Can you dye hair extensions ?

Hair extensions are a glamorous addition to your style. They modify your natural hair's length, volume, and dimensions without altering its appeal. But everything could go wrong when the colour of your extensions is a mismatch with your regular hair.

This begs the popular question: can you dye hair extensions? The simple answer is yes. But there are a myriad of issues to be weighed before recolouring your hair extensions.

Here is a highlight of crucial factors to consider when dying your extensions.

Type of Hair Extensions

There are two primary categories of hair extensions – human hair and synthetic hair extensions. When it comes to dying extensions, human hair is the only viable option.

Synthetic extensions are artificially curated from plastics, repelling any dye or colours applied to the hair. In some cases, applying dye on artificial extensions weakens its fabric, resulting in the shedding of the hair during or after dyeing.

When colouring human hair, you might want to consult an extension specialist to confirm that the dye matches the colour shade of your natural hair.

Lightening vs. Darkening

Hair extensions come with a colour. Dyeing means depositing colour into the hair to change its colour permanently. However, where you wish to get a lighter version of an extension's initial colour, which would mean bleaching the hair, which is highly discouraged.

This is because bleaching extensions break the hair pigments, lowering their overall lifespan. In most cases, bleaching is applied during the manufacturing process with the aim of producing diverse shades of hair extensions. Any extra bleach comes with adverse effects on hair quality.

Frequency of Dyeing

You will enjoy prolific results if you are dyeing your human hair extensions for the first time. Dyeing your extensions more than once will degrade their quality and eventually lose on their fabric. So, while dyeing hair extensions is accepted, over-dyeing is regrettable.

Dyeing vs. Toning

Both toning and dyeing are recommended for human hair extensions, but their end goals vary. While dyeing changes the colour of your extensions permanently or at least semi-permanently, toning is a lighter, temporary solution. Toning is typically applied to enhance the tone of a shade, which eventually washes off in a short span.

Tips for Dyeing Your Hair Extensions

Here are a few tips for successfully dyeing your hair extensions.

• Consult a Colourist for the Best Shade
Extension stylists and colourists will help you find the perfect shade for your hair extensions.

• Test Your Dye
Before applying dye all over the extensions, you might want to test how your hair reacts to the colour. Do this by squeezing the dye on a tiny portion of the hair extension.

• Get a Darker Dye
To change the colour of your hair extensions, the dye must be darker. A lighter shade will not lift the primary colour.

• Apply from Root to Tip
Dyeing your extensions from the tip upwards can cause hair frizz and tangles. You want to apply the colour from the root to maintain a neat and easy-to-comb hair.

• Place Your Extensions on a Dry Towel for Drying
This should be done in a dry and warmer area. Rubbing the dyed extensions can be messy and should be avoided. Once dry, your dyed extensions are ready for straightening and styling.