Hair Extensions – Do They Really Damage Your Hair?
Posted on June 24, 2009 by Kate
Hair extensions are a great way to add extra length and volume to your hair, especially if your hair is short or super-fine. And while you may think that’s the way to go, you may also be scared – especially after Britney Spears allegedly lost her hair due to wearing extensions. So can hair extensions really damage your hair and cause you to lose it? Well, there is that chance, but if you do your hair extension homework, then you can greatly reduce this.
Extensions involve pieces of synthetic or human hair either being inter weaved, fused with heat, gluing, using metal rods to clamp, or waxed with sections of your natural hair. Since most of these methods do require some sort of chemical or other substance, the extensions do need to be removed and redone every couple of months. This is not what damages the hair. Damage to the hair can occur when the extensions are taken out improperly.
How do hair extensions damage your hair?
Sometimes the hair extensions can be attached too close to the scalp and may give you a headache because of the hair is being pulled too tightly. Hair extensions can become tangled and unmanageable, which often happens with synthetic hair. This may also happen if the hair extensions don’t mesh together with your natural hair. Extensions will never truly match the color of your natural hair, no matter how synthetic.
Lastly hair extensions applied to human hair that are attached by glue can sometimes be removed with acetone (fingernail polish remover), which will damage your hair.
So how do you protect your hair from damage?
- Get your hair professionally done. Do not attempt to do it yourself, and don’t let another family member help you with it as well. The professionals get paid to do it, so let them. Better yet, if the professional screws up they are obligated to fix it!
- Protect your extensions. Prolong the use of your extensions but washing your hair with a mild shampoo and wash it less frequently to help the natural oils stay in place.
Just take care of your hair extensions and have them maintained properly. A few simple steps to ensure you keep your real hair healthy.