The better condition you keep your extensions in, the longer they will last. However, you may have noticed that the older extensions get, the more they lose their softness and shine. Luckily, there are a few methods to bring back that luster and smoothness using a few simple products.
- Use oil. It sounds counterintuitive to slather your hair in oil, especially if you suffer from greasy hair, but oil is ultra-moisturizing and very protective. The best oils to use are going to be pure and unflavored versions. Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or even argan oil are excellent choices. Find the best oils in the cooking aisle of the supermarket – oils made just for hair are often much more expensive for the same thing. Kitchen oils are also usually much purer and won’t have any fragrances or colors.
- Make a mask. An oil mask is the easiest way to use these products. Simply warm up a bowl of oil in the microwave until it is warm to the touch. Dip your extensions into the bowl, making sure they are completely saturated. Then, place the extensions in a sealed plastic bag for about an hour before rinsing them with water. Comb them out, slather on some conditioner and then lay flat overnight to air dry.
- The boiling pot. This method also uses oils, but the oils are mixed with water, so you need less of them. To do this, boil a pot of water to a gentle bubble. Add a few drops of your oil of choice and a couple of spoonfuls of conditioner. Then, submerge your extensions in the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes. Allow the hair to cool completely before removing it from the pot. Lay flat on a towel overnight to dry.
- Leave-in treatments. While natural oils are probably the easiest and cheapest method, there are also a variety of leave-in treatments that will work for different hair concerns. This is probably the best type of product to use regularly when your extensions are installed.
