How To Protect Your Hair Extensions From Heat Damage

Have you noticed how many contrasting hair trends there are right now? Super sleek straightened hair, brushed out wavy curls, the Californian Blow Dry - all of which require serious styling and serious options for protecting your hair extensions from heat damage. Achieving these looks with your Milk + Blush hair extensions is easy as they are 100% Remy Human Hair, so you can style them just like your own. That being said getting armed with every straightener, curler and tong within a 12-mile radius to create the perfect style calls for some heat protection. You need to defend your hair extensions from heat damage just as you would with your natural hair. So, to help you out we’ve compiled our 7 best tips for protecting your hair extensions from heat damage to keep them soft and split free.

1. Get Your Heat Protectant On

So basic but you seriously HAVE to use a heat protectant before styling your Milk + Blush hair extensions, yes it’s obvious but it’s something you should never skip. Heat protectants penetrate the cuticle and absorb into the hair shaft to create a protective barrier that will keep your extensions silky and smooth as well as straightener proof. Our favourite here at Milk + Blush HQ is the Tigi S Factor Heat Defender which not only absorbs the heat from styling tools but works as a leave in conditioner and shine spray. It contains vitamins A & E and UV Protection so it’s all the cover and nourishment your hair needs to survive those heat tools. Just mist this over your hair and comb it through the lengths to make sure your extensions are properly covered before styling.

2. Professional tools only

If you’re into styling your hair on a regular basis it’s so worth investing in some killer styling tools. The best ones have ceramic or tourmaline plates. Ceramic plates are really smooth so our hair extensions will glide through without snagging or causing damage. Tourmaline is a newer, organic, crystalline product that coats the plates of a styling tool and creates more negative ions when straightening. This means that you can achieve a sleek look with less heat and therefore less damage. It’s also important to look out for styling tools that have adjustable heat settings. Using the lowest setting possible to style your Milk + Blush hair extensions will minimise heat damage.

3. Brush It All Out

Ok, ok so you’re probably going to do this anyway but making sure you’ve completely removed any knots or tangles is really important. Silky, smooth hair can glide through a straightener or curling iron smoothly which will help to prevent any strands catching or causing damage. You can also layer your wefts together and after thoroughly brushing through with a loop brush you can run your straighteners behind the brush to smooth out the lengths. This means less time, heat and risk of damage to achieve straight, smooth hair. A very simple tip but worth a mention.

4. Don’t Wash Them

Hair extensions need different care to your natural hair, so we recommend not to wash them. Washing in the wrong way can actually damage the tops of the wefts and cleansing will only dry them out resulting in lacklustre hair extensions. It’s way better to skip the sink and opt for a spritz of RemySoft Daily Refresher instead. This spritz coats the hair in silicone which replenishes it in a similar way to how your natural hair oils soften your growing hair. As hair extensions don’t get this natural supply of oil it’s a great way to keep them in good condition. In order to really minimise heat damage to your Milk + Blush hair extensions it’s important to care for them from start to finish.

5. If You Really, REALLY Have To

As much as we advise against it we understand that some of our customers like to wash their extensions. So in case of emergency here’s what to do after washing them to limit heat damage...

6. Unplug The Hair Dryer

We get that you’re busy gals but we really can’t express how beneficial it is to leave your Milk + Blush hair extensions to dry naturally. Hair extensions don’t receive the nourishing oils your natural hair gets from the scalp so they’re more prone to getting dry. The more nourished the hair is, the less likely it is to be prone to damage and blow drying will only suck out some of that much needed moisture.

7. Dry Hair Only

This may sound obvious but it is an absolute sin to heat style your hair while it’s still wet or even damp, that goes for both your hair extensions and your natural hair. In basic terms you’re literally boiling the hair to the temperature of your styling tool, which could be a scorching 200° - ouch. This will make your hair sizzle which cracks and splits the cuticles making them rough and more prone to damage - it’s also quite dangerous, so be sure to check your hair extensions are 100% dry before picking up a styling tool. We hope you found these tips useful and if you have some heat protecting advice of your own we’d love to hear it! You can leave us a comment below or get in touch with the team hello@milkandblush.com.