Your first 30 days with extensions

What the first month with hand-tied or I-tip extensions actually feels like — washing, sleeping, styling, and what to flag early.

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

Is it normal for new extensions to feel tight?

Light awareness is normal, and so is mild tenderness on a sensitive scalp. Pain or pulling at the hairline is not.

You'll feel the rows or strands. That's normal — light awareness, not pain. If you have a sensitive scalp, a little tenderness after a first install is normal too, and it settles. What isn't normal is pain, or a pulling sensation at the hairline — that's the one thing worth a message on day one rather than day twenty. Most people find that after the first install they stop noticing altogether, and every reinstall after that is comfortable.

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

When can I wash my new extensions?

Wash less often than you think, and wash deliberately — upright, at the roots, with the rows supported.

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 or tubes.
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, but extension hair does not repair itself, so treat it a little more gently than your own.

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 tubes, 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

Nothing to do yet — the move-up usually lands around two months. This is the moment to notice how everything feels.

By now your hair has grown a few millimetres and the rows and strands 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 should I report after an install?

A loose row or strand, a spinning bead, tenderness at an anchor point, daily tangling at the root, or colour that has shifted.

A row or strand 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 automatically mean something went wrong; most need five minutes. If one of them comes down to the install or the hair, report it within 30 days of your install and the correction is free under the limited 30-day promise.

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.