How-to Guide: Caring for your extensions.
In order to keep hand tied hair extensions looking beautiful and luscious, care and maintenance are non negotiable.
Below are some guidelines on how to take care of your hand tied extensions:
Premium Quality, Visible Results
WASHING
Use a sulfate-free shampoo safe for extensions. We recommend and retail both Goldie Locks & L'ANZA.
Wash your roots and gently squeeze the suds through your extensions—do not scrub the wefts.
Follow up with a hydrating conditioner, focusing on the mids and ends. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
DRYING
Towel Drying: After washing, gently squeeze out excess water using a soft towel or t-shirt. Use a wide-tooth comb to detangle and distribute your serums and/or styling products.
Allow hair to air dry until about 80-90% dry, then finish with a blow dryer, ensuring the wefts are fully dry, especially the seams.
Blow Drying: Blow dry row by row using a paddle or round brush. Ensure each row is completely dry to avoid buildup and discomfort.
PRODUCTS
Keep your extensions hydrated! Apply a light leave-in conditioner to ease detangling and protect your hair, followed by a clear serum for moisture.
Consider - Goldie Locks: Signature Serum, Leave-in Conditioner, Smoothing Cream Avoid protein treatments, as they can damage and make the extensions feel coarse. (including OLAPLEX)
BRUSHING
Brushing: Brush your hair several times a day to prevent tangles, working in sections from the ends to the roots. Avoid brushing near the scalp, and support the base of your extensions with one hand while brushing.
STYLING
Heat Styling: Always use a heat protectant and set your styling tools to the lowest heat setting to protect your hair. Extensions hold curls longer, so enjoy those soft waves!
NIGHTLY ROUTINE
Protecting at Night: Before bed, apply a few pumps of hair oil or serum to the mids and ends. Brush your hair and braid it to prevent tangling.
SWIMMING
Swimming: Before swimming, apply a leave-in conditioner or mask, comb it through, and braid your hair. Rinse thoroughly after swimming.
When it comes to maintaining your luxury extensions - our best advice is to establish a routine.
This will make caring for your extensions easy, and your hair will stay looking gorgeous and healthy!
Section Title
Section Title
This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors.
In order to keep hand tied hair extensions looking beautiful and luscious, care and maintenance are non negotiable. Caring for your extensions will increase their longevity. Below are some guidelines on how to take care of your hand tied extensions:
Cleaning: Regularly cleanse your hair with sulfate free shampoo that is safe for extensions. Make sure not to scrub the wefts. Instead you should wash your roots and then squeeze the suds through your extensions. Be sure to pair your shampoo with a hydrating conditioner that you work through your mids and ends. Allow the conditioner to sit on your hair for around 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
Preparing Damp Hair: Post cleaning, hand tied extensions will hold a lot of water so it’s imperative that you gently towel dry your hair after cleansing and conditioning. The best method is to softly squeeze with a towel to dry up excess water. Then the hair can be allowed to air dry. Once the hair is around 80-90% dry, you may continue drying with a blow dryer. Make sure the top of the wefts are completely dried.
Detangling and Brushing: It’s imperative to brush your hair several times a day to prevent matting and tangling. The best method is to work in sections by lifting up the rows of hair to ensure they don’t become entangled. You should also detangle from the ends up towards your roots and avoid brushing the applications near the scalp. It’s helpful while brushing to hold the base of your extensions against your head with one hand for support.
Using Products: Because extensions are made of natural hair they have a tendency to become dry. Keeping your hair hydrated will be essential. Your moisturization can be two-fold. First apply a light leave-in conditioner to make detangling a breeze and protect your delicate strands from damage. Next, use a clear serum or oil to nourish both the ends of your extensions as well as your natural hair.
If your natural hair feels dry, do not reach for a protein-based product. Avoid protein treatments as they’re not only necessary but will also leave wefts feeling coarse and even more brittle.
Blow Drying: When blow drying your extensions, it’s essential that you go row by row. You can utilize a paddle brush or a round brush to get the job done. The use of this tool will help your extensions and natural hair blend seamlessly in the drying process. Ensure that each row is completely dry to avoid discomfort.
Heat Styling: Now that you have long, luscious locks you also have lots of amazing hairstyling options! For those that love soft, romantic curls or waves, you’ll be happy to know that curls in extensions have longer hold. Before grabbing the curling iron, be sure to apply an effective heat protectant to both your extensions and natural hair. It is also recommended that you use the lowest setting possible to achieve your results so that your hair doesn’t become damaged or tarnished by heat.
Protecting your Extensions: Each night before bed, apply around 3 to 4 pumps of hair oil or serum to the midshaft and ends of your hair. In order to avoid tangling while you rest, gently brush hair and braid it into one or two braids.
If you’re an avid swimmer, soak your hair in a nourishing leave-in conditioner or mask before hitting the water. Comb the product through your hair for even distribution and put it in a bun or braid. After your swim, rinse your hair thoroughly.
Although hand tied hair extensions do require daily maintenance, it will be a breeze once you establish a routine. The result of your extra effort will be beautiful, drool-worthy hair.
To learn more about hair extension maintenance, watch the video below:
Professional Home Care Hair Extensions Maintenance Tips With McKenzie Turley, Founder of Invisible Bead Extensions® © INVISIBLEBEADEXTENSIONS.COM
01 Just Keep Brushing Wearing extensions requires that you pay extra care to how you brush as well as the frequency.
You will need to brush thoroughly multiple times a day. With your free hand, keep pressure on the base of your wefts to eliminate unnecessary tension and pulling while you brush. Make sure to separate each row and brush in between to avoid matting or tangling.
02 Always Use Professional Products Your extensions are only as good as the products you apply to them! Always use professional products including a sulfate/paraben free shampoo and conditioner. Those ingredients are proven to dry out the hair, acting as a scrubbing astringent to remove dirt and oils. You need to use a more gentle, professional product to wash and condition with.
03 Hydration is Key Due to the chemical processing that all extension hair undergoes, you need to focus on replenishing the moisture. Your shampoo and conditioner should be from a professional product line that is nourishing and hydrating. The weekly use of a deep hydrating, moisturizing mask is also recommended. The daily use of a serum or oil through the extension ends is highly recommended to retain moisture and softness. You should avoid the use of tinted oils such as argon or Moroccan, as they will tint blonde extensions.
04 Avoid Swimming in Chlorinated Pools or Salt Water Chlorine and salt water have the same negative effect on hair extensions….they both cause extreme dryness. The salt will cause the hair to immediately loose moisture, but also will create expansion of your hair extensions. If your hair is not protected, you will have a matted mess on your hands. If swimming can’t be avoided, rinse first with tap water and liberally apply a leave-in conditioner.
Before swimming place your hair in a ponytail then braid hair tightly to avoid excessive tangling and swelling. Once you’ve left the water, immediately wash and deep condition. Then follow up with your leave-in conditioner and serum.
05 Sweaty Betty? No Worries. When activities take place in damp or humid conditions such as workouts, steam rooms, or saunas, make sure the extensions are dried immediately after. Focus on drying the top of the wefts, at the base of your head. If moisture is continually left along the weft line for prolonged periods of time, you may create an environment for mold or extreme build up. Even if you just focus a blow dryer along the top of your row, it will reduce any opportunities for issues to arise.
06 Detoxing It is important to use a detox shampoo once every few weeks just at the base of your extensions. It’s easy for products to build up along that weft line, so using a detox shampoo will break down any residue and create a cleaner environment. There is no need to use on your entire head, but rather, focus shampoo right at the base and scrub to release product debris.
07 Avoid Sleeping With Loose, Wet Hair Before going to sleep, always braid or place in a top knot to keep your wefts from tangling or matting. The friction of rolling your head back and forth while sleeping can cause matting from the small weft hairs. Especially if they are wet! The use of a silk pillowcase is highly recommended. It is softer on your hair, and is proven to be better for your skin as well (Added bonus!)