Hair Maintenance Tips
HAIR CARE MAINTENANCE FOR LONG LASTING EXTENSIONS
1. Brush before bed and before washing to ensure there are no natural occurring tangles caused by wind or friction
2. Do not brush curly hair dry as that is when hair follicles are at their most vulnerable. Damp hair with spray bottle or detangling it after shampooing & conditioning it. Make sure to always brush from the tips to roots completely.
3. Use an Organic and sulfate free shampoo. Sulfate strips hair of natural oils, as there is no direct supply of nutrients from your scalp into the extension strands. Not all sulfates are bad though, so if you use any shampoo with sulfates make sure they are not the harsh sulfates.
4. To avoid damaging the hair extensions, the cuticles and your scalp, only shampoo with warm water.
5. Shampoo the hair gently in a downward motion with your palms, do not scrub or bunch the hair together as this will cause open cuticles to rub against each other causing friction.
6. Rinse between each shampoo , and shampoo only 1-2 times.
7. Rinse your hair (not scalp) with cool water, after Conditioning, this is known as an Arctic Rinse it will close the cuticles to lock the moisture and nutrients from the oil in, leaving you with nutrient rich hair extensions.
8. While damp, after towel drying, add 2-3 drops of natural oil by gently applying it evenly over the hair, these oils will penetrate the cuticles and add moisture to hair extensions.
9. Natural oils do the work of most conditioners without the added chemicals and silicones, natural is always best.
10. Let your hair air-dry at home, take 2-3 hours to wash and naturally dry your hair . Keep heat to a minimum as this will swell and dry your strands.
11. Apply a small amount of Argan, Olive, Coconut or mixed oil 2-3 times a week or when required. Argan oil is a great finishing oil for styling and frizz, however it’s a dry oil and does not moisturize the hair as well as Olive or Coconut. A mixture of oils work even better just pay attention to ingredients & try to stay away from synthetic ingredients.
12. For long lasting hair extensions, moisturize your hair as you do your skin, it makes perfect sense. You must take care of your extensions better then your natural hair. Wrap it every night with a scarf & Bonnet.
We eat food to feed our bodies with nutrients which eventually makes their way through our system to feed our skin and hair. We cannot feed hair extensions in the same way so we need to use alternative methods.
Use organic and no sulfate/non harsh sulfate shampoo's to regularly feed, moisturize and treat your hair extensions. Remember, colored hair goes through a chemical process, especially when lightened to blondes and special colors, this is unavoidable to achieve the colors we all desire. A little moisturizing oil & conditioning each week is key.
Avoid shampoo and conditioning products which use Harsh Sulfates, Isopropyl Alcohol, Formaldehyde and Propylene Glycol, these are strong chemicals which will strip the hair of natural oils and leave them dry and sometimes damaged if used for a prolonged period of time. Most sulfate shampoos and conditioners contain silicones, this is what gives your hair or real human hair extensions that shiny glossy look once washed, if you prefer that finish there are non-sulfate/non-harsh sulfate shampoos available which combat the sulfate cleansing elements with nutrient rich and essential oils such as;
(Best for Curly) Mielle Organics, The Mane Choice, Curls, Maui, Kaleidoscope, Shea Moisture, Aussie,
(Best for Any Texture) Organix, TRESsemmé Rich, Mizani, Avlon/KeraCare & ColorProof are the recommend brands to use. Avlon/KeraCare, Mizani & Colorproof are Available at Cosmoprof/Salon Centric & can only be purchased by a licensed professional.