Hair Extensions FACS?

Extensions can be applied in many ways (See Types of Extensions for various methods). You'll want to think about a few questions as you're deciding how you want your hair applied:

1. How long is your own hair?

Some application methods could allow you to go from nearly bald to a voluminous vixen. Others require some/all of your hair of your own to use as a base.

2. How long of a time frame do you want to wear the extensions?

Clips ins are convenient, but are not permanent, and are not designed to be slept in. All other methods are semi-permanent, and are worn generally for at least 1-2 months, sometimes/occasionally up to 6. 

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Types of Hair for Extensions/Weaves

• Synthetic Hair

Synthetic hair is the cheapest kind of hair that you can use for weaves. You should not get synthetic hair if you plan on using heat, since it is essentially made of microfibers and cannot take heat at all. If you try to apply heat, it will burn, bend, melt, and look weird in general.

• Human Hair

This is a step up from synthetic hair (two well-known brands are Premium 2 and Premium Now). Though you can do more with it, it still has a maximum amount of heat that it can take, and it cannot be dyed.

• Virgin Human Hair

If you want to dye your hair or use lots of heat, virgin hair is the way to go. It is taken from the scalp of donors and is the most durable, long-lasting, and reliable hair on the market. It can last for over two years if you take care of it properly.

Note: People often want to know how many bundles of hair they should get, and this depends on how long you want the hair to be and what you're going to do with it. The longer the hair that you're buying, the more bundles you need. Most people start with two and go up from there.

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About Hair Quality: Remy Hair

Remy is a specific kind of human hair that you can buy. With Remy hair, the cuticle has remained intact. When the hair is collected from the donor, it's usually put into a ponytail first. This keeps all the strands running in the same direction.

Having the cuticles all going the same way stops the tangling and shedding you see with other types of hair extensions. Some extensions have the cuticle removed to try to achieve the same effect.

Real hair has cuticles and removing them makes your extensions look less real. The quality can also be compromised. Some techniques use an acid bath to remove the cuticle and then apply silicon and similar materials in its place. The hair may have great shine to start with, but at that point it is no longer 100% human hair and it performs less like human hair as well.

Once you wash it, the silicone wears away, the shine reduces, it becomes dull and lifeless and begins to mat and tangle. Remy hair won't do that to you and you can wear your extensions for six to eight weeks with proper care. You can then remove and reapply them.

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How to Wash Your Extensions

1. Take a wide width comb and gently comb through the weave to loosen any knots or tangles.

2. Get a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Pantene is a good variety to use, but anything sulfate-free will do.

3. Wash the weave starting from top to bottom by gently massaging the shampoo into the it. It's important that you keep the hair straight while washing it. This helps avoid causing matting and tangling.

4. Be sure to wash and condition your hair underneath. You can easily do this by mixing some shampoo and water into an applicator bottle. Pour the mixture directly into the braids and hair underneath (between the tracks) and rinse well. Mix up some conditioner and apply that and rinse after allowing it to sit for a little while.

5. Next, condition the weave, allowing the conditioner to sit at least three minutes. This allows the conditioning agents to go to work and soften the hair. Rinse out the conditioner thoroughly.

6. Don’t forget to wash and condition your “left out” section of real hair if you have it on the very top of your head.

7. Gently towel dry the hair by blotting it. To blot, you will take the towel and hang it in your hands and gently close your hands into a section of your hair and gently press your hands together then open and move your hands down a few inches on the same section of hair and press again. Do this down each section of hair, very gently.

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Hair Types:

Malaysian

Malaysian hair is very fine and is the least likely to match or blend with straightened hair from people of African decent. Chinese hair is the only kind of extension that would be finer. The curls in Malaysian hair are fabulous.

If you do purchase the straight hair, I recommend purchasing a closure piece for the top instead of leaving out any of your own because the fine texture is often a poor match for the wearers' hair.

It holds curl well. I recommend curling with rods for better results since reducing exposure to flat irons and curling irons will increase the longevity of your bundles. This hair is also pretty shiny, though it decreases after about three or four washes. Overall, though, it is a great looking product.

Since Malaysian hair is very fine, I'd recommend using at least two bundles if you're purchasing ones that are longer than 18''.

 

Indian

Indian is next in order of coarseness. It is dense and a good match for the texture of black women's hair. It is great if you want to wear your hair straight though it is also very versatile. The coarseness helps it hold curls, though it doesn't do this as well as some other types of extensions.

It used to be the most popular kind of hair, even though it is fairly silky which makes it hard to blend with Afro/Caribbean hair.

 

Brazilian

Brazilian hair extensions are more coarse than Indian and because of that, they hold curls even better. The coarseness also helps the hair blend well with the texture of women of African descent.

The hair wouldn't necessarily be a good purchase if you planned to wear it bone straight all the time, however. It is shiny enough, and you could use a flat Iron to straighten out the natural body, but if you want bone straight hair, Indian would be a better choice.

 

Peruvian

Peruvian is the coarsest of the hair I've come across. As we know from the Indian and the Brazilian, that extra coarseness helps it blend and hold curls.

The hair is dense and full so it would create a voluminous look when worn straight. However, it is more pricey than Indian hair.