How to Care for Human Hair Extensions | Dream Girl

Human hair extensions are hair, which is why they look so convincing. They are also hair that is no longer attached to a scalp, which is the single fact that changes everything about how you look after them.

Your own hair receives natural oils continuously. It repairs, it replenishes, it forgives a rushed morning. Extensions receive nothing except what you give them. Every bit of moisture, protection and gentleness comes from you.

The good news is that this makes care very learnable. There is no mystery to it, just a handful of habits.

First, which kind do you have?

Care splits along the same line the range does, so it is worth knowing which side you are on.

Ready to Wear pieces, so Volume Clips, Skinny Clips, Curly Clips and the Zahra and Iman ponytails, come out. You wash them separately from your own hair, and you store them between wears.

Professional extensions, so nano bonds, keratin bonds, tapes and wefts, stay in. You wash them on your head, alongside your own hair, and the attachment points need looking after as much as the hair does.

Most of what follows applies to both. Where it doesn't, it says so.

Wash less than you think

The instinct is to treat extensions like your own hair. Resist it.

Because there is no oil production along the length, extensions do not get greasy the way your hair does. What they do is dry out, and every wash takes a little more moisture with it.

Wash when the hair genuinely needs it: when product has built up, when styling has left it heavy, or when it stops feeling soft. For most people that is less often than they expect.

Washing Ready to Wear pieces

1. Brush first. Always. Detangle thoroughly before any water touches the hair, because wet hair tangles far more stubbornly than dry.
2. Wet gently under lukewarm water, letting it run down the length rather than swirling the hair around. Hot water opens the cuticle and lifts moisture out.
3. Apply shampoo down the length, smoothing rather than scrubbing. There is no scalp to cleanse, so there is nothing to massage.
4. Rinse fully, then condition the mid-lengths and ends, keeping conditioner away from the clip base or weft top where it can loosen things.
5. Leave the conditioner a few minutes, then rinse with cool water.
6. Press out excess water with a towel. Press, do not rub, and do not wring.

Washing Professional extensions

The principles are the same, but you are working on your own head, and the attachment points need care.

Wash in the shower with the hair hanging straight down rather than piled on top, which is what causes tangling at the bonds. Shampoo the scalp and roots properly, because your own hair still needs cleansing, but keep conditioner to the mid-lengths and ends and away from the bonds, tapes or weft line. Conditioner at the attachment point can loosen it.

Never go to bed with wet bonds or tapes. Dry the root area properly, even if you let the length air dry.

What to use, and what to leave on the shelf

Look for sulphate-free and alcohol-free. Sulphates strip, and alcohol dries, and extensions have no defence against either.

Beyond that, keep it simple: a gentle shampoo, a proper conditioner, and a leave-in or light oil through the ends.

Worth avoiding:

• Heavy silicone products, which build up over time and dull the hair
• Oil-based products near bonds, tapes or a weft line, where they can affect the attachment
• Purple and toning shampoos, unless a colourist has advised it
• Dry shampoo on the extension length, which does nothing useful on hair that produces no oil and adds residue
• Anything with alcohol high in the ingredients list

Drying: air first, heat second

Air drying is kinder than blow drying, and worth building in the time for where you can.

For Ready to Wear pieces, lay the hair flat on a towel or hang it over a hanger, out of direct sunlight and away from radiators.

For Professional extensions, dry the root area and attachment points with a dryer on a cool or medium setting, then let the length air dry if you have the time. Damp attachment points are where problems start.

If you need to blow dry, use a heat protectant, keep the dryer moving, and never take it to soaking wet hair on the highest setting.

Heat styling without regret

Every piece in the range is heat-friendly, which is one of the main reasons human hair is worth it over synthetic. It takes heat well. It does not take heat indefinitely.

• Always use a heat protectant. Every time, without exception.
• Keep the temperature moderate. Lower and slower beats hot and fast, particularly on lighter shades, which have already been through more processing.
• Style in sections rather than passing over the same piece repeatedly.
• Avoid the attachment points. Straighteners and tongs should stay clear of bonds, tapes and the weft line entirely.
• Give the hair heat-free days. Extensions cannot recover the way your own hair does, so every session is spent for good.

If you are wearing a blended or balayage shade such as Sugar Syrup, Canyon Clay, Gold Mist or one of the B tones, be especially measured with the lighter ends. Lifted hair is more porous, and porous hair loses moisture faster under heat.

Brushing: from the bottom up

Start at the ends. Work upwards in short sections until you can run the brush cleanly from top to bottom.

Starting at the top drags every knot in the length down into one dense tangle at the ends, which is how good hair gets pulled out unnecessarily. A loop brush or a soft-bristle extension brush is the right tool. Fine-tooth combs are not.

If you have Professional extensions, hold the hair above the attachment point with your free hand while you brush below it. That takes the pull off the bond entirely, and it becomes second nature within a week.

Brush before washing, before styling, before storing, and gently at the end of the day.

Sleeping and storage

Ready to Wear: take them out. Every night, without exception. Sleeping in clips puts hours of pull on the same roots and tangles the hair against the pillow.

Professional: braid or loosely plait the hair before bed, and never sleep with it wet. A silk or satin pillowcase is worth having, because cotton creates friction, and friction across a whole night does more than any single styling session.

Storing Ready to Wear pieces properly is half of making a set last. Brush them through, make sure they are completely dry, lay them flat or hang them, and keep them somewhere dust-free and out of sunlight. A dedicated storage bag or box earns its keep. A drawer where they get folded and crushed under other things does not.

If you are still deciding between the two routes, our guide to professional versus ready to wear extensions goes through what each asks of you day to day.

Chlorine, salt and sun

Swimming pools and the sea are hard on extensions, and sunlight is harder than most people realise, particularly on lighter and blended shades.

Before swimming, wet the hair with fresh water and work through a leave-in conditioner. Hair already saturated with clean water absorbs less of what is in the pool. Afterwards, rinse thoroughly and condition properly.

For Ready to Wear the simplest answer is to take them out. For Professional extensions, a swim cap is worth the momentary indignity.

In strong sun, a hat protects your extensions as much as it protects you.

Reviving a set that has gone dull

Hair that has lost its shine is not necessarily finished.

Start with a clarifying wash to remove product build-up, which is the culprit more often than anything else. Follow with a deep conditioning treatment or a mask, left on properly rather than rinsed off in two minutes.

If the hair still feels dry afterwards, a light oil through the mid-lengths and ends, applied to damp hair, will often bring it back. Keep it away from any attachment points.

If it feels rough or brittle rather than dry, that is usually cumulative heat damage, and that is not reversible. Which is the argument for the heat-free days.

Maintenance appointments

If you wear Professional extensions, your maintenance schedule is not optional and it is not something to push back when the diary is full.

As your own hair grows, the attachment points move away from the scalp, which changes how the weight sits and how the hair moves. Your stylist will tell you when to come back, and that interval is based on your hair rather than a general rule. Follow it.

FAQ

How often should I wash my hair extensions?

Less often than your own hair. Extensions do not produce oil, so they do not get greasy in the same way. Wash when product has built up or the hair no longer feels soft, rather than on a fixed schedule.

Can I use my normal shampoo on extensions?

Only if it is sulphate-free and alcohol-free. Most high-street shampoos are formulated to cleanse a scalp that produces oil, which the extension length does not have, and they strip more than the hair can afford.

Can I straighten and curl human hair extensions?

Yes, everything in the range is heat-friendly. Always use a heat protectant, keep the temperature moderate, avoid the attachment points, and build in days without heat. Extensions cannot repair themselves, so heat damage is permanent.

Why do my extensions tangle at the nape?

Almost always friction, usually against clothing or a collar, or from going to bed without securing the hair. Brush from the ends upwards, plait before sleeping, and consider a silk pillowcase.

Can I sleep in clip-in extensions?

No. Take them out every night. Sleeping in them puts sustained tension on the same roots and creates tangling that is difficult to undo.

Can I put conditioner on my bonds or tapes?

No. Keep conditioner, masks and oils to the mid-lengths and ends. Applied at the attachment point they can loosen it.

Does dry shampoo work on extensions?

Not on the extension length, because there is no oil being produced there. It leaves residue that dulls the hair over time. On your own roots it is a different matter.

Where to go next

If you are still choosing, start with how to match hair extensions to your hair colour and professional versus ready to wear extensions.

Explore the range: Professional and Ready to Wear.

For care tips, styling and the Dream Girl community, find us on Instagram at @dreamgirlhair_.

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