Often, if you are looking to have hair extensions fitted you are doing so for one of two reasons. The first is that you like the look and appearance of hair extensions, and the second is that you feel that you need hair extensions.
If you feel you need hair extensions, it is most likely because you are unhappy with your natural hair, either because it is naturally fine, you have had a haircut you don’t like, your hair gets to a certain length and then won't grow any longer or your hair is damaged.
If you fall into any of the first 3 categories, then given that your hair is in healthy condition hair extensions should be an option for you. If however you have extremely damaged hair, you need to be sure that your hair is suitable for hair extensions by discussing this with a professional hair extension technician before going ahead with a fitting. For more information, take a look at our article for tips on
how to find someone to discuss hair extensions with.
Why Is My Damaged Hair Not Suitable For Hair Extensions?
There is a distinct difference between damaged hair and hair that is too damaged for hair extensions, so don’t worry, having damaged hair does not necessarily mean you can’t have hair extensions fitted. With the use of hairdryers, straighteners, curling tongs and hair dyes, to some extent we all have damaged hair, it is only in the extreme cases where hair extensions may not be suitable, and there are 2 main reasons for this. These are that the hair may be unable to support the weight of the new hair extensions because it is too weak, or you are not in a position to be able to care for the hair extensions correctly at this moment in time.
When Hair Is Too Weak To Support Hair Extensions
Hair becomes weak when it has been exposed to an extreme amount of external pressure in the form of heated styling tools and hair dyes. The most common example of hair that could be too weak for hair extensions is over bleached hair. If your hair has been over-bleached, and this has caused your hair to change in texture and snap off, your hair may not be able to comfortably support hair extensions. Ideally, you should wait until it is healthy again before going ahead with a hair extension fitting, and you can check out our tips here on
Improving the condition of your natural hair before hair extensions for advice on how to get your hair back into a healthy condition.
Not Able To Care For Your Hair Extensions
If your hair has become damaged because you do not have enough time to care for it correctly, for example very tangled/matted hair or extremely over-processed hair, this may mean that you are not suitable for hair extensions as they do require a certain degree of aftercare to maintain. It is important to discuss in detail with your hair extension fitter what is involved in looking after hair extensions on a daily basis to ensure you are committed to the new hair, and are able to look after it correctly. Check out our
top tips for keeping your hair extensions in perfect condition here to see if you think you could commit to these basic steps in hair extension aftercare.
Committing To Hair Extensions
If you have weak natural hair, it is always best practice to try and get your hair back into a healthy condition before committing to hair extensions to ensure no further damage is caused whilst wearing your hair extensions. This will ensure your natural hair continues to grow healthy throughout your time wearing your new hair extensions, as when fitted correctly hair extensions should cause no damage to your natural hair.
Hair extensions are a commitment and do require care and attention, therefore ensuring you are fully aware of what is involved in hair extension aftercare and maintenance by reading some of our other articles on
how to care for your hair extensions will help in your understanding of what is involved.
Take your time, and ask your hair extension technicians as many questions as you can think of before going ahead so that you can be confident in knowing that your hair is in a good, healthy condition to have hair extensions fitted and that you fully understand how to look after your new hair correctly to make sure you get the most out of it.
Skip to content
