I've learned the hard way that permanent hair extensions are something you don't take for granted.
I am not much of a "hair-brusher". Growing up, I used to get into trouble a lot for leaving the house without running a brush through my hair. My grandma hated it and would often reprimand me. Now that I'm older, sadly, my habits haven't changed much. I don't really enjoy brushing or blow-drying. It was fine when I still had all natural hair but after I got hair extensions, I realized that two months without careful brushing can be a bit of a painful problem.
The first couple of weeks were fine. And then there was the 7107 Music Festival where me and my equally not a fan of brushing room-mate Ana failed to pack hairbrushes. We spent the entire weekend in Pampanga without brushing our hair after bath. Soon after was the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival in Puerto Galera, the saltwater plus daily scalp massages by the beach finally took a toll on my hair extensions. By the time I got back to Manila, they were extremely tangled and matted. Similar to dread locks and not unlike you're regular shih tzu's matted hair.
I planned on having it detangled but my busy schedule did not permit a day at the salon so I kept it that way for several more weeks. Yes, it got worse.
When your hair extensions get deeply tangled, the glue begins to show at certain points and your hair also starts to have a life of its own, it volumizes and puffs up at unexpected places...that's when the tangles are majorly big and begin to show. There's nothing you can do about it but have it fixed at a salon.
It was definitely a shame and a source of embarrassment.
Case in point #1: my SM Ladies Style Hunt gig where I was constantly photographed and taped for a spiel, they tried their best to tame my hair over and over so I finally had to tell them that it was no use because my extensions were tangled. We did the video messy hair and all.
Case in point #2: my barefaced photo shoot with Dove for Real Beauty. It's not everyday that you get photographed by a renowned photographer. I already had zero make-up on, it would've been nice if I at least had nice, blow-dried hair.
But the past is past, now I know better and it was all purely my fault. Despite it seeming somewhat of a burden, I am still not taking off my hair extensions. They are fabulous and great. They make me feel good and as I learned recently during a visit to Hairshaft, they're not too hard to maintain as long as you take care of them properly on a daily basis.
But before that, let me show you what having your hair extensions detangled at a salon is like:
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| Miguel, Fred and the other assistant stylists trying to get my tangles out |
It is a long and tedious manual process...
At first I thought there was a special technique or tool for it so I wasn't sweating it. I soon realized that it takes a regular comb and a lot of patience, pulling and trimming to get the job done properly.
The stylists manually part and separate the hair, mind you, they try to do it as gently as possible but given the amount of tangles I had (hair was balled up into cottonball sizes), there was gonna be some unavoidable pulling and sorrys involved. After hair is detangled, they have a special way of trimming the edges to prevent it from tangling up again.
It's a long, painful and boring process that can be avoided if only I took proper care of it from day one.
After about 4 hours, each strand of my hair was finally back into place. I was once again #Fredified and #Miguelized and I couldn't be happier.
Okay, so as taught to me by Fred, Miguel and Tali of Hairshaft Salon in Podium, the secret to maintaining great looking permanent Hair Extensions is a paddle brush and regular hair conditioner.
During bath, make sure you shampoo carefully. Remember, you are not tossing a salad or cleaning a sink (that's how I used to do it, with a lot of Gusto! hahaha). Start shampooing at the ends and then work your way up while gently massaging your scalp. Next apply a generous amount of conditioner and use your paddle brush to detangle section by section by brushing normally. It's also a great way to spread conditioner and treatments on your hair evenly even if you don't have extensions (I was at first appalled and then later pleasantly surprised that it doesn't really take that long...this is coming from someone who hardly brushes.)
So there, not that difficult and besides, it really is all worth it. Loving my mermaid hair especially now that it's summer and lots of beach trips are bound to be lined up.
For more info on Hairshaft Salon and to check out the different stylists work, connect with them on Instagram via these accounts:
@hairshaftFred
@hairshaftMiguel
@hairshaftBelle
@hairshaftTali
@LucyBritanicoSalon
To check out the Hairshaft Salon pricelist and menu of services, click HERE:
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