The more the better, right? Not always. With some products, a little goes a long way. Sometimes we tend to use too much, which then leads to some technical difficulty when it comes to our hair extensions. Here are a few products that you may be using a little more of than you need.
Bond remover. Soaking your whole head trying to remove Tape-In hair extensions is the improper way of removal, leading to a real sticky mess. As with any product, always follow the directions on the bottle. Bond Remover should only be applied once on the tape. Wait 30 seconds then slide the extensions out. Apply the Bond Remover a second time on the natural hair where the tape was placed to remove any leftover adhesive.
Heat protectants. Although we always advise our Donna Bellas to apply a heat protectant to their extensions before using a heat tool, going overboard on the serum or spray can lead to slippage, limp hair, and fried ends. Heat protectants are meant to protect your hair from the damage of a heat tool. If you’re applying a wet product then using your straightener or wand immediately thereafter, it will definitely fry your hair because it’s still wet. The correct way to apply heat protectants is to follow the directions on the bottle and give your hair some time to absorb it and then style as usual with your styling tool. Applying too much heat protectant can lead to limp hair because too much product is weighing down the hair.
Glosses, serums, and moisturizers. Extensions always look refreshed when you add a shine serum or gloss. Because these are oil-based, they only need to be applied in small amounts. Adding too much of these products will for sure cause your extensions to slip out of their bonds. Always use any oil-based products from the midshaft down to keep your hair moisturized and intact.
Dry Shampoo. Some dry shampoos can leave little bitty white flakes behind, so it’s a trial and error thing when it comes to finding the right dry shampoo for you. But spraying dry shampoo at close distance to the hair will not only leave those annoying flakes behind, but will build up gunk quickly, too. Follow the dry shampoo’s directions; it usually says to spray a certain number of inches away from the scalp.
Shampoo. If you didn’t think there was such a thing as overwashing, there is. You hair extensions and natural hair will both dry out faster if you’re washing your hair everyday. As a rule for our Donna Bellas, you should only be washing your hair once or twice a week at most, using a dry shampoo in-between washes.
Always keep these rules in mind. If there is a product you’re confused about, please ask!