I have been known to keep weaves for a long time, so long that I’m a source of wonder amongst my friends. I currently own some weaves I have had since 2010 and what is my secret?
I wash my hair.
I’m not even trying to be funny here. Those girls you see, with the candy floss looking hair and the pungent smell that follows, we all know they don’t wash their hair. However, I know people who in 2013 insist that you don’t have to wash your your weave often and quite frankly this makes me want to weep. In my opinion, if you paid good money for the weave, it follows that you should take good care of it too.
Nonetheless, this isn’t a rant. I know a lot of ladies have problems with washing their hair while its in a weave, and whether your hair underneath is relaxed or natural, the following guide should make the process a lot quicker and easier to understand.
Virgin Hair (e.g. Brazilian, Peruvian, Indian Hair etc.)
This is probably the easiest type of hair to wash and condition. Please note that if your weave is glued in as opposed to a sew-in, you need to be extra careful to prevent the glued wefts from dissolving.
Method:
- Divide your hair in to two sections as if you were putting it in a pony tail and rest them over your chest. Gently de-tangle with a paddle brush or wide toothed comb.
- Wet your hair with warm water in a downward motion, starting close to the top of the weft where the tracks are. I find this much easier to do while in the shower, but you can do it over the sink or the bathtub with a bowl of water. Be very careful as we don’t want to saturate the tracks beneath the weave.
- Once the hair is wet enough, apply a small amount of moisturising shampoo in a downward motion to remove the initial dirt and excess oils from your hair. I recommend Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo, because it stops my weave from feeling brittle and dry. You’ll find that the hair is very hard to lather up at this stage, but this is normal. Rinse, then repeat this process again until the water runs clear.
- Apply a good conditioner to the hair, again in a downward motion. I would recommend the Herbal Essence Conditioner to accompany the shampoo mentioned above. Leave it in for about 15 minutes and rinse. Alternatively you can co-wash instead of using the aforementioned shampoo. Just be sure to rinse thoroughly to prevent product build-up.
- Finally, it is probably best to air dry the hair or sit under a dryer. Some people add leave in conditioners or oils to the hair before they dry it but I find this unnecessary, as we would have already moisturised with the conditioner. It is imperative that your tracks are dry before you leave the house or go to bed, otherwise they will fester and you get that funky smell!
- I wash my hair at least every 10 days, but it depends on how much product you use in your hair. The texture of the hair also matters and as a general rule the curlier the hair, the more you will need to wash it to maintain the curl pattern.
Human Hair (e.g. Milky Way, Premium Now/Too, J’adore)
Not a lot of human hair can withstand regular washing, and sometimes the price is so low that you do not need to reuse it. From my experience, Milky Way is okay to wash once, but if you wash Premium Now hair you will end up with one packet installed instead of the three you started with. Hair labelled as ‘Human Hair Blend’ is also good for two or three washes, provided you are very careful. With human hair the method is exactly the same but be extra cautious as it will definitely shed more.
Synthetic Hair (e.g. Batik)
I’m yet to come across someone who has tried to wash synthetic hair, but I daresay you would end up with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It’s a bad idea ladies, don’t do that to yourselves!
Above all, you need to take good care of your natural hair under the weave. Yes, you can keep a weave in for about three months if necessary, but I would recommend leaving it in for one month maximum. This gives your scalp time to breathe every four weeks, and enables you to treat your hair in order keep it clean and healthy.
Images from Google Images.
So I washed my Janet weave twice. After the first wash it was fine. Lovely even because I got a nice braid-out out of it. However, with the second wash it refused to curl. Is this weave done? Time for weave heaven?
Did you condition it?
If you did condition it, it sounds to me like this weave is one of those that can only be re-used once. I find the curly ones have a shorter lifespan…
I just a while ago got my first glue in weave and its wonderful! The only problem was how do you wash it? But thanks to this I found it easier than I thought to wash glue in weave. Thank You. 🙂 ♡ 😀
I bought a brazilian natural human hair weave and it is the WORST. It WAS pretty, shiny, curly and soft.. but after the first wash it became dry & brittle!!! I have had extensions (all sorts) for 3 years and I will never again use anything other than straight hair extensions… I dont know if I got ripped off (because the hair has no quality to it at all) or if this type of hair just cant handle being washed every 3 days. I have treated it like my other extensions. Wash (with high grade shampoo/conditioner) let it dry (or blow dry) and put a little bit of oil in it to keep it soft.. but this last one was HORRIBLE!
Oh dear, probably wasn’t a good type of Brazilian hair. Some vendors treat the hair to make it look good on arrival but when you was it, that all comes off. Brazilian hair is just another type, its not necessarily the best 🙂
Hello:-)
Uhmm.,can i wash my weave before weaving on for the first time? Just bought it and i feel lke washing it :-/
PLEASE HELP..
THANXXXX
You can do whatever you like lol, you bought it…
yes you can pre wash the hair before it is installed.
Can I wash the name brand chocolate hair?
I’ve used this brand before and washed it twice since I’ve had it.. it lasted me about a year or two
I recently had a glue in of Milky Way Pure, I love the hair for the affordable price. Its been 2 weeks and I am noticing stiffness in the weave and I have not washed yet out of fear it will become unmanagable. Are there any suggestions to put life back into the hair?
How do i maintain my virgin wet & wavy peruvian hair. I’ve only had it for about a month and ts not looking how i want it too. It frizzes up alot and the tracks were the closure usually is the hair is very matted. I havent washed it yet so whats the right way too do it and what can i do too keep all the wrong things from happening
I would suggest to take it out and wash it.. but if you don’t have time to do that .. try a deep condition to get the softness and to detangle. Also try and use a detangling comb rather than a paddle brush because if the wefts aren’t sealed then it will shed really bad.
Ok , I put an oil in my brazilian hair it was smooth before i had put the oil but now its SUPER shiny and it looks wet but its dry.
Is That A Good Thing Or Bad Thing PLEASE Someone Reply !
I am having the same issue and now its crunchy. I have in a vixin sow in
I have remi velvet and I washed it for the first time 2days ago it is still super soft and is still Flowing! Its just like Brazilian hair!
I have it in now, how soon after instal did you wash. (I know im late)
how do i take care of my tracks…they get really itchy after a while
I’d love to leave a weave in for a month then reinstall it, but that is very costly! Do you install your own weaves? I need to learn how. These salon prices are for the birds!!
What if you have dandruff should you still wash? Is tresemme a good shampoo? Should I do perm if I have dandruff?
Use a spray bottle to get to your tracks and the parts where you cant really saturate. Dilute the shampoo with water to make it easier to spray.
Wow! Weaves sound like a lot of work sista.