Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Washing synthetic hair extensions
• Part 2 of 4: Treating the hair with conditioner
• Part 3 of 4: Drying the hair
• Part 4 of 4: Styling the hair
• Necessities
• Tips
• Warnings

Synthetic hair has undergone many technological developments in recent years. In most cases, the texture of the hair feels and looks just like human hair. Synthetic hair can also be worn straight out of the package and, unlike human hair, does not require styling. Waves and curls are applied to synthetic hair in such a way that they bounce back without too much effort. In addition, the hair does not frizz at high humidity and does not become limp. However, because synthetic hair has different properties than human hair, you will have to take care of it in a different way so that it stays beautiful for as long as possible.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Washing synthetic hair extensions

1. Buy a mild shampoo. Choose a shampoo that is specially designed for synthetic hair. You can also use a shampoo for synthetic wigs for synthetic extensions. However, if you can't find a shampoo for synthetic hair, you can also use a mild shampoo.
   • Not all shampoos state whether they are mild or strong, so look for a sulfate-free shampoo. Sulphates are strong detergents. A sulfate-free shampoo is much gentler on the hair and it usually says on the front of the bottle that the shampoo is sulfate-free.
   • You should be able to buy shampoo for synthetic wigs and extensions at a beauty salon, wig shop or specialized webshop. (If possible, try to use conditioner only.) That said, you should only wash synthetic hair when it smells or is visibly soiled. Washing does not strengthen hair, nor does it shine. Make sure not to wash your hair too often.
   EXPERT TIP

   Gently comb out knots with a wide-tooth comb. A wide tooth comb does not catch on the hair, as happens with a finer comb. Working from the ends of the hair to the roots, gently comb the knots out of the hair. In other words, work from the bottom up.

   • To make combing easier, wet the hair by spraying it with water from an atomizer or detangling spray. Then comb the hair through.
   • If the hair has very tight curls, comb through the hair with your fingers. Your fingers are a lot softer, do not get caught on the hair and do not disturb the pattern of the curls like with a comb.
   • If you are wearing a wig or clip-in extensions, it may be easier to take them off or take them out and comb them. Buy a wig stand from a beauty salon and pin the wig to the stand using T-pins. This will help you comb the hair.
2. Fill a sink with water. The water should be cold to lukewarm instead of hot. Make sure the water is not too hot or the hair may become less slippery and the texture may be affected. Fill the sink with enough water to submerge all of the hair.
3. Add a capful of synthetic hair shampoo to the water. If you wash a lot of hair, put two capfuls of shampoo in the water. Think carefully about whether you should use one or two caps. It is better not to use too much shampoo, so that the shampoo does not wash the shiny protective layer off the hair and does not change the appearance of the hair.
   • Using too much shampoo or an aggressive shampoo can make hair dull.
4. Submerge the wig or hair extensions in water. The hair must be completely submerged. Ensures that the hair absorbs the water. Push the hair under water if necessary. If the hair is not wet enough, the shampoo cannot wash the hair.
5. Stir the hair through the water by moving it back and forth. This way you can clean the hair without rubbing or scrubbing. Then dip the hair in the water and take it out again. Alternate between stirring and dipping until you think the hair is clean.
6. Rinse the hair with cool water. Cold water closes the hair cuticles in human hair. With synthetic hair, cold water does not disturb the protective layers on the hair and does not disturb the curling pattern, as it does with hot water. So rinse the hair thoroughly with cold water until all the shampoo has disappeared and the rinse water is clear.

Part 2 of 4: Treating the hair with conditioner

1. Buy a detangling conditioner. You better avoid detangling the hair. If the hair gets tangled, detangle it carefully without ruining the texture, curls or waves. Because the hair is not natural, a moisturizing conditioner works less well than with human hair, because synthetic hair cannot absorb the conditioner.
   • Conditioners are available in different types. The front of the bottle states whether the conditioner is moisturizing, detangling or adding volume to the hair.
   • If you still can't find a detangling shampoo, check out the hair care products for kids. Different brands have shampoos and detangling conditioners for children.
   • If you want to restore shine to your hair, buy a conditioner with natural oils such as avocado oil and jojoba oil.
2. Refill the sink with water. Use cold water, as it is best used with synthetic hair. Fill the sink with enough water to submerge all the hair in it.
   • If you wear your extensions, your hair should still be wet after rinsing out the shampoo.
3. Put a capful of conditioner in the water. Also try to think carefully about what amount to use if you treat a lot of hair. Use two caps of conditioner if you are treating a lot of hair, but be careful not to overuse. Too much conditioner can make hair heavy.
   • If you wear the extensions while conditioning them, apply one or two caps to your hair and spread the conditioner evenly over your hair.
4. Stir the hair back and forth through the water. Move the hair by running it back and forth through the water, just like you did before. A little bit of conditioner needs to stick to the hair to treat it. Too much conditioner weighs down the hair and makes it greasy because synthetic hair cannot absorb the conditioner like human hair. Continue to stir the hair in the water for a few minutes until you think the hair has been completely treated.
5. Leave the conditioner in the hair. Do not rinse the hair. The conditioner should stay in the hair even if you haven't used a leave-in conditioner. If you prefer, use a water-based leave-in conditioner usually sold in a spray bottle.
   • You can also leave the hair in the water for 10-15 minutes if you wash the extensions in the sink.
   • You can make your own leave-in conditioner by pouring a capful of detangling conditioner into a spray bottle and filling it with water the rest. Shake to mix both ingredients and spray hair as needed.
   • If you think you have applied a little too much conditioner to the hair, spray the hair with a spray of water to rinse out some of the conditioner.

Part 3 of 4: Drying the hair

1. Squeeze the excess water from the hair. Just put the hair in the palm of your hand. Then close your hand as if making a fist to squeeze the excess water out of the hair. Work from the ends upwards and squeeze gently. Do not rub or wring the hair with a towel as you would with a towel.
2. Place the hair extensions on a towel. Place the extensions on a towel with space in between so that they don't overlap. It takes longer for the extensions to dry if you put them on top of each other. Do not disturb hair by brushing or combing it while wet.
   • When you dry a wig, put it on a wig stand to dry.
3. Let the hair air dry. Do not blow dry the hair as this can permanently ruin the curls and waves in the hair. In other words, blow drying can damage hair. Some types of synthetic hair are made to be treated with warm tools, but most types are not. The synthetic hair packaging should say whether you can treat it with warm tools. Even then, you check carefully whether you can blow-dry the hair.
   • For best results, let the hair air dry, even if you can treat it with warm tools.
   • This applies to clip-in as well as other types of extensions.

Part 4 of 4: Styling the hair

1. Comb with a wide tooth comb. If you brush the hair with a wide-tooth comb, the hair will catch on the comb less because the teeth of the comb are further apart. If the extensions have particularly tight curls, comb through the hair with your fingers. In this case, your fingers are the best tools to use.
   • Do not brush curly and wavy synthetic hair with a boar bristle brush or similar brush. Such a brush can ruin the pattern and texture of the hair.
2. Spray water on the hair to comb it. This is especially helpful if you want to comb curly, wavy, or textured hair. Water reduces friction so you can easily run the comb through the hair. If you want less friction, add a little leave-in conditioner to the water in the spray bottle. You can also buy wig spray for combing the hair.
   • A lot of synthetic hair has tight curls because synthetic hair can recreate the curls and texture of specific hair types, while that is difficult with normal human hair (the original state of many extensions). Synthetic hair holds curls, waves and texture better than human hair. So if you're using curly and wavy synthetic hair and want it to last longer, spray the hair with water and comb through with your fingers.
3. Set warm aids to a cold setting. If you have synthetic hair that you can treat with warm tools, make sure to set your flat iron or curling iron on the cold setting. The hair can melt differently. If you style the hair in a certain way with warm tools, that model can remain permanently in the hair. So be careful with your flat iron and curling iron.
   • You can also curl straight synthetic hair with hot water. Put rollers in the hair, or whatever you use to curl the hair. Then dip the hair in very hot water or spray hot water on the hair while wearing it. Lay the hair on a towel or let it air dry. Remove the rollers from the hair when it is dry. Only do this if you really want a different hairstyle. It is not recommended to curl the hair and try to straighten it afterwards. Synthetic hair cannot be regularly and easily styled in a different way without damaging the hair.
   • If it doesn't say on the package that you can treat the synthetic hair with warm tools, don't do this. The hair can melt or be otherwise ruined.
4. Trim frizzy ends. Uneven tangled ends can make your extensions look damaged and unkempt. Cut the ends off when they start to look ugly. The hair immediately looks better and more cared for.
5. Apply some oil to your extensions and comb the oil through the hair. When your extensions start to look dry and no longer shine, apply a light oil like jojoba oil to the hair. Leave the oil on for an hour, then pat hair with a paper towel to remove the excess oil. If necessary, wash the excess oil from the hair with a dollop of mild shampoo and rinse.
   • Most synthetic extensions tend to have a stronger shine than human hair, so only do this if they look dull.
6. Remove the hair extensions from your hair before they start to look ugly. Hair extensions pull up on the hair when you have them in your hair for about six weeks. As a result, they become loose and look uneven. Eventually, you will have to get them out of your hair, even if you take good care of them. They don't last forever. So make a new appointment with your hairdresser to have new extensions applied.

Necessities

• Atomizer
• Water
• Detangling spray (optional)
• Wig spray (optional)
• Mild shampoo
• Detangling conditioner or leave-in conditioner
• Towel
• Microfiber towel (optional)
• Coarse comb

Tips

• If your synthetic hair is made of mono-fiber or thermo-fiber, you can use warm tools to style the hair, such as a flat iron, curling iron, or hair dryer. In that case, set the aids to a cold setting. The packaging of the synthetic hair should indicate the maximum temperature it can withstand. If you make the hair warmer than that, it will melt.

Warnings

• If you don't brush your extensions gently, the fibers can break, causing tangles and frizz.
• It can take a long time to care for hair extensions on a daily basis. Schedule at least half an hour daily to groom them.
• Do not treat extensions that are 100% synthetic with hot tools and your hair dryer.