Why do my hair extensions last only for a month?

I see people saying they can keep their braids in for 2-3 months but my roots look rageddy after 1erplexed I just don't feel comfortable with the way it looks now, I cant see my parting for new growth and fuzzies.

* Im natural
* I wash my hair 2x per week in the normal way I would if I wasn't in braids
* Use plenty of leave in conditioner
* I admit I blowdry the hair for a few minutes after the wash
* I wear my slik bonnet at night about half of the time, have a satin pillowcase
* I have just started using human hair but I dont moisturise (Im not sure what to use or if I should be) it apart for the leave in on wash days. It looks dry after 2 weeks
* The hair is from sensationell

It looked like this on week three, It looks twice as bad now




I realise having a medium brown (they didn't have anything between mid brown and black) and black natrural roots makes it stand out more but it used to be the same with my black kinky extentions. Help me get rid of the fuzzies!

In my opinion, kanekalon hair is the best hair to use as it is synthetic and so doesn't absorb as much moisture as human hair does...and you should use a braid spray or the dryness will cause Breakage.
Also, blowdrying isn't such a good idea. It will cause your hair to dry out and become even more frizzy...just invest in a microfibre towel.
But, generally, my braids always stay neat and the roots just puff up. I tend to just tie my braids back after 1month so it looks more presentable. And i redo the perimeter every 2weeks. Hth

When I do braids, I keep them in for ages. I am always redoing/tightening them. I also use alot of African Royale BRX braid sheen. I doubt I'll use human hair again anytime soon- I feel like it competes with my hair for the moisture, and wins.

You're washing too much. Did you use human or synthetic hair? Synthetic and some of the cheap human hair isn't going to hold up to a lot of washing. Also are you wearing a scarf and or shower cap in the shower? The steam from the shower will make my own hair fuzz through the braids.

I wash and co-wash and I don't have a problem with braids like that.
I am VERY VERY gentle in the shower. I barely touch my scalp when I shampoo. I let the conditioner get mainly on the length of my braids. I don't blow dry my braids. If I need to dry them, I will pull them back in a pony tail, put a scarf or wig cap on and then sit under the Pibbs.

I do this with human and synthetic hair. I am wearing human hair braids now and I moisturize and seal my hair all the time. I don't have any problems. Do you think you might be a little too rough with your hair?

I also wear a scarf on my head every night. NO exceptions. The only time I don't is if I'm going to rebraid my hair w/in the next day or so.

I also know how to do my own braids so I rebraid a few if I see they're getting out of control, but I'm able to keep mine in for a while for the most part.

Pandora1975 said:

When I do braids, I keep them in for ages. I am always redoing/tightening them. I also use alot of African Royale BRX braid sheen. I doubt I'll use human hair again anytime soon- I feel like it competes with my hair for the moisture, and wins.

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This is true. That's why I put SOOO much moisturizer on my hair when I'm wearing human hair braids and seal. I spray (for now) StaSof Fro or Nu-Gro moisturizer and seal (normally) with coconut oil.

I don't have to do all of that with the synthetic hair since it's a man made fiber and is not absorbing any of the moisture.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw your pic was that braids will not look nice with many washes if you do not braid to the ends. Also human hair is notorious for unraveling when new so it does need to be touched up often, so it's best to get it if you know how to braid your hair, so you can redo the ones that unravel or slide or that have the most growth and look ugly at the base. This is especially important along a part or the perimeter--just wherever the braids stand out the most...then you can get to others later.

One more thing, if you blowdry your hair before braiding, or have it straight when you're natural, it'll look worse when you wash.

1) already mentioned, but i think you are washing too much...sensationnel is ok, but if it were me i would wash once every 2 weeks. i too have a problem with fuzzy braids and cannot put water on my hair too many times in the course of having them. my sister has kanekalon braids that i didn't braid to the end and she washes them every few days (she gets in the pool a lot) and they are still holding up very well though, so maybe it IS the type of hair.

2) i'm thinking since it's human hair, you should moisturize and seal as if it is YOUR hair.

wait im LOST. I thought human hair was better to use when doing extensions and not synthethic hair because synthetic hair absorbs the moisture...am i wrong?

Yes, human hair absorbs moisture. Synthetic hair is plastic so it won't absorb anything

Tickledpinkies said:

I see people saying they can keep their braids in for 2-3 months but my roots look rageddy after 1erplexed I just don't feel comfortable with the way it looks now, I cant see my parting for new growth and fuzzies.

* Im natural
* I wash my hair 2x per week in the normal way I would if I wasn't in braids
* Use plenty of leave in conditioner
* I admit I blowdry the hair for a few minutes after the wash
* I wear my slik bonnet at night about half of the time, have a satin pillowcase
* I have just started using human hair but I dont moisturise (Im not sure what to use or if I should be) it apart for the leave in on wash days. It looks dry after 2 weeks
* The hair is from sensationell

It looked like this on week three, It looks twice as bad now




I realise having a medium brown (they didn't have anything between mid brown and black) and black natrural roots makes it stand out more but it used to be the same with my black kinky extentions. Help me get rid of the fuzzies!

Click to expand...

.i think you're manipulating your braids too much
.im keeping braids in this entire summer, i've been able to maintain "fresh" looking braids by:
.washing once every week and a half - two weeks (this includes shampoo-ing the scalp only w/ diluted shampoo && DC-ing the ends)
.moisturize my braids with 'Dark and Lovely Beautiful Beginnings' Kids Braid Mantainer + Refresher (this leaves my hair well moisturize without giving it a sticky wet feeling like African Royale BRX Braid Spray did) OR Elasta OP H-Two.
.i also use a protein based spray at least once a week depending on how my hair is feeling
.my braids DO get fuzzy after some time, so i just re braid the edges every 2wks to keep em' looking fresh
.i do not pull my braid into a tight pony tail...its normally in something loose and once i tie it up in the morning, it stays up until night time ( no playing in braids)
.i normally have one piece of my hair somewhere in the middle that is not braided that helps me keep MY hair in check....if it feels too mushy than i know i need to incorporate some protein in there.
.im also slick my edges (not braided) back with castor oil and sometimes aloe vera gel

i know this is a lot to read but this is what i do to keep my braids looking decent.HTH

Hmmm. Just curious. Why do people have a hard time with human hair braids? I wash and co-wash while in human hair braids, but never have any problems with fuzzy hair. My hair doesn't unravel (that much) and I don't braid to the ends.

Why have other people had problems in the past? Do you think it was the kind of hair? I've used all kinds of human hair (straight, wavy, etc) and I've been fine.
This makes me wonder.

I only use human for my braids. My fine strands break when i wrap the synthetic around it, but my braids do get messy quickly.

Demi 1974 said:

Hmmm. Just curious. Why do people have a hard time with human hair braids? I wash and co-wash while in human hair braids, but never have any problems with fuzzy hair. My hair doesn't unravel (that much) and I don't braid to the ends.

Why have other people had problems in the past? Do you think it was the kind of hair? I've used all kinds of human hair (straight, wavy, etc) and I've been fine.
This makes me wonder.

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What hair do you use? Because I've used from the cheapest I could find at BSS to the expensive kind from hisandher.com but not the most expensive coz $105/pack is all I'm willing to fork out, and all human hair I've used unravels, when new, especially when you wash. Maybe not to where it slides out, but while I do braid to the ends, I cannot prevent it unraveling in the section that extends beyond my own hair.

These pics show local BSS human hair (Beverly Johnson) after a wash (notice how the ends beyond my own hair are loose and wavy):


And this is hisandher.com hair after a wash. Notice while the ends are still braided, they are looser than the base of the braids that contain my hair:


Now I usually keep braids in for over a year and indeed, old human hair extensions do not unravel. These are braids that I've worn for over a year and they stayed braided to the ends even after a wash:


Another example of how old human hair braids stay braided to the ends even after a wash:

Nonie said:

What hair do you use? Because I've used from the cheapest I could find at BSS to the expensive kind from hisandher.com but not the most expensive coz $105/pack is all I'm willing to fork out, and all human hair I've used unravels, when new, especially when you wash. Maybe not to where it slides out, but while I do braid to the ends, I cannot prevent it unraveling in the section that extends beyond my own hair.

These pics show local BSS human hair (Beverly Johnson) after a wash (notice how the ends beyond my own hair are loose and wavy):

And this is hisandher.com hair after a wash. Notice while the ends are still braided, they are looser than the base of the braids that contain my hair:

Now I usually keep braids in for over a year and indeed, old human hair extensions do not unravel. These are braids that I've worn for over a year and they stayed braided to the ends even after a wash:

Another example of how old human hair braids stay braided to the ends even after a wash:

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Oh. They unravel some, but not that much. I don't know. Now, let me be up front. I DO use a little gel on my hair when I braid them, but it's it's not like glue gel (if you know what I mean). It definitely unravels a bit, but not like that. I am REALLY careful with the braids. I braid in sections, barely touch the scalp. Let the shampoo (for the most part) run down my braids. I also use diluted shampoo.

Oh wait! I forgot, sorry guys, I DO sometimes put rubberbands where the hair has not been braided. I do that occassionally when I shampoo, but still not all the time. Even when I don't, they don't unravel that much. When I washed and co-washed a few times last week I didn't have any really unravel. Hmm.

HOWEVER, synthetic hair is not always my friend when washing/co-washing. Those were much easier to unravel.

I use regular BSS hair, cheap and expensive (like $60.00 a bag).

BTW: LOVE your braids Nonie.

Frizziness may also depend on your hair texture. I braid my girls hair all the time. One always lasts longer than the other - she has a coarser hair texture. I always have to do the one with finer hair more often. I am referring to when I braid their hair with small braids not all the way to the ends.
It is less noticeable when you have a color that matches your own hair color. I think I may have to do my finer hair daughter with smaller braids. I don't like to do them really small because of how long it takes to take them out, but this might work better for her.
My girls sleep wild and cannot sleep with anything on their heads, I have bought them silk pillowcases and I think this does help with longevity a little.
Not sure if there is some type of product I can put on her hair to make it last longer, I think I will experiment.
I think you are washing too much, once a week to every two weeks should be fine.

Glamazon: I try to wear a shower cap in the shower but sometimes my hair escapes during, I will bea this in mind. I get this problem with human hair and fake hair, however I haven't tried more expensive human hair yet.

I'm gonna try washing every two weeks, no heat amongst other things.

Thanks for the replies Hopefully next time round I will get this right with the help of your tips and not have to spend $170 a month on getting my hair done. My bff redid my parting and perimeter tonight so it looks a little better.

What do you mean by the bolded???? Do you not braid ur edges? (sorry--i'm a little slow )

Chinwen2006 said:

.i think you're manipulating your braids too much
.im keeping braids in this entire summer, i've been able to maintain "fresh" looking braids by:
.washing once every week and a half - two weeks (this includes shampoo-ing the scalp only w/ diluted shampoo && DC-ing the ends)
.moisturize my braids with 'Dark and Lovely Beautiful Beginnings' Kids Braid Mantainer + Refresher (this leaves my hair well moisturize without giving it a sticky wet feeling like African Royale BRX Braid Spray did) OR Elasta OP H-Two.
.i also use a protein based spray at least once a week depending on how my hair is feeling
.my braids DO get fuzzy after some time, so i just re braid the edges every 2wks to keep em' looking fresh
.i do not pull my braid into a tight pony tail...its normally in something loose and once i tie it up in the morning, it stays up until night time ( no playing in braids)
.i normally have one piece of my hair somewhere in the middle that is not braided that helps me keep MY hair in check....if it feels too mushy than i know i need to incorporate some protein in there.
.im also slick my edges (not braided) back with castor oil and sometimes aloe vera gel

i know this is a lot to read but this is what i do to keep my braids looking decent.HTH

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