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Hair Extension ‘Don’ts’ You Need to be Aware of
12-02-2019Share
When deciding on having hair extensions installed, there are many things you should know. At New Image we often meet new clients who have either made mistakes in maintaining their extensions, or had an extensionist who didn’t really know what they were doing. Both of these possibilities can lead to serious damage to your natural hair, or to the extensions themselves.
If you’re going to put hair extensions in, it is important to be as informed as possible about best practices for installation, removal and maintenance. Otherwise you might find yourself forking out for a new set much sooner than necessary. You might also find that your natural hair sustains damage that takes years to correct. At our hair extension salon in Manchester, we always make sure we give our clients as much advice as possible so that they can make the best of their hair extensions.
We are also happy to pass this advice on to new clients before they have made the decision to install them, so read on if you’re wondering what not to do:
Don’t push up your hair extensions
If you already have extensions and they have grown out a fair amount, you might be wondering how to save money on re-installation. There are many salons that offer a push-up procedure, which basically means that rather than removing and reinstalling each individual extension, they simply loosen the micro ring and push it back up the section of hair it was originally attached to.
Saving time and money may be the plan, but you’ll actually lose it in the long run if you opt for the push-up technique. While it might seem like a good idea, it really isn’t. Here’s why:
When the ring is pushed back up the hair, it won’t sit as neatly as it originally did. When not in proper alignment, the hair can become tangled easily, leading to breakage and damage to your natural hair. It is also less likely to grow naturally. Think of it as you would back-combing. The hair holding your extensions in place is essentially being back-combed. As you can imagine, that isn’t a good foundation for an extension, and when you brush your hair you will probably end up pulling it out.
The bottom line is: never push extensions up, always refit them as new. At New Image hair extension centre in Manchester, we never ever push-up extensions. We take every single one out, re-bond it (or replace it if necessary) and re-install it from scratch. This ensures that hair sits in neat rows and natural hair can grow downwards unhindered.
Don’t dye your hair extensions
We can’t recommend dying your hair extensions. Although some people do this, the hair comes from all over the world. It is very difficult to discern whether the hair is going to take well to the dye you use. It might be incredibly porous, or not. The colour might wash out a lot quicker than it does from your natural hair (or vice versa), leaving you with two-tone hair.
The dye might also cause damage to the hair extensions, resulting in you coming back for new hair a lot sooner than you intended to. Again, it could be a costly mistake.
At our salon we have every colour of extensions in stock at all times. Not only that, but we blend the colours to suit your exact shade, so there will be no noticeable difference. Many salons don’t blend as it is time consuming; they have a set number of colours and just choose the closest match from those. This can mean that your hair extensions are noticeable to others, which is something we go out of our way to avoid at all costs.
Don’t use poor quality micro rings
A lot of micro rings on the market don’t come with a silicone inner ring. They are cheaper, which is obviously why some salons buy them. It is very important to make sure the rings being used on your hair have a sturdy silicone inner. Without the silicone, the metal of the ring sits harshly against your hair and can essentially shear it. Nobody wants to damage their natural hair with extensions, but often when damage has been done, they don’t really know why.
This is one of the major reasons your natural hair can be damaged by extensions. Insisting on high quality micro rings will prevent this.
Don’t cut your hair extensions at a normal hairdresser
If your hairdresser has experience with cutting hair extensions, this might not be a problem. However, it is something you should always check before you allow those scissors anywhere near your head. The reason is that hairdressers are trained differently to hair extensionists.
The way we cut hair is not the same. We cut the hair at a different angle so that it blends perfectly with your natural hair and tapers finely at the bottom to look natural, whereas many hairdressers will just cut it bluntly along the bottom. That never looks great on hair extensions, which tend to be a bit drier than your natural hair. That affects the way they lay at the ends.
If you are thinking of having hair extensions installed in the Manchester area, come and have a word with us. We promise to take the utmost care of your precious hair, leaving you feeling confident and well armed with the right knowledge to make them go the distance. We’ll be waiting for your call or email when the time is right.
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