Stylist Nightmares: Hot Hot Heat!

We like to talk to stylists to get into the nitty gritty of the hair extensions biz. We often hear funny and heartwarming stories about how women have been empowered and transformed by their hair extensions, but occasionally we hear some horror stories too! Don’t worry, these anecdotes aren’t meant to freak you out, merely to inform. Someone far more intelligent than me once said (and I read this on the internet, so you know it’s true) “Smart people learn from their mistakes. Really smart people learn from the mistakes of others.” Here’s a few of the mistakes we’ve seen, and some commentary following.

Anyway, here’s a few of the worst things our stylists and stylist representatives have seen involving heat and heat tools.

“Once I saw someone who’d used the melting connector to re-melt the Kera-Link Extensions to try and get them out. This is especially ineffective and dangerous, especially after the bond-remover, which is alcohol based, has already been applied!”

Yikes! Very true though. Alcohol and heat aren’t a good mix, especially when you’re working around hair...unless of course you’re going for that “scorched earth” look made most famous by Patrick Stewart and Mr. Clean in which case, carry on! Just kidding. We don’t condone any form of hair-based pyrotechnics.

The melting connector is used only to apply the Kera-Link extensions and not to remove them. The alcohol-based bond remover should be enough to remove the extensions if the bonds have been completely saturated and broken up.

“I once worked on someone who’d used Kera-Link Rebonds to “re-tip” I-Link Extensions. Then, they didn't inform the client to keep ALL heat away from the bonds so that they don’t re-melt around  the beads, especially since the melting connector temperature is often lower than many newer tools out there that can heat up twice as hot!”

Uh-oh. All Donna Bella tools are specifically designed to service the specific method listed in their packaging and we can’t guarantee any tools efficacy if it’s not used correctly. I-Link extensions are for beads and Kera-Link extensions are for Keratin bonds, and we won’t recommend mixing and matching here. It’s especially dangerous here because the client didn’t know any alternative method had been used.

“It doesn't happen much, but I have seen clients who've used an oil product to make their hair softer BEFORE they apply heat tools like blow dryers and flat irons.”

While we stand behind many oil-based hair products to rehydrate  hair, using them BEFORE you use heat isn’t a great recipe (unless we’re talking “original recipe KFC” or a deep fried corn-dog) if it’s moisturization you’re looking for. Save the oil for AFTER the heat (or without it entirelyl) because mixing them together is only going to make your hair crispy and lead to more damage. Looking for perfectly formed curls? Consult with a stylist on how to most properly utilize heat.

Are you a stylist with a hair extension nightmare story? How about a client with a question? Don’t hesitate to send them my way at Jane@Donnabellahair.com