Hair extension aftercare: two zones, one clear routine

Hair extensions need two zones of care. The first is your scalp and the attachment. The second is the lengths and ends. I keep conditioner and leave-ins away from the attachment, and I look after the lengths properly. This page takes my home care routine and adapts it for extensions after a texture treatment.

I offer work on hair with extensions only to my Loyal Clients.

Before the first wash

My Straightment Semi and Demi allow same-day washing. After Straightment Permanent, Wavement Cold or Wavement Hot, do not wash for the first 48 hours. Those are my rules for my own treatments. Another salon’s treatment has its own instructions, so ask for the product name and the written aftercare.

After Straightment DEMI, the extensions come out before your appointment and can go back in 3 days after the treatment. A newly fitted attachment may bring its own washing wait: Walker Tape, for example, says to wait at least 48 hours after installation (Walker Tape). If two waits clash, ask your fitter and agree one plan. Do not guess.

If you do not know the treatment or the timing, find out before you wash, swim or use heat.

Wash when your scalp needs it

Keep the routine that keeps your scalp comfortable. I do not give everyone a timetable. Look at oil, sweat, flakes and product left behind. Extension makers give different schedules for their own systems, so follow the one for yours, and tell your fitter if your scalp needs washing more often than it allows.

Use comfortably warm water, never hot. Great Lengths says to rinse with lukewarm water (Great Lengths).

A water rinse between shampoos is an option for me with my own treated hair. With extensions, ask your fitter before you rely on it, because the attachment has its own instructions.

Brush before you wash

Great Lengths says to brush your hair thoroughly before washing (Great Lengths).

1. Support the lengths in one hand, close to the attachment.
2. Start at the ends and work upwards in small sections.
3. Stop at a knot. Do not pull through it.
4. Brush only when the hair is dry. Walker Tape says to make sure it is completely dry before brushing, using a wide-toothed comb from the bottom (Walker Tape).

Shampoo mixed in a bottle, washed upright

1. Mix the shampoo with water in a separate bottle, just before you use it. Do not store the mixture. This is my method; I do not give a ratio.
2. Wet the hair thoroughly with comfortably warm water.
3. Wash upright. Great Lengths says never to wash upside down (Great Lengths).
4. Apply the mix across the scalp and massage gently with your fingertips. Do not scrub the attachment or pile the hair into a knot.
5. Let the lather run through the lengths as you rinse.

Check that the shampoo suits your fibre and attachment. Bring the bottles to me if you are unsure.

Mask and conditioner on the lengths only

This is the two-zone rule. The attachment zone gets no conditioner and no leave-in.

• Conditioner: Great Lengths says to apply it only to the mid-lengths and ends, avoiding the attachment area (Great Lengths).
• Tapes: Cliphair says never to use conditioner near your roots, because it can make the tapes slip (Cliphair).
• Mask: my order is mask before the shower, then shampoo, conditioner, a proper rinse, leave-in and styling. With extensions, the mask goes on the lengths only, well below the attachment.

If the lengths still feel rough or tangled, tell your fitter. Do not move more conditioner towards the roots.

Rinse properly

1. Lift the hair so the water reaches underneath.
2. Check behind the ears and at the nape.
3. Finish rinsing the shampoo before you start on the conditioner.
4. Rinse the conditioner out as the bottle says.

Leave-in, then a maximum of two products

My limit is two leave-on products in total. Leave-in, heat protector, gel, oil and finishing spray all count. Shampoo, conditioner you rinse out and a mask you rinse out are wash care and do not count.

Put them on the lengths and ends only, never on the attachment. For heat, I prefer one leave-in that also gives suitable heat protection, so it uses one of the two.

Wear it curly or wavy

My curly routines always move up. Cup the ends and gently lift towards the roots, then let go. Never rake the curl down, and never pull the curl straight while you set it.

For extensions, keep the movement away from the attachment. Nothing should tug at the rows. Ask at your next visit before using a wrap or roller, as it must not pull the attachment.

Wear it straight or straighter

1. Blot gently and choose your products, within the two-product limit.
2. Dry the hair with the nozzle pointing from roots to ends. Keep the dryer moving.
3. Keep ironing optional, and only on fully dry hair.

Heat has limits with extensions. Remi Cachet recommends heat no higher than 180°C (Remi Cachet). Perfect Locks says to start irons at least an inch below the tape, to keep them off keratin bonds, and to put heat protectant on the mid-lengths and ends every time (Perfect Locks). It also says synthetic extensions cannot take an iron unless they are labelled heat-friendly. Walker Tape goes further and advises against heat drying (Walker Tape). Makers differ, so follow the one for your system.

Sleep

1. Great Lengths says to tie the hair into a loose braid or a low ponytail, and to consider a silk pillowcase to reduce friction (Great Lengths).
2. For curls, gather them loosely up. Do not force a high tie if the rows pull.
3. Never go to bed with wet hair.
4. Take clip-ins out. Removable pieces follow their own instructions.

Hats, helmets and hair up at work

Choose a loose style. A tight high ponytail, a tight bun or a tight band across the rows pulls on the attachments. Take a hat or helmet off gently and do not drag the hair out. If a style pulls, change it.

Holiday hair

1. Ask your fitter whether your system allows swimming.
2. Walker Tape suggests a swim cap, and washing the hair straight away after salt or chlorine (Walker Tape).
3. Conditioner is not a waterproof coating. Use products for what the label says they do.
4. Back home, wash with the routine above.

The morning after

Look first, and fix only the part that needs it. Do not start the whole style again.

• Still inside the first 48 hours after a perm or Permanent? Keep to that treatment’s advice and do not wet it.
• A curl has flattened and wetting is allowed? Lightly dampen that section and scrunch it back up.
• A straight section has bent? Dry it downwards, once styling is allowed.
• Still looks wrong? Send me pictures before you add heat or another product.

Stop and get assessed if

The American Academy of Dermatology lists these warning signs of traction from extensions or weaves: pain from tightly pulled hair, stinging, crusts on the scalp, “tenting” of the scalp, and broken hairs around the hairline. It says a style that hurts or irritates should come out promptly, and to see a dermatologist. Here that means getting it assessed and removed by a professional, never by yourself, because some traction hair loss can become permanent (AAD).

Pain, pulling, scalp soreness or heavy shedding means stop and get assessed. Do not try to remove, re-glue or reheat an attachment yourself.

Your checklist

• Treatment and attachment first-wash rules confirmed.
• Shampoo mixed in a bottle, washed upright, lukewarm water.
• Conditioner and mask on the lengths only.
• No leave-ins on the attachment. A maximum of two leave-on products.
• Curls move up. Heat kept off the attachment.
• Loose braid or low ponytail to sleep, silk if you like.
• Maintenance visit booked.

Questions

Can I refresh my curls instead of washing in the first 48 hours?

No. Follow the treatment’s first-wash rule and ask me before you add water or products.

What if a tape slips while I wash?

Stop, keep the tape and contact your fitter. Do not retape it yourself. See slippage and damage.

What if my scalp feels sore?

Stop any pulling or tight style and get assessed. Care products do not fix a tension problem.

How often should I wash?

When your scalp needs it, within what your system allows. Ask your fitter for the schedule for your system.

Sources

• Great Lengths aftercare (UK)
• Cliphair tape-in dos and don’ts
• Remi Cachet aftercare
• Perfect Locks heat styling guide, updated 6 Sep 2026
• Walker Tape extension guide
• American Academy of Dermatology: hairstyles and hair loss, updated 6 Nov 2024