Hair Extension Dos and Don’ts for Women

There is a lot to love about modern hair care. For one thing, there is no shortage of products designed to give you any texture and color of hair you crave. And with access to knowledgeable and skilled stylists, your hair can easily be your best accessory. That said, we’ve all made the mistake of cutting our hair too short or frying it with an overabundance of chemicals and heat treatments. The end result is often a hiatus from the salon and a slow trudge back to the long and healthy hair we once had. But you don’t have to hide under hats in the meantime. These days you can simply get extensions in the interim, enjoying the flowing locks you love while your natural hair gets back to normal. Unfortunately, extensions can go very wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing or you cheap out on the process. So here are just a few dos and don’ts to observe when you opt for extensions.

DO:
1. Prepare for faux hair. Your own hair is going to hold up better under the onslaught of extensions if it’s healthy and strong to begin with. In short, you need to take steps to ensure that your hair is prepared to support extensions without buckling under the pressure, so to speak. For this reason you’ll want to get at least a couple inches of solid, natural growth before you start working in a weave. And taking care of your hair and your extensions, getting reworked as recommended, is imperative to promoting future hair health and continued growth.
2. Pay for good extensions. There is no other way to say this: you get what you pay for. When you buy a cheap weave it’s going to look cheap. And worse, it will likely wear out faster than its pricy competitors, meaning you’ll have to replace it more frequently. In short, you could end up paying more over time, dealing with the additional hassle, and looking awful throughout. So shelling out some dough up front for quality extensions is a must.
3. Go pro. This cannot be stressed enough. If you have a friend who’s been doing extensions for years, there’s no reason not to let her help you out for less than the cost of a salon. But if you think you can get by with online tutorials and a mirror, think again. You not only need a professional to make sure your tracks are installed correctly, but to maintain your natural and faux hair for your. If you want to look your best, for goodness sake get professional help!

DON’T:
1. Attempt your own weave. As mentioned above, a skilled and experienced friend can definitely help you out with at-home applications and maintenance. But doing it yourself is a big risk that will most likely end in disaster. You simply can’t do as good a job as somebody standing behind you. And whether you see it or not, others will notice. There’s nothing more obvious than a poorly- executed weave.
2. Get crazy with layers and length. When adding faux hair to your head it’s easy to go overboard, but try to exercise some self-control. Any time you add extensions you could end up with too much bulk, and if you choose a length of extensions that is far longer than your natural cut, you might as well just put a neon sign over your head advertising fake hair. Yes, it will be that obvious.
3. Damage your existing hair. Whether you sew in tracks or go for glue, you need to understand what you’re doing to your natural hair. As a rule of thumb, you should simply skip the glue, which can seriously damage your hair and render your extensions unusable down the road. A sewn-in weave is much better, but it can still cause breakage and suffer damage if you fail to treat it right. Unless you want to order new extensions from Hair 4 U every month, it’s best to follow the advice of a professional stylist that has experience with caring for extensions. This way you can ensure speedy growth of your natural hair instead of relying on a weave for the rest of your life.