Don’t be that chick!
I remember sitting at my desk…minding my own business, when all of a sudden,
I was attacked by the most heinous smell. I thought to myself :
“Self, is that you? I know you showered today! *sniffs pits*
Then I reached up and scratched my head. And that’s when it hit me…
My hair smelled absolutely repulsive!
Now I haven’t worn weaves in a long time, so it’s been
a while since I was last confronted by that smelly-smell-smell!
But it can and does happen to the best of us. We get too tied up with
work, school and/or our relationships.
And we forget to wash the most important part of our body.
Our hair!
How often should hair extensions be washed?
How often you wash your hair is really a matter of personal preference.
I typically wear straight or wavy hair extensions.
As such, I am unable to shampoo/condition my hair everyday.
That would entail straightening my natural hair quite frequently.
Which would eventually lead to me walking around looking like
a bald headed scallywag! No ma’am!
What worked best for ME was washing my hair extensions/natural hair
at least once a week. And if you’re wearing a more natural install,
you could possibly get away with washing 3 – 4 times a week.
Tips for washing hair extensions
I used to engage in
all the wrong hair washing practices.
One time I cleansed my hair and I ended up with knots
in every place imaginable. I pretty much destroyed a $200 investment
due to my lack of hair-washing knowledge.
Over the years, I’ve learned the proper way to shampoo and condition
hair extensions. And I’m hopeful that these tips will help
save you all $200 or more!
Tip 1. Always, always, always comb your hair out prior to hopping in the shower.
Unless you like combing out tangles, this is a crucial step!
Tip 2. I like to start things off with conditioner as opposed to shampoo.
This is just personal preference. I find that the conditioner softens the hair
so that you don’t have to put up too much of a fight with your hair
when it comes time to shampooing.
And unless your hair is really filthy, I’d even recommend skipping the
shampoo altogether. Conditioners have a cleansing agent as well :).
My favorite shampoo/conditioner duo is : Giovanni’s Tea Tree Triple Treat
Invigorating Shampoo and Conditioner. Works wonders!
Tip 3. Make certain to shampoo/condition your hair in a downward motion.
When you get to scrambling your hair up and washing it in any kind of way,
you can cause severe tangling and matting.
Tip 4. While the conditioner is still in the hair, use a comb/brush to remove
any remaining tangles.
I like to use a Denman brush.
Tip 5. To enhance the pattern of your hair, plop/plunk it in a towel. To learn more about
plopping/plunking, please check out this link
here : http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/tips/to-plop-or-not-to-plop.
Tip 6. Before I allow my hair to dry, I like to apply an ACV rinse.
An ACV rinse for ME, entails putting 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
into a small bottle of water. I then pour this mixture all over my hair
and then immediately rinse it out.
The biggest mistake you can make here is using too much ACV.
I’ve heard of people using mixtures of half water and half ACV!
*shakes head* No! That’s way too much lol.
You’ll end up smelling like a rancid rabbit. Trust me!
Hair after an ACV rinse.
Look at that curl!
It’s a thing of beauty 🙂
Tip 7. Do NOT put hair in the microwave. Just don’t lol.
Tip 8. To maximize curl/wave potential, allow hair to air dry on a flat surface.
If you hang your hair up to dry, the weight of the water and products
will pull the hair downward, thus loosening the curl/wave.
Drying on a flat surface in front of a window
Hair hung up to dry has a looser pattern.
Hair allowed to dry on a flat surface.
Curls…popping!
The most important thing to remember here is :
Don’t be that chick! Wash your weave girl!