We wash Boo's scalp once a week. Period. Regardless of what style she's wearing. A healthy scalp is so important to healthy hair. And besides, we don't want her doing the "
weave pat."
Yarn extensions are no exception. Yes, washing hair with a style in does make the style get fuzzier, and in the case of yarn extensions, the yarn will probably slip a bit, but it's a small price to pay to keep Boo's head healthy.
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| wetting hair with gentle sprinkle |
We start with wetting her hair. We have a shower attachment that has a variety of settings, and one of which is a
really gentle sprinkle. That's the one we use. We're not power washing her hair, we're just getting it wet enough so that we can add conditioner for a co-wash.
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| rubbing conditioner in hands prior to application |
Adding a generous amount of conditioner to the palm, we rub the hands together and then pat her head with the conditioner. Right now we are only focusing on the scalp. Cleaning the actual extensions will come later.
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| our choice of conditioner for today's co-wash |
Today we used Say Yes to Cucumber conditioner for the co-wash. I like it for washing yarn extensions because it's a little more runny than some other conditioners, which makes it easier to work through the yarn. We found this product at Target.
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| gently rubbing the scalp at the part lines with fingertips |
Focusing on the part lines, we gently massage her scalp with the fingertips, using the conditioner to clean away any dirt that has built-up over the last week. (Note: If she has had an incredibly dirty week and/or a lot of product build-up, we will use apple cider vinegar to clean, rather than conditioner. And we would spray it on, instead of applying it with our hands.) Repeat until all the part lines are cleaned.
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| adding a generous amount of conditioner to the extensions |
Next, we clean the actual extensions. We add lots of conditioner to the hand, lay a few strands over the and with the conditioner in it and, starting at the rots, start squeezing the conditioner into the yarn extensions, working our way down to the ends of each twist/braid. Repeat until the whole head is completed.
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| squeezing the conditioner through the extensions |
This process involves squeezing only! We do not rub them at all.
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| rinsing conditioner off scalp (and getting some in boo's ears) |
This is where the real "cleaning" happens: the rinse. We start by running clean water over her entire head, mostly to remove any dirt/conditioner from her scalp. This is the part where all the grit that we don't want in the hair finally makes it's way
out of the hair.
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| squeezing dirty water and conditioner out of hair while rinsing |
The next step is to clean out the conditioner and dirt from the extensions. While adding fresh water, continue to squeeze out all of the product until the water runs clear. At this point you will likely see that the conditioner you added as changed colour, perhaps a little browner or grayer, depending on how dirty the hair is and what colour your styling products were (if they had any colour). Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until there is no more conditioner in the hair and the water really is running clear.
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| fresh and clean |
Yay for a fresh, clean head! As you can see, there isn't that much more fuzziness than when we first began. Boo is going into her fourth week wearing her yarn extensions, and this is her third co-washing of them.
So now that the hair and scalp is nicely cleaned, we have to add some moisture product back in and then seal that moisture in to keep the hair protected for the coming week until the next wash. Depending on what product you use, applications may vary. We like to use either a shea butter product or straight coconut oil. If using coconut oil, I will go through the process of warming it up in a spray bottle to apply it. If using a butter from a tub, I will squeeze the product through the hair just like we did while applying the conditioner to the hair for the co-wash. During this application I used Bee Mine
Luscious.
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| patting moisturizer on hair on at the roots |
With hair that is still damp from the washing (I will only really towel-dry the ends by squeezing the excess water from them), I like to start adding moisture at the back of the head, having flipped all the yarn over to the front. I will rub some moisturizing product on my hands and then pat her head all over to distribute the product at the roots of the extensions and on her scalp.
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| adding moisturizer to extensions while still damp |
I will then add more product to the strands themselves, just like we did during the co-wash, but with a lot less product. The idea is that whatever moisturizing product we are adding is there to work
with the water that is already in her hair; we're not adding it for styling or as the sole source of water content. We are moisturizing hair that already has moisture in it.
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| spraying an oil sealant on the underside of moisturized hair |
The last step is to seal in the moisture with an oil. I always do this with a spray bottle, starting on the underside of her hair and working to the top, and then to the ends.
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| finishing sealing with oil spray on the rest of her hair |
I like to use a product that is actually a sealant (
i.e., an oil that is actually liquid at room temperature, like olive oil). I also like to make sure there's either some jojoba oil or aloe vera juice in the product, both of which are great for the scalp. Today I used Bee Mine
Juicy.
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| washing and re-moisturizing complete! |
So there you go. It might look really complicated, but truthfully there's nothing to it. It goes pretty quickly. And the best part about it? No detangling!
On a side note, all of these steps apply if your little one gets something in her hair like, say, hummus or the like. Not that that's ever happend to
us or anything. *averts eyes* But you can rinse out the offending product by squeezing and rinsing and then adding moisturizer and sealer back in to clean the plug and should be as good as new.
