As a stylist who works with hair extensions on a daily basis I have come across three causes of damage with extensions: the client, the stylist, and the product.

Damage from the Stylist

Damage from inexperienced or under trained stylists is a larger problem than most people think. There are so many hair extension companies out there now that do not require the stylist to attend a training class before they will sell them their products. This makes it easy to any person who decides they are going to do extensions to get their hands on their products without the knowledge of how to use or maintain them. Would you go to a dentist who was never trained on cosmetic dentistry to replace your two front teeth? Probably not. Every reputable hair extension company requires a training course, and sometimes even a follow up course, to ensure that the clients who are wearing their product are satisfied with the end results. Most of these training classes cost between $2000-4000, which includes the extension machine, your training, and enough product to do a hair model while you attend the class. Like any profession, you will find that those who are willing to invest in their education, training, and overall their business are going to be the most knowledgeable about the product, procedure, and maintenance. The most common type of stylist damage from hair extensions is the caused from something I like to call the  "Waterfall Effect".

Damage from the Client

Most first time clients have no idea how to maintain their hair extensions once they get home. The stylist should supply each client with the basic knowledge of how to care for their extensions, but ultimately it is up to the client to follow through with at home maintenance. One of the most common types of client damage is the ripping out of extensions when the client uses the wrong type of hair brush. All of my clients receive a HairDreams hairbrush when they get their extensions applied, but sometimes they will either lose or choose not to use this brush as directed. This is a major mistake on the clients part! Not only will the client's extensions begin to tangle at the root when not brushed properly, but using the wrong brush can cause damage to the point of bald spots. Another mistake most clients make is wearing their extensions too long. Although I recommend the extensions be removed before the 6th month of wear, that does not mean the client should wear them that long. Most clients wear extensions 4-5 months at a time. Some of my high maintenance clients wear them no longer than 3 months. The faster your hair grows the sooner your extensions will need to be replace, just like fake nails. Some companies promise you can wear their hair for 8 months or even a year. Would you get acrylic nails and not go back for maintenance for 3-5 months? More than likely your nails would start cracking and falling off on their own, much like how extensions would start to fall out on their own after 8 months. When a company claims you can wear their extensions for 8 months or longer what they are saying is that it is possible for their product to stay attached to your hair for that long, not that it is the recommended time you should wear them. Lets be honest.... ITS A MARKETING SCAM!! When the clients hair is 3 inches from their scalp I suggest the extension be removed. The longer the bond is from the scalp the higher the chance of damage is. This could be from tangles that form above the bonding point, or simply from running your fingers through your hair and accidentally catching an extension above the bond and ripping out. NOT TO MENTION that when the extensions are more than 3 inches from the scalp they are noticeable not only when you wear your hair up, but also when you wear it down.

Damage from the Product

There are thousands of different extension companies and products out in the market today. Most strand by strand extension products come pre tipped with an adhesive material, or glue. Although most people think that extensions using glue are bad for your hair, there are a few companies who put a high quality keratin based adhesive on the extensions for the bonding material. The old method of strand by strand extensions where the hair is cut from a track extensions and then dipped in a pot of melted wax based glue is where the rumor that glue is bad all got started. This wax based material is easy to heat up and melt, which means that you can apply the extensions using a melting pot or hot glue gun from any crafts store to heat up the glue. After the extensions have been applied and the client goes home, they will gradually see that the bonds start getting softer and start sticking together. This is due to the fact that even slight heat from a blow dryer will heat up the bonding material and make it spread out, causing the bonds to start sticking together. If the client does not do a good job of brushing the extensions at the root when this starts happening they will eventually have one huge dreadlock of an extension on their hands. The removal process of this kind of adhesive is extremely time consuming and damaging to the client's hair. The best product for removing this type of glue is 100% rubbing alcohol, which is very drying to a client's hair, especially blondes. There is a lot of sitting under the dryer with chemicals and a lot of combing out of tangles when removing this product. I explain the removal process for this type of glue to prospective clients like this:

"Imagine putting on a wig with bubble gum on the underside of it and sleeping in it for a month. Do you think it would be an easy or non damaging to remove that from your hair?"

This photo shows how once the bonds have softened they start sticking together.

-click on image to enlarge-

The new keratin based glue that HairDreams is using is more like a hard plastic. It is still put in with heat, but a blow dryer will not soften or loosen the bond. The only thing that will melt the extension bond is a heated tool like a flat iron or a curling iron. I am not saying that a blow dryer couldn't heat the bond up enough to melt, but you would more than likely have 3rd degree burn marks on your scalp from keeping the blow dryer on high heat and in the same area for so long. I have not seen a single bond from HairDreams melt from a blow dryer. I have seen where clients accidentally go over the bonding points with their flat irons, but even then the only thing it does to the bond is make it slightly flatter. Because HairDream's bonding material does not get soft or loosen the removal process is a lot easier than other companies, and is non damaging to the client's hair. But like any other extensions, if the client fails to brush the extensions in the scalp area as they grow out tangles will begin to form, which if removed by the wrong stylist can cause damage.

Before and After Photos of Hair Extensions

Photos of Application Process

Photos of the Removal Process