5.7 how can I take care of hair extensions?

From: just julia
I have braided extensions that go a bit past my shoulders. The extension hair is braided around my real hair and the ends (of the extension hair) are fused. You don't brush braids until you take them out (say 1-3 months later), but you do wash them regularly. You can also get extensions sewn or woven in that look like 'real' hair. Those you brush carefully and gently, so you don't rip out your expensive fake hair. Hair extensions cost some serious cash if you get them done in a salon. Mine cost $150 the first time I did them. However, my mom now does them for free. Also, if you don't mind getting your hair braided in someone's house, it's cheaper. Not cheap, cheaper.

The hair they add without braiding is usually glued on. BAD FOR HAIR. You can also get a weave which is braided or sewn in just at the roots and can look non-braided. You can also only braid the extensions half way down and leave the bottom unbraided. You match extension hair to your real hair color or, if you want, get blond hair braided in and dye that to whatever. Extensions do come in some odd shades [fire engine red, blue, plum, etc.], but they tend to be cheap and yucky feeling.

I'd suggest reading Plaited Glory : For Colored Girls Who'Ve Considered Braids, Locks, and Twists by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner. She covers lots of stuff about dealing with extensions (putting them in, getting them out, and the care and feeding of them). Also, No Lye! by Tulani Kinard has stuff about extensions.

How I deal with my braided extensions. First, I grab a bottle of cheap-ass moisturizing shampoo from the drug store. Then, I pour out some of the shampoo (be frugal, use it to wash your bras or tights) and add water. I use the diluted shampoo on my braids, sudsing up gently so I don't pull my hair. I rinse for a long time, moving the braids around so all of them get well rinsed (if you have extensions not in braids, you should probably hold them gently in place so they don't get tangled). Then I grab my moderately cheap drug store conditioner and put *lots* of conditioner on my hair (concentrating on my scalp and where my real hair is). Then I sit and read a magazine in the tub for a few minutes while the conditioner penetrates. Then, lots more rinsing. You can also use your hands to "squeegee" out water and conditioner from the extensions. Then, I gently squeeze my braids to get the water out, and wrap them up in a big towel to air dry.

Fun things to do with braids are many. I found that you can use thin beading wire to make your hair into a braided sculpture. Wrap the wire around a bit of hair or a braid you want to articulate. The wire will give it enough structural integrity that it will stay where you want it to be. I also sew small seed beads into the braids, attach little bells to the ends, and generally decorate them as I see fit. One caveat is that hair mascara may not come out of the extension hair easily.

From: Gnat
Before getting extensions -- just keep your hair as healthy as possible. I'd say the old naff the heat-styling products and hair spray, maybe even do a hot-oil treatment a few days before getting them in.

With the extensions -- just treat it like normal hair. Wash and condition, tho probably not as often (I was going as short as every four days and as long as once a week). If they're synthetic, then a 50/50 mixture of fabric softener and water (rinse, baby, rinse) I've heard does good to keep the frizzies down.

Right after getting them in, give them a little while to loosen. However, the ouchy feeling will *not* go away from your neck, if there's a lot of hair that's been added. That stuff gets HEAVY, especially when wet!

For sleeping, I usually just had them straight up so they went over my pillow and hung off the top of my bed. This allowed me to sleep on my side or on my back. Otherwise, I found the big lump of BRAID in the middle of my back was darn annoying at night! But if your hair is already in braids, you shouldn't worry about tying them up. That's usually if you have "loose" extensions and want to keep them from frizzing away during the night.

I had braids/dreads all the way down to my butt, so I could be pretty rough on them. I was always tying them up into fat ponytails or whipping them around like a cat-o-fifty-tails.

Prices -- mine cost $100, plus about $20 for the synthetic hair. The first quote I got at a salon was for over $300. YMMV.

After removing extensions -- my hair didn't do too well after said hairstyle... a lot of my own hair came out with the braids, but I think that had a lot to do with the fact that once I was done with the braids, I wanted them OUT RIGHT NOW and did a lot more pulling than I should have. But, once the frizz let up, my hair's been doing really well and healthy!

From: Lady Bathory
With the extensions -- IME, extensions in general just aren't "easy" on your hair. If you hair is coarse enough to hold, braiding them in is prolly best. My hair is very fine, tho', & the braided ones fell out of it in 4 weeks. Obviously having them fused to your hair will make them last longer, but it's also going to make your own hair yuckier when they come out.

Like i said, my hair is really really fine naturally... it's really something you'll have to experiment with. W/the braids, i washed mine, flung 'em around dancing, accidentally sat on them & yanked them, etc., & they fell out in a month. However, i wasn't going to tiptoe thru my life like a chinadoll just to prolong a hairstyle maybe a week or two.

Prices -- the last time i paid a professional was maybe six years ago; at that time A.D. Barrett Salon in NYC was charging $40/hour.

After removing extensions -- Is your hair strong & resilient? I mean, no one can really say for sure. My hair is always pretty much unscathed, except for some split ends. But my hair grows like a weed & has always stood up to pretty serious torture (crimping, backcombing, loads of products, etc).

From: Tracy
With the extensions -- mine tangled pretty badly, but I think it was my not taking proper care of them. (Detangler product and wide tooth comb). Other than that, they were anchored VERY well to my head. Mine were supposedly natural hair and could be styled and chemically treated as any other hair. But, other than a semi-permanent color (Jazzing), I only styled them.

Prices -- that all depends on the type of hair used, the number of extensions, the method of applying the extensions, and the salon itself. Expect to pay at least $150. (That is what my friend paid at a beauty school.)

After removing extensions -- there was no difference in the condition of my hair before and after the extensions. The little strips that were corn-rowed were frizzy for a few days, but went to normal, and I didn't lose any hair. Now, I had a friend who is a cosmetologist do mine , and I kept them in only for a couple of weeks. I know that fairly temporary ones like i had are pretty gentle to healthy hair. But I don't know about other techniques and length of time of having them in.

From: salome
I've had braid extensions done at two separate places. One was in East St. Louis, and the stylist did such a wonderful job for only $30... I tipped her $20 for the quality of work she did. The second braid job I had was terrible... this lady either didn't like the fact that I was white and getting what *she thought* was an ethnic hairstyle (the only places to get braids done in Columbia, MO or St. Louis is the African-American salons), or she had no clue what she was doing... and she charged me $50... rip off...

My braids were pretty durable (the first job, that is), and I could abuse them at will and they didn't come out... As far as regular extensions, my friends never had any problems with the hair coming out, and they weren't particularly gentle with it...

I did have to deep condition my hair pretty regularly after I took my braids out... as far as your natural hair falling out when you remove braids and/or extensions, it does seem as though you are losing a lot of hair, but if you are not pulling hard on them, that is only your normal hair loss that was trapped in and could not fall... remember, you lose on average 100 hairs a day, multiplied by how many days you had your extensions...

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on to 5.8 put hair extensions in at home

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