Human hair extensions have a certain resilience about them that would allow for plenty of styling options that involve the use of heat for heat styling, chemical processing and color. As extensions can worn for long periods of time, they must be treated as you would your own natural hair so that they can last longer.
Before coloring your extensions– Always perform a strand test to see how the hair will react with the color and if the results are close to what your expectations are. To do a strand test, you should mix the color according to instructions provided and apply it to one small lock of hair waiting for the full processing period of time to get the full result. Once you have determined that the result is what you desire, proceed to color the rest of the hair.
Lightening up? – If you want to lighten your darker extensions the use of bleach or developer. The bleach will strip the hair of its natural color so that you can deposit the color that you desire, or if you prefer the color that is derived from just bleaching you may opt to keep that and rock it! Again, it is important to do a strand test to ensure that your results are accurate.
Bear in mind as well that although developer is the lesser evil compared to bleach, it is still likely to cause damage to your extensions or your own hair if not used precisely according to the instructions!
Can dying human hair be damaging?
Unfortunately the answer is yes! Just as chemically coloring your own natural hair can be damaging it is the same with human extensions. If you are moving from light to dark the effects are less so as all youre doing is depositing color to the hair.
Changing the color from dark to light on the other hand will involve some stripping of the outer layer of the human hair extension causing it to weaken. In addition to weakening, the strands the hair will also appear dull and dry as the outer layer is what provides the natural shine and luster to the hair and harsh chemicals often strip this away.
In this case, a protein treatment will be necessary when you take down the extensions before your next install.
The best type of hair extensions to color?
Hands down virgin hair extensions! Virgin Remy hair has not been subject to any kind of chemical processing and therefore can be dyed without excessive damage. Unlike its non-Remy counterparts virgin hair strands have not been stripped and have more strength to withstand chemical processing. This does not mean that excessive chemical processing will not damage the hair; specific care should be taken to ensure that processing is not over done.
Get it done by the professionals – If all else fails take advantage of the mirage of colors available for virgin indian hair, sometimes just purchasing the desired color could save you the time and energy of trying to create the color yourself. It also lessens the risk of damaging the hair or missing the mark on your desired color if the dye does not work in your favor.
Do you ever dye your extensions or just purchase the color you like from the store?
