Your first 30 days with extensions

The install is the easy part. The first month is where your extensions become just… your hair. Here's what to expect, in order.

Day 1–3: getting used to the weight

You'll feel the rows or beads. That's normal — light awareness, not pain. Discomfort, tenderness, or a pulling sensation at the hairline is not normal, and it's the one thing worth a message on day one rather than day twenty.

Your first night is the biggest adjustment. Sleep with your hair loosely braided or in a soft low tie, never wet.

Week 1: the first wash

Wash less often than you think, and wash deliberately:

• Brush thoroughly before you get in the shower — that's what prevents tangles at the beads.
• Shampoo the scalp with your fingertips, not your nails, in straight down strokes rather than piling everything on top of your head.
• Keep conditioner and masks on the mid-lengths and ends, well away from the rows.
• Squeeze water out, don't twist. Dry the roots and the rows properly before bed — damp rows are what start odor and slipping.

Weeks 2–3: styling settles in

Heat is fine in moderation; extension hair doesn't repair itself, so treat it a little more gently than your own. Use a heat protectant, keep the iron away from the beads, and expect to use less product than you did before — longer hair carries product weight differently.

This is also when most people find their new brushing habit: from the ends upward, holding the hair above the row so nothing tugs at the anchor.

Week 4: the check-in

By now your hair has grown a few millimetres and the beads have started their journey away from the scalp. Nothing to do yet — a move-up usually lands around the two-month mark — but this is a good moment to notice how everything feels and to use the 30-day promise if anything doesn't.

What to flag early

• A row that feels looser than the others, or a bead that spins.
• Tenderness at any anchor point.
• A section that tangles at the root every single day.
• Color that has shifted after a few washes — toner refreshes are normal and quick.

None of these mean something went wrong; they mean something needs five minutes. Anything in that list within the first month after your install is fixed free.

Curious what maintenance looks like after month one? The pricing page explains how move-ups work, and a free consultation is where the plan gets built around your hair.