HAIR EXTENSION care and maintenance
Very Important! Please be sure to read this thoroughly.
Regular maintenance and care is an essential part of having hair extensions and is the only way to ensure ongoing consistent results. If you chose not to follow these instructions you void the Forever Blonde hair guarantee.
The first few days of having your extensions in the tracks will feel a bit tight. This is normal and to be expected. Do not scratch if they feel itchy, as this will aggravate your scalp. You can take a couple of panadol if you find that your head is a bit achy (this is VERY EXTREME!) If you find that they are too tight, please advise us next time so they can be put in a bit looser. We’ll also check how they’re feeling as we’re putting them in to ensure they’re not too tight.
Extension hair has been processed and is not always going to respond like your natural hair. Treat it with respect and it will be good to you!
In Salon Maintenance
Maintenance makes your hair extensions last longer & reduces the chance of damage. Maintenance is a vital part of keeping your extensions, your natural hair and scalp in good condition. Over time your hair falls out naturally and if left too long in between maintenance the wefts can add extra stress and weight to your natural hair, which can increase the chances of damage to your natural hair and scalp.
Please ensure you return for maintenance every 5-7 weeks (earlier for your first one, just to see how you are tracking). Maintenance is $120 per time within the 5-7 week period and $140 if it’s left longer than 7 weeks (a lot more time required for a total refit at this stage). This is a dry service (no washing or styling). Please ensure that your hair is clean and dry so that the rings don’t slip.
It is completely normal for a couple of your micro rings to fall out. If for any reason they are annoying you feel free to make an appointment to have them fixed free of charge (before 4 weeks), otherwise don’t worry! The hair isn’t going to fall out as there should still be other rings holding them in.
At Home Maintenance
Products
Using the right shampoo and conditioner is very important. Use only a good quality GENTLE shampoo and conditioner. Avoid supermarket productsand especially products that contain parabens as these can interfere with the extensions. Avoid using conditioner on the scalp and conditioners with high levels of silicone inthem as this may cause slipping of the rings. When washing your hair be gentle and comb shampoo and conditioner through it with your fingers rather than ‘scrunching’ it into your head.
Your extensions don’t get the natural oils from your head and therefore don’t need to be washed as much as your own does. Washing them every day will cause them to deteriorate faster. Aim to wash them twice - three times a week where possible and if required wash the top part of your head only and tie the extensions back, or use dry shampoo.
Do not use hair care products with protein or keratin in them, as this will damage the extensions. Most repairing/fortifying ranges have either protein or lactic acid which can be very damaging to extensions. PLEASE check the ingredients list on your products to be aware of what is in them. To be on the safe side, we suggest only using products that we stock at Forever Blonde so we can be sure the ingredients are safe for your extensions. Please note – it is YOUR responsibility to read through the ingredients list of your products to ensure they’re suitable to use with the extensions and that they don’t contain protein or keratin. Damage caused to your extensions by products that are not recommended by Forever Blonde will not be covered by the Forever Blonde hair guarantee.
Other products to keep your locks looking healthy. We strongly recommend the use of some kind of hair treatment to extend the life of your extensions. As they do not get the natural oils from your head they can easily become dry and brittle when not receiving enough moisture. We also suggest using a heat protector before straightening.
Hair Brushing
Hair Brushing and drying without damaging your extensions.
The right kind of brush is extremely important. We only recommend the use of atangle teezer brush. Never use the kind with nubs on the ends of the bristlesas this will damage your natural hair. It helps to hold the wefts at the topwhile you brush to avoid a lot of pulling. Don’t brush your hair from the topof your head all the way down to the bottom as this will grab at the wefts andloosen them.
It is very normal for the hair to shed a lot so don’t worry when this happens! They tend to do this more when new and the wefts have been freshly cut. It can often give you quite a fright seeing the wefts shed, but it’s completely normal and something your stylist will keep an eye on in your maintenance visits too. Brush your hair once a day to ensure it doesn’t get too knotty. The wefts are sewn together and are prone to loosening when pulled at a lot so try to be gentle! When blow drying, part it in layers from the bottom and work through each section with your brush. You can purchase these brushes from Forever Blonde.
Tying your hair up with extensions
It is important that you are tying your extensions up at night time so that they don’t become knotted or tangled in your sleep. We recommend either a low plaitor a high ponytail at night. Using a silk pillowcase will also help to reduce knotting and pulling while you sleep.
Supporting your natural hair while using extensions
It’s imperative to look after the health of your natural hair while using extensions. It’s quite easy to forget about your natural hair and only put effort into looking after the extensions! Especially with fine natural hair, the more support you can give your natural hair and your scalp, the better.
Here’s a few suggestions:
· Using a supplement like collagen that helps support healthy hair, skin and nails.
· Have regular trims of your natural hair. Every couple of months it’s a great idea to have your extensions removed and your natural hair trimmed before putting them back in. This will help prevent split ends in your natural hair, and help your extensions last longer! Other things that can effect your extensions
· Chlorine can have unpredictable results on your extensions as the amounts of it vary in different pools. There have been known reactions with extensions and chlorine in the past so avoid soaking your hair in chlorinated pools.
· Please don’t tone or bleach the hair (and be careful with how frequently you’re using purple/silver shampoo products). Please take extra good care of your hair due to it already having been processed to reach the colour it’s at. If you do decide to colour the hair ensure the hairdresser completes a strand test before proceeding. Please note this voids the hair’s warranty.
· Hair ties are very damaging to your extensions! Please try and use snag free ones and don’t tie your hair too tightly. See below for some issues that may crop up with the extensions and how to resolve these.
Troubleshooting
Hair knotting
As hair extension hair has been processed, hair knotting is something you may experience fairly frequently. The worst area for this seems to be at the nape of the neck towards the very bottom row of your extensions. There are many reasons for this. When you wear your hair out it moves between falling down your back to the front of your shoulders, you may wear scarves (synthetic material causes this the worst!) and wearing hoods etc that rub around that area of your hair.
A few things that may help with this:
· Blow-drying your hair row by row with a brush (the way a hairdresser would). Doing this smoothes the extensions and sets them. This means they’re less frizzy and less likely to knot. Plus, it means your hair in between the wefts is less likely to knot too which is a good thing!
· Putting in your oil in row by row will help with this too
· Wearing silk / satin scarves instead ofsynthetic scarves will dramatically reduce the amount of static that’stransferred to your hair which means less knotting.
· If you want to be super pedantic aboutreducing static, sleeping on a silk pillow case will help too.
Dryness
As the extensions aren’t getting the oils from your scalp they do have a tendency to dry out. Using the right products will help with this however some other tricks that’ll help are:
· A mask · Ensuring you’re using the right products. It may be that your shampoo and conditioner just aren’t right for the extensions. Please have a chat to your Forever Blonde stylist to discuss this.
· Make sure you are shampooing and conditioning the extensions (instead of just conditioning to help with moisture). Shampoo opens the hair cuticle, conditioner closes it. Ie if you aren’t opening the cuticle, the moisture won’t be as well absorbed.
Environmental issues (static and humidity)
Extreme weather can wreck havoc on your extensions! Static issues in winter/autumn and humidity in spring/summer can make for a birds nest on your head.
Here are a few things that can help dramatically with static and humidity problems:
· Feed your own hair — hair extensions can mimic your own hair in a lot of ways, ie if your hair is prone to knotting the extensions will join in on the fun. The better condition your own hair is in, the better the extensions will respond to your hair. A few tips for improving your own hair are as follows: take supplements like silica, fish oils and flaxseed oil, use regular treatments, have regular trims and avoid straightening every day.
· Feed your extensions — it’s all very well having fantastic quality hair if you’re using cheap nasty products. Always use salon products that are low sulphate/sulphate free and very moisturizing (see instructions on page 1 for more info) coconut oil is my saviour and aside from using this as a treatment after I wash my hair I often do coconut oilmasks (see instructions under ‘dryness’).
· Avoid sitting directly under heat pumps etc - these can act as a dehumidifier to your hair and dry them outdramatically.
· Reduce static — Wear silk scarves instead of synthetic ones, anti static brushes and combs, use an ionic hairdryer and sleep on a silk pillowcase.
· After washing your hair, instead of leaving it to dry naturally, go through row by row and blow wave it with abrush. This smoothes the hair into a neatly brushed style and makes it more likely to stay that way, rather than drying naturally and all over the show.
Chemical reactions causing discoloration.
Specifically over the warmer months you’ll most likely notice that your lighter extensions tend to throw a bit more warmth/gold than normal, or even a pinky/peachy colour. This can be extreme in cases where the hair has had a chemical reaction most often caused by perfume, tanning products and sunscreen. We also see it heavily in cases where clients have copper piping, or are on tank water. It’s also very common in clients who have been on holiday in warmer climates and washing their hair with different water. In the case of your hair having discoloration (most likely a warm orangey/pink tone) caused by a chemical reaction, we suggest theuse of a product called ‘Malibu C’ to cleanse the hair and remove the build up. This is something you can easily use at home and is a great go to product in the warmer months where these reactions are a lot more likely. Other reasons you may notice discolouration in your extensions:
UV rays- UV rays can cause discolouration to your hair extensions therefore we advise wearing a hat in the sun to reduce exposure to strong UV rays.
Iron -The iron content in the water varies depending on where you live. In certain areas, if you wash your hair extensions in the shower, the iron levels may cause your hair extensions to turn pink or orange in tone (more apparent in light blonde extensions) so if possible, try to use bottled or filtered water to avoid this.
Hard water- You may notice that your hair extensions turn dull, dry or the colour fades when you wash them. This is due to the water in certain areas being more alkaline (known as hard water). If this is becoming an issue, installing a filtered shower head may be an option to prevent discolouration from hardwater.
Hot water- This can cause colour to fade. Due to the heat of the water, the cuticles will open and the colour with drain out of the hair shaft. To prevent this, we advise washing your hair extensions in luke-warm water.
Heat- Excessive heat from styling appliances will change the colour pigment of the hair. The maximum temperature that can be used on hair extensions is 180 degrees, excessive heat and hair exposed to heat appliances can cause extensions to discolour. This is more apparent in blonde hair, such damage cannot be repaired.
Hair thinning
Wefts do shed out over time so don’t be alarmed if you see a fair bit of hair in your brush. However, sometimes aftercare can make this a lot worse than it would normally be. Be careful not to tug at the wefts too much, as this weakens the wefting (the sewing at the top). Be sure to start from the bottom and work your way up using your tangle teezer brush or a wide tooth comb. Ensure you’re brushing your hair regularly so that knots don’t set in and therefore make more work brushing them out. If these tips don’t appear to help, please get in touch with your Forever Blonde technician to discuss.
WHEN IN DOUBT… CHECK YOUR PRODUCTS DON’T HAVE ANY REPAIRING AGENTS, KERATIN OR PROTEIN IN THEM!
Don’t hesitate to get in touch to ask questions – that is what we are here for!
