Hair extensions are a wonderful way to add highlights, thickness or simply make your hair longer. While they can improve your looks dramatically, if they’re not taken cares of properly, they won’t do much for you. These simple tips will help you take the best care of your hair extensions so that they will last a long time and you will get your money’s worth.

Instructions

1. Be gentle. One of the most important things about hair extensions is that you have to baby them. When you are brushing your hair, be gentle. Without the proper treatment, your hair extensions will get damaged quickly.
2. Wash with moisturizing hair care products. This step is especially important if you are using clip in hair extensions because the hair will not get any of the moisture from the natural oils your scalp produces. Moisturizing hair care products will keep your hair healthy. If you are longing for shine, use a serum. Many hair care products that promote shine have a drying affect on hair.
3. Don’t forget to deep condition. Once a week you want to deep condition your hair extensions. Leave it on the hair for approximately 20 to 30 minutes and rinse. Do not apply conditioner to scalp or bonds. Too much conditioner or very oily hair can weaken the keratin bonds.
4. Keep those ends trimmed. No matter what you do, your hair extensions will inevitably get split ends. The best way to keep split ends from getting out of control is to regularly trim them. Trim the ends of the hair every 6 to 10 weeks. Keep in mind that you don’t want to trim too much, otherwise you will quickly lose the length of your hair. You can either do it yourself or have a professional trim them.
5. Use a heat protector. Nowadays, just about everyone uses heated appliances on their hair. Whether it’s a blow dryer, curling iron or flat iron, they all have one thing in common: they damage your hair. If you want to make your extensions last, your best bet is to use a heat protectant whenever you use a heated appliance on your hair. This simple step will prevent breakage and keep your locks looking great a lot longer.

Tips & Warnings

1. Wash your extensions every 2 to 3 days. This will prevent them from getting dried out due to over shampooing and conditioning.
2. Do as much as you can to NOT scrub at your scalp. It will loosen everything up. Use conditioner only on the ends of the hair or it will work against the glue and your extensions will come out.
3. Wait until your extensions are mostly dry before combing or brushing them.
4. The hair extension is easily damaged while wet. Hold your hair tight near the roots when brushing, or you may use a wide-toothed combs instead which has less of a tendency to cause breakage and frizzing.
5. NEVER USE A VOLUMIZING SHAMPOO! Volumizing shampoos raise the cuticle of hair and can cause tangling.
6. Avoid harsh products.
7. Using high quality products will extend the life of your hair extensions.
8. Swimming - Always wet hair with tap water, apply conditioner and braid hair before swimming to help avoid tangling. Avoid salt water, (the worst for extensions), and chlorine.
9. NEVER GO TO BED WITH WET HAIR.
10. Schedule touch-ups.