Just like there are certain hair care products for your specific hair type, there are speciality hair care products to use when wearing hair extensions. But…..if it’s all human hair then….
Why do you need to use something different?
Does it really make a difference or is it just a marketing claim?
I originally thought it was simply marketing but after years of testing different hair care products on extensions there was a clear pattern. The more moisture I added into my extension hair care routine, along with avoiding some key ingredients, the better they felt and the longer they lasted. Hands down 💯
One thing that you may not know about extensions is that they can lose their length if the proper hair care isn’t being used. The hair can become dry and brittle and break where it’s most delicate, which is at the ends. So if you purchase a set of 20 inch extensions you could easily lose 3-4 inches of length simply by using the wrong products. Seriously! 🤯
So how can you prevent dryness and breakage from happening?
First, let’s talk about why extensions differ from your own natural hair.
Extensions have completely different hair care needs due to how they’ve been processed before you receive them.
Even the highest quality extensions have been processed. Since most extensions start out quite dark, first they go through a unique lightening process in order to create the many levels of colour that are available. There can also be a second step which takes the pre-lightened hair and depositing a colour to create a more customized tone. The vast majority of extensions are coloured with a completely different method than how we do it in the salon. Your lightening process with us can normally take around 1hr to lift while it can be anywhere from a 10-14 day process to lighten extensions. This processing means extensions do require completely different hair care ingredients in order to keep them looking their best and lasting for as long as possible.
The correct hair care is the difference between having coarse, frizzy and slowly disappearing length, and healthy, soft and shiny hair.
One of the main ingredients you need to avoid using when you’re wearing extensions are sulphates. Sulphates are great cleansers that work to attract oil, then when combined with water and rinsing, they clean your hair for you. There are a lot of great shampoos out there that contain sulphates and work great on your natural hair, but using sulphates on extensions makes them extremely dry.
Since sulphates job is to attract oil and moisture out of the hair it can be detrimental to your extensions lifespan.
One of the great benefits of wearing extensions is that people actually find they need to shampoo their hair less. This is because extensions are dry by nature, and will absorb any excess oil that ends up on the scalp. It’s not unheard of for an extension wearer to wear their extensions for a week or more before they have to wash them again. This is a great example of why products with sulphates are completely unnecessary for extensions. They thrive on absorbing all of that natural oil!
What you loved prior to wearing extensions can definitely differ from what you need while wearing extensions.
I highly recommend our Extension System Shampoo and Extension System Conditioner to recommend to anyone wearing extensions! Absolutely sulphate free with a ton of moisturizing ingredients to keep extensions in great shape!
Another ingredient that you want to steer clear from is Polyquaternium-80. This ingredient appears in many products that claim to (or actually do) reduce the time it takes to dry your hair. Although this can be very tempting for extension wearers, anything that’s going to reduce the drying time is also going to dry out your extensions. On most natural hair types this doesn’t create a problem, but with extensions it’s a recipe for disaster.
These little ingredient differences are why extension companies are very particular about how you care for extensions. There are so many different products out there and it only takes one wrong product to ruin a set of extensions. Many companies only guarantee the lifespan of their extensions if you are using their own support products. After seeing the difference the small ingredients can make, I can absolutely agree.
I truly believe that how long your hair extensions last is 50% the quality of the hair itself and 50% the hair care routine at home.
The bottom line is you need to protect your investment. Great quality hair extensions can be expensive so using the correct hair care products is essential in ensuring you have a great experience with your extensions. There are also little tips and tricks I will suggest for homecare to keep your extensions in as good of shape as possible and we’ll go over those things like proper combing and how to sleep with your extensions, etc in another blog post 😉
For now I just want to give you the information and let you know you really do need extension friendly hair care products. I encourage you all to have a look in your shower and under your sink to check for ingredients like sulphates and Polyquaternium-80, to ensure what you’re currently using is not already compromising your extensions.
Thanks for listening!
Carrie
💖