You’ve, at last, finally found the perfect clip in extensions – the right colour, the right thickness, oh my! It’s very exciting. You got them home, and clipped them in, and marvelled at their beauty, and yours, now your have the long thick hair of your dreams. You took them for a visit to the hairdresser, who cut them in so they blend into your own hair perfectly, and put a few curls in them for Saturday night. They’re your new best friends!

But then, you thought you’d give them a wash, because they smelt a bit stale and smoky after Saturday night, and now they just don’t feel the same. They’ve lost that shine and feel dry and brittle, and are leaving you thinking, what have I done wrong?

Well, we’re happy to tell you, you’ve done nothing wrong! This is the sort of thing that happens to everyone when they first wash their extensions – when you buy them, they’re usually coated in some kind of serum or sillicon coating to keep them looking fresh and shiny in the packet, which is why they feel unbelievably soft until the first wash. And then it’s a shock! But don’t panic, you just need to learn how to care for your extensions to prolong the life of them – if you look after them properly, they should last a lifetime! So we created a little guide to help you rebuild your extension romance…

Problem 1: They’ve begun to feel elastic-y and are really hard to brush!

Often, this is because they’ve been bleached or pre-treasted before you buying them – but don’t worry too much! Invest in a really good strengthening treatment, and also an intensive moisturising conditioner. After shampooing, blot the extensions with a towel to take away most of the moisture, and then smother them in the strengthening treatment (we can also provide an intensive strengthening in-salon only treatment at the price of around £10-£15, which may be of use if your extensions are old or particularly dry). Wrap them in a towel or plastic bag, and put in a warm place for around 20 minutes. The heat will help open up the hair cuticle, ensuring the treatment really penetrates the hair, and because they’ve been wrapped up none of the moisture will be able to escape. Once you’ve left them, rinse them off and apply the moisturising treatment, and do the same. Finish off with a smoothing conditioner, and rinse them well. This should make them feel much healthier.

Problem 2: They feel fine after washing, but then begin to feel horrible when I dry them!

Whilst your natural hair can probably get away with some pretty severe blow-drying, extensions can’t – they’re very prone to being dry because they don’t have the constant supply of nutrients that your natural hair does have. This can cause them to feel expecially dry and brittle after blow drying. First off, step away from the blow-dryer. Are you really in that much of a rush to dry them? The best thing to do is to wash them in the evening, comb them through, and instead of blowdrying, lay them out on a towel near a radiator and let them dry naturally over night. This will stop them severely drying out, and leave them dry and natural ready to style the next day. Secondly, don’t go and put those lovely treatments to waste! Lock that moisture in with a good quality blow-dry lotion/serum and heat protection spray! They’ll never feel good if you don’t treat them well!

Problem 3: Their condition feels fine, but after I wash them they are soooo tangly!

Before washing your extensions, begin to gently comb out any knots from the very ends, working up. The more gentle you are, the easier they will fall out! Once you’ve combed and brushed them through ready for washing, run a gentle shampoo (anything bland or moisturising!) through the hair from clips to ends, being careful not to rub the hair – almost like you would conditioner! One the shampoo is covering all of the hair, rinse out with warm water. Condition them in the same way, and whilst the conditioner is on them, comb them through again. It’s time consuming, but oh-so worth it!

Problem 4: They never go as smooth as my own hair!

If you like to wear your extensions straight, remember that you extensions are going to always be drier than your own natural hair! This will affect the outcome of any styling! However, try using a heat protection spray before straightening them, and then smoothing a serum over them to smooth them down completely, which should add shine as well! Also, one problem might be that your chosen hair extensions aren’t REMY hair. Remy basically means cuticle correct, so in the extensions the hair is all pointing the same way as it naturally grew. You’re probably thinking, why does this matter? Well, think about a cat’s fur, and how it grows in one direction, and if you push it the wrong way, it get’s all ruckered up, yeah? Well, that’s what the cuticles of your hair are like, and if you constantly straightened your hair upwards, it wouldn’t become as smooth and as glossy.

Problem 5: Once I’ve curled my extensions, they’re really hard to straighten!

Once you’ve curled your extensions, do you really want to have to put them through the trauma of all that heat all over again!? If you really have to, start off by giving them a really good brush to get as much hairspray out of them as possible! This will instantly make them easier to straighten. Next, spray them down with a touch of water or something like Awapuhi Moisture Mist by Paul Mitchell, and either blow dry them on a low heat or leave them to air dry. Next, spray on heat protection, and slowly glide the straighteners down each section, but only once, and then leave to cool. Smooth over with serum and you should have perfectly straight, silky hair.

If you still haven’t got yourself some clip-in extensions, make an appointment to have a consultation at Kelly Anza Hair Design, we now stock and sell American Dream Clip-In Extensions. Find out more here!

Hopefully, we’ve answered all your questions and queries, however if there’s something we’ve not coverered that’s still bugging you, either pop into the salon with your extenstions or give us an email on salon@kellyanza.com and we’ll do our very best to help you!