How We Maintain Yarn Extensions

February 7, 2011

I don't know where my head is this month, but I darn near forgot that I needed to do Valentine's Day hair for Boo's preschool party this Thursday! D'oh! I was feeling all proud of myself for the fabulous condition that her yarn twist extensions are in, completely overlooking the fact that they need to come out so that I can do "heart hair" for the holiday. Seeing as how the extensions are doing so well, I should probably share I've kept them up these last several weeks.

Washing Yarn Extensions

We will co-wash the yarn extensions roughly every two weeks, or more often if necessary (i.e., her scalp needs cleaning and/or they don't smell so fresh). For full instructions on how to wash yarn extensions click on over to this post. Our main goal is to make sure that the pores don't get clogged and to remove any product build-up. I'm pretty gentle about this part because part of the key to keeping them looking fresh is to make sure that the base of the extensions don't get too fuzzy.

You should also note that when you wet the yarn in the hair it gets very heavy. We don't like to leave her twists saturated with water for too long because it not only pulls on them, but she's a little uncomfortable with the extra weight.

Daily Upkeep of Yarn Extensions

Daily upkeep of the extensions include spraying on some conditioner. This can be a moisturizing braid spray, or simply a spray bottle filled with a mixture of conditioner and water, which is what I use. I spray each twist and then squeeze them, helping to work the conditioner into the extension. The yarn does wonders soaking up the moisture and then hugs it into the hair for the rest of the day.

Lastly, I will add jojoba oil to her scalp along her partlines as needed. I noticed a few days after I put the twists in that she was starting to get a little dry and flaky. After rubbing my hands with a little jojoba oil, I patted the dry area, as well as all the part lines and along the hairline and proceeded to do so each day, as the weather here has been pretty dry and her scalp definitely needed the extra help staying moisturized.

I'm going to be sad to see these extensions removed since they've not only held up really well (even through preschool) but have also been very versatile for styling. I will probably put them in again after the school year is over, so that she can wear them for the summer.

Now, I have to put my creative cap on and try to figure out what I'm going to do for Valentine's Day hair this year. Hmmm.....