Hair Extension Care
December 22, 2024

What to Expect After Getting Hair Extensions

How you take care of your hair extensions will help ensure that they last much longer. At our salons, we only use the highest quality, full-cuticle human hair for our extensions – which means with the proper application and care, they should last for years. 

By attending regular maintenance appointments and following our aftercare routine, you can keep your new hair looking amazing for longer than any other style of hair extensions! Of course, to talk about hair extension aftercare, we also want to talk to you about installation. 

Proper Hair Extension Installation

We can’t stress enough how important proper installation is. That’s one of the reasons why we have clients who travel from all across the US for maintenance appointments. Hair extensions that are fitted and maintained properly will last years longer. 

Hair extensions should be treated like an investment. Something you’re going to use daily for the next 1-2 years. 

When coming to your first appointment, it’s important to make sure your hair is clean but free of products. You don’t want any residue in your hair during application. 

Don’t worry though! When you come in for your consultation appointment we go over all of this information with you – and we’ll answer any questions that you may have. 

Today, we mainly want to focus on what you can expect after getting your hair extensions for the first time!

What to Expect After Getting Hair Extensions

Weight & Tenderness

You might have heard stories from friends or coworkers about scalp tenderness and an overall ‘heavy’ feeling after your first appointment. And that usually comes down to what kind of hair extensions they’re getting. 

We’ve talked before about the various types of extensions, but at our salons, we specialize in microbead i-tip extensions. 

If you’ve never had extensions before, after your first appointment you will notice that your hair feels a bit heavier – you will have a lot more hair after all! However, because we take small bundles of hair and attach them to your natural hair, the weight is distributed evenly across your scalp.

Our clients who have come to us after having a weft have said that the first thing they’ve noticed is that their head suddenly feels so much lighter. Wefts tend to feel heavy and it can take you a while to get used to that. They can also cause your scalp to feel tender, because of the way the bulk of the hair is sitting in one row of your natural hair. 

Aftercare

We send each of our clients home with special aftercare instructions and product recommendations to help prolong the life of their extensions. One of the first things that we ask is that you wait 2-3 days after an appointment, before washing your hair. 

It’s also important to avoid using hair conditioners, oils, or masks around the bonds. This can cause your hair extensions to slip.

You want to keep your hair clean with high-quality products. We always recommend Oribe (this shampoo and conditioner are especially good). Along with high-quality hair care products, having the right brush makes a difference.

This brush is specifically designed to keep your hair extension bonds completely tangle-free! And this is the ultimate detangling brush that you need whether or not you have hair extensions. 

Because you’ve invested in hair extensions, you’re also going to want to invest in high-quality products to care for them. While we only use the highest quality hair extensions, they’re still not going to get the nutrients that your scalp is giving to your natural hair. 

So while you can style and treat them like your natural hair, they’re more susceptible to damage – which is why aftercare is so important!

The Best Products for Hair Extensions

Maintenance appointments

You can also expect to book in for regular maintenance appointments. Our clients come in every 6-8 weeks and during the appointment, we remove the extensions, come out the hair fall, and then reapply the extensions. While that might sound like a lot – regular maintenance appointments should only take around an hour.

You shouldn’t wear your extensions for longer than 2 months continuously, simply because of hair fall, tangling, and slippage. During this time, your hair will have grown over an inch! That extra space can cause your hair extensions to pull on your natural hair and it leaves room for your roots to get tangled. 

Regular maintenance appointments avoid all of this. 

With proper installation, you should leave your first hair extension appointment with luscious new locks and relatively no pain or scalp tenderness. And with regular maintenance and proper aftercare, your new extensions should last for years to come! 

If you’d like to learn more and see if our specialized style of hair extensions is right for you, make sure to book a consultation with our founder Christina today.

If you have more questions you’d like us to answer here or on Instagram, make sure to follow our account @oliviachristensensalon and our founder Christina @hairgoddessofny. 

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Hair Extension Care
October 13, 2024

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hair Extensions

Extensions are a fast way to add length, volume, and style to your hair, but more importantly, they’re one of the fastest ways to boost your confidence. 

Over the years, we’ve seen hair extensions change women’s lives from regaining their confidence after cancer treatments to falling back in love with themselves just by looking in the mirror. We’ve helped thousands of women on their hair extension journey. 

Still, hair extensions aren’t something you should rush into. It’s important to know the different types of extensions and the upkeep and maintenance they require. 

Today we’re going to share 10 things you probably didn’t know about hair extensions. 

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hair Extensions

#1: There are many different types of hair extensions

(and they’re not all created equally)

When most women embark on their hair extension journey, they’re not really sure what style or type of hair extensions to go with. In reality, a lot of women don’t realize just how many choices they have! 

In this post, we do a deep dive into the various hair extension techniques and the pros and cons of each style. 

These are the most typical or popular hair extension installation methods: 

  • Clip-In
  • Halo
  • Tape-In
  • Sew-In (Weft/Weave)
  • Keratin Fusion (K-Tips)
  • Microbead Extensions (I-Tips)

We love I-Tips because they’re the safest and most natural-looking extension. This is because you’re taking smaller portions of extension hair and attaching it to your natural hair. This causes a lot less hair loss and matting and it alleviates that feeling of hair extensions being ‘heavy.’ 

#2: You get what you pay for

Not all hair extensions are created equally. That’s just the honest truth of the hair extension industry. There’s simply not enough hair for the demand, which means you can end up with synthetic hair extensions or hair that has been wrongly stolen from women around the world. 

This is why it’s so important to go with a salon that’s sourcing quality, real-human hair from distributors that are compensating women fairly. At Olivia Christensen Salon we source all of our hair from Eastern Europe and India and it’s always high-quality full cuticle hair. 

This also means with proper care and maintenance, your hair extensions should last for years to come! 

#3: Extensions require a bit of extra care and attention

Each of our clients leaves the salon with detailed instructions on how to care for their extensions. Luckily, because we use full-cuticle human hair, installed using i-tips, you can style and wear your hair like normal. You can also exercise as normal, but you will need to take extra care when washing and maintaining your extensions. 

Our clients come in every 6-8 weeks for maintenance appointments and there might be certain products you can’t use anymore. 

#4: Good hair extensions should look like your natural hair

Another place you’re going to see the difference in the quality of hair extensions is in how they look when you’re wearing them. In other words, quality hair extensions should never look like hair extensions. They should genuinely look like an extension of your natural hair. 

We love that each client who walks out of our salon looks like she has fuller and longer natural hair. Even with transformations like this one.

#5: Hair extensions aren’t just for length

One of the common misconceptions about hair extensions is that they’re just for women who want longer hair. When in fact, a lot of the women who come to see us want volume just as much (if not more) as they want length. 

Hair extensions help your hair look healthier and fuller, so if you’ve always struggled with volume, reach out to see how we can help! 

#6: Hair extensions are faster to install than you think

At this point, you’re probably loving the idea of getting hair extensions yourself, but the time commitment feels overwhelming. That’s because it’s a common misconception that hair extensions take a lot of time. 

Our first-time installation can be done in an hour-long appointment. And your routine maintenance can be done in an hour, every 6-8 weeks. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment to have full beautiful hair, you just need to make sure you’re choosing the right salon. 

#7: Hair extensions should be comfortable

A lot of our clients who switch from weft or weaves to i-tips comment on how much lighter their extensions feel. Here’s the thing… hair extensions shouldn’t be heavy. They shouldn’t leave you with a headache at the end of the day. That’s a sign that they haven’t been installed properly or that it’s not the right hair extension technique for you. 

If you’ve never had comfortable hair extensions, get in touch with our team. We’ll be able to show you a whole new world of extensions. 

#8: Good hair extensions won’t damage your natural hair

One of the first questions women ask me when they enter the salon is this, “Will hair extensions damage my natural hair?” The truth is, that hair extensions should promote your natural hair to grow and be as healthy as possible. When installed properly, hair extensions actually protect your natural hair and help improve its appearance. 

However, if you get poor-quality hair extensions or you have them installed by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing… that’s a surefire way to ruin your natural hair. 

#9: Hair extensions can be good for your hair

We already touched on this one slightly, but hair extensions can be really good for your natural hair. We’ve seen women post-cancer treatment come in for extensions and over time see their own hair grow back beautifully alongside the extensions. 

When you have extensions, you’re likely going to be caring for your hair so much more than normal. You’ll be attending regular maintenance appointments, you’ll be using products that are better for your hair and you’ll be more conscious of decisions that affect your hair – all leading to stronger, healthier natural hair.  

#10: Hair extensions require different haircare products

Lastly, when you have hair extensions, you’re going to need to use a few different products – and there are going to be products that you need to avoid. Going forward, you won’t be able to use hair oils and you’ll need to be careful with things like hair masks because they can cause your extensions to slip. 

Your best bet is to always go over a haircare routine with your stylist before leaving the salon. And make sure to pick up any products that they recommend! You’ve just invested in beautiful, high-quality new hair extensions. You’ll want to make sure you have the products needed to make them last. 

Whatever your reasons for wanting to get hair extensions, remember that this is a great chance to try a new hairstyle, regain your confidence, and fall back in love with yourself. We’ve seen hair extensions help thousands of women regain their confidence, and we’d love to help you too. 

At the end of the day, the health of your natural hair is the most important thing, so don’t compromise! Make sure that you’re choosing the right salon and buying quality hair extensions. When you invest in high-quality extensions and expert installation, you can expect amazing results. 

If you’re ready to explore getting hair extensions, make sure to book a consultation with our team.

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Hair Extension Care
August 26, 2024

The Importance of Hair Extension Maintenance

Let’s talk about the importance of hair extension maintenance. Quality hair extensions aren’t cheap but when they’re properly cared for, they should last for years. 

We recently talked about the importance of quality hair extensions and why it’s so important to know where your extensions are coming from. But we also shared that our extensions typically start at $1,500 and can go up to $6,500.

We recognize that your hair is a big investment and that’s why we send all of our clients home with detailed (and pretty strict!) care instructions and follow-up, maintenance appointments. So let’s dive into why maintenance appointments are so important – and what you can do at home to better protect and care for your extensions. 

The Importance of Hair Extension Maintenance

Did you know that you shed around 45-98 hairs each day? YUP. When you feel like you’re constantly ‘shedding’, it’s because you usually are. 

However, when you have extensions, that shedded hair gets trapped in the small beads/links that are applied to hold the extension strand. That’s why it’s so important to come in for regular hair extension maintenance appointments. 

We have our clients come in every 4-8 weeks depending on how well they maintain their extensions at home. 

When you come in for your hair extension maintenance appointment, we comb through the ‘shedded’ hair. It may feel like a lot of hair fall – but remember that all of this shedded hair is from 4-8 weeks. 

Once we’ve combed through the shedded hair, we then apply a new bead or link and retip the bonds to ensure that they are encapsulated and secure. This process helps keep your hair extensions intact so that they can be reused. But it also means that each time you come in for your hair extension maintenance appointments, we have to essentially start from scratch. 

We do this to maintain the quality of your hair – so that you can continue to use these extensions for years to come! 

How to Care for Your Hair Extensions at Home

Besides your regular maintenance appointments, we also send our clients home with strict care instructions. 

At Olivia Christensen Salon we use only real, quality human hair extensions, which means that you can style them as you would your normal hair. However, you need to take better care of your extensions and your hair overall when you have extensions. 

Here are some of our top tips for maintaining your quality hair extensions so you can wear them for years to come. 

Attend Regular Hair Extension Maintenance Appointments

As we said above, one of the most important things that you can do to maintain your hair extensions is to come to regular maintenance appointments. Our clients come in every 4-8 weeks for hair extension maintenance. We schedule these appointments to comb out the shedded hair but also to protect the bead/link of each extension. 

If you leave your hair extensions in too long with these maintenance appointments, the beads can bend and distort. This can lead to the extensions getting ruined and in some cases, natural hair loss as well. 

Have Your Hair Extensions Installed Properly

Similar to the sentiment that not all hair extensions are created equal or of the same quality – how you have your extensions installed is just as important. 

At Olivia Christensen Salon we’ve developed a special installation technique that blends your extensions to naturally match your hair. This technique also ensures that your extensions are being installed correctly every time. 

Wash Your Extensions Carefully

Oftentimes people feel like they can’t wash their hair when they have extensions in – but that’s far from the truth. In fact, it’s important to wash your hair like normal – but you need to wash your hair less frequently and with greater care. 

We recommend brushing your hair carefully before washing, being extremely gentle with your scalp, and avoiding harsh chemicals in your products. 

Sleep on Silk or Satin

Whether or not you have extensions, we recommend that you switch to a silk or satin pillowcase. Silk pillowcases prevent dryness and hair loss. We also recommend against sleeping with your hair in a bun, or ponytail or leaving it flowing freely. Instead, put your hair in two loose braids and wrap a silk scarf around your head. 

Avoid Using Too Many Products

When it comes to the number of products you use on your hair – more does not equal better. We recommend using fewer products on your hair and instead focusing on the quality of those products and how you use them. Things like dry shampoos should be used sparingly (because they tend to dry your hair out) and we don’t recommend using a heat protectant as most of them contain harmful ingredients that may cause the extensions to slip out. 

Brush Your Hair Often

Lastly, make sure that you are brushing your hair often. There’s nothing worse than tangles and knots in your hair extensions. So one of the best (and easiest) ways to maintain your hair extensions is simply through brushing them. Brush your hair when you wake up, when you style your hair for the day, before you shampoo, and before bed every night. 

Different types of hair brushes work well for different hair types, so make sure to ask your stylist what they recommend for you. 

With proper care, your high-quality hair extensions should last you for months. It’s so important to make sure that you are attending your hair extension maintenance appointments and following strict hair extension care instructions to maintain your beautiful new hair. 

If you’re ready to take the leap and get high-quality hair extensions, make sure that you book a consultation appointment with us today. 

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