is a chemical process that interferes with the chemical structure of your extensions and wigs. Too much can damage the hair regardless of the hair type. It is actually advisable to buy the extension in your preferred color to avoid dying.
5. Moisturize
Dry hair is a recipe for disaster. When the hair is dry, there’s high friction between the strands. This applies to synthetic virgin remy, Brazilian remy, and all human hair extensions. Ensure that you have wet hair all the time by moisturizing regularly with a spray bottle. But don’t use excess water either. You know, too much of anything is harmful. You can also use a moisture shampoo or moisture conditioner to keep your hair hydrated all the time. Moisturizing will also help to detangle your hair.
6. Brush hair before bed and wrap it
Time to get rid of that pillow you’ve been sleeping on for the past God-knows-how-many years. While “your pillow wiped your tears when no one else did,” if it’s not made of silk, it’s only doing your hair extension a disservice. On the other hand, if you love it that much, you can use a hair mask to wrap your hair before bed, preferably made of silk. Silk allows the hair to flow freely without getting entangled. It also prevents the hair from developing split ends and breakage. Ensure your brush the hair before wrapping it. Use a widetooth comb to avoid breaking the strands or pulling to hard.
7. Use deep conditioner to softly wash your extension
Deep conditioning is a good process to ensure moisture and the essential oils penetrate deep enough into the strands. The thick conditioner also stays for longer unlike thinner shampoos. Apply conditioner just before a bath or washing the extension and wait for about 10 to 20 minutes before washing. It is also advantageous to your natural hair as the nutrients also get absorbed.
8. Shampoo your weave at least twice a month
Shampoo has a lot of benefits to both your natural hair and hair extensions. For one, it helps straighten the strands and detangles them making brushing your hair a walk in the park. It also helps remove dirt and dust from the hair extensions giving them that fresh new feel. Don’t get me even on the fragrance. Who doesn’t love it? But remember tip number one. Don’t wash your hair extension too often. Consider using dry shampoo instead of the regular shampoo as it doesn’t require washing.
9. Plait your extensions into a braid at nights before sleep.
So you want your extensions to last longer than normal? Then take the time to braid them at night before sleep. This way, your hair remains intact even if you have nightmares and move a million times in your sleep. There are various braid hairstyles for long hair and short hairstyles for short hair you can get acquainted with online. Bun hairstyles are also a good way to keep your hair one place. I just feel they take longer than just a simple single braid which then you can cover with a hair wrapper.
10.Do not sleep with wet hair.
I repeat, do not sleep with wet hair. Remember the above point about excess water on your hair? Wet hair is like a stretched spring. It can only stretch up to some point before breaking. By sleeping with wet hair, you’re exposing the hair to long durations of stretching which will eventually lead to breakage and split ends. If you’re about to go to sleep and your hair is wet, use air dry or lightly blow dry it with warm temperatures until it dries.
Conclusion
Follow the above tips religiously and you might as well double the lifespan of your hair extension regardless of what hair type it is. So just to recap, here are the 10 hair care tips to increase the lifespan of your hair extension.
i. Don’t wash too often.
ii. Go slow on the heat.
iii. Avoid cutting the wefts.
iv. Avoid regular dying.
v. Moisturize
vi. Brush hair before bed.
vii. Use deep conditioner.
viii. Shampoo at least twice a month.
ix. Plait your extensions before sleeping.
x. Do not sleep with wet hair.
