From clip-in to weft hair, the best way to store your newly purchased hair extensions could impact the precious tress’s lifespan. Regardless of the extension type, all hair needs to be cared for to keep its flawless look and make it last a long time. If you take poor care of your new set, it will turn into a messy nest. Not to mention a much shorter hair extension lifespan.
Neglecting to wash or brush extensions will lead to tangling, knots, and matting, which is not a good look for anyone! However, did you know that storing is also important to extensions’ care?
1 Why Should You Store Hair Extensions?
Many girls have admitted to poor storage habits that inevitably resulted in unwearable extensions. If you simply throw your wefts in the closet or shove them in a drawer, they will look horrific once you get them out!
That kind of tangled mess is simply impossible to work with. When you have hair in this state, you must wash it first, detangle it, and style it before installation. That’s an awful lot of time to spend on something that can be avoided. It’s simply easier to store the hair properly and have it ready when you want to wear it. Also, what’s the point in spending so much money on top quality Remy extensions if you’re not going to look after them? Do you want your hair to be unusable in weeks?
Proper hair storage is simple and requires no special storage containers. There are essentially a few basic requirements:
- All hair wefts must be dry and cool without much moisture.
- While not in use, extensions should avoid direct sunshine.
So, keep this in mind when choosing a storage place. It takes only a couple of minutes to put away your wefts safely, and there is no reason to avoid it. Also, this will reduce any mess you have in your room or bathroom.
To make it even easier for you, we have explained a couple of different simple and quick storage methods that you can choose from. They include storing extensions in boxes, using hair extension hangers for storage, storage bags, and additional information about how to travel with hair extensions.
General Rules for Storing Hair Extensions
- First, wash your hair and let extensions dry naturally. Not to say that you can’t use a blow dryer since you definitely can! Just make sure that hair is not tangled.
- Second, straighten extensions with a hair iron and comb them.
- Now, as far as the storage goes, ensure the clips are always closed.
- Always ensure the extensions are dry before placing them anywhere. Otherwise, expect mold and other nasty bacteria.
- Some recommend a vacuum bag, which is a bad idea. We prefer breathable material like cotton. This is the ideal place for your hair extensions. Alternatively, try a bag with mesh vents.
2 Store Hair Extensions in a Box
This is one of the easiest ways to put away any hair extensions. You can use the box with the hair or a regular shoebox (more about that later). We recommend this storage option when you want to store the hair for a longer time and don’t plan on using it every day.
Here is how to properly do it:
- First, brush the hair gently and make sure it’s nice and smooth.
- Stack the wefts on each other and roll them together.
- Brush them one more time and finally twist the hair and place them into the box.
- If you have a lot of wefts, repeat this step a few times, making multiple hair bundles.
- Close the box and put it in your closet, drawer, or shelf.
Price: Free
3 Use Hair Extension Hangers
Another cool way to safely store extensions is hangers. There are special hangers explicitly made for wefts. Nonetheless, regular hangers can also be used if you’re on a budget.
We recommend this option when ordering clip-in wefts that you wear every day. It will help you safely store extensions and use them instantly.
There is no specific formula. Use as many or as few hangers as you need to. Use more than one hanger if you have a set with many pieces. Do not squeeze them! Hangers designed for extensions will work better, but it’s just a suggestion.
Brush the hair and place the hanger in your closet. What’s cool about using hangers is that you can style the extensions this way. For example, curl or straighten wefts while they are still on hangers.
Price: Free
4 Try Hair Extension Storage Bags
If you want to get fancy with hair storage, purchase storage bags for extensions. AiryHair sells them for around $14.95. This is a recommended method by many hair extension stores but not a must. Depending on the quality of extensions and your budget, consider rewarding yourself with one nicely made bag.
These bags come with hangers and are used on top of it, which shields hair even more. So, once you clip extensions to a hanger, place the storage bag on top and zip it up!
Now, all you need to do is place the storage bag back in the closet, and you’re all set. Rest assured, your extensions are safe.
Price: $14.95
5 Make Your Own Hair Storage
Don’t have any spare boxes? Here are some of the ideas for creating your storage solutions! Trust me; you won’t have to use any tools or build treehouse-like structures. These storage tricks will help you to have hair extensions that last months and not weeks.
- Find a decent size drawer and lay a cotton towel at the bottom.
- Depending on hair length and drawer size, shape wefts into “J” or “U.”
- Gently lay hair extensions (after smoothing them out).
- If your drawers are in direct sunlight, lay another cotton layer on top.
The same method applies to shoeboxes and other cardboard containers. Do not put hair into tight-sealed, plastic, or glass containers. You want your extensions to breathe!
6 How to Travel with Hair Extensions?
When going on vacation or business trips, we all want to bring our fancy extensions to look extra good. But then you face a new problem: how do you pack hair properly without damaging it?
Simply sticking them into a travel bag doesn’t work. You might think that wearing extensions while you travel is the best way, but you would be wrong. If you’re traveling on a plane, clip-in extensions might get detected as you go through the metal detector at the airport! Some women would not care, while it could be extremely embarrassing for others. You must hold up the line while removing your hair from everybody. Flip-in extensions aren’t immune, as the loop is attached with tiny metal parts.
If you have room in your suitcase, bring the whole box with you. For less room, buy a traveling bag for extensions. It is a small, well-designed invention that will keep hair safe and secure. Remember not to swim in a pool or salty sea with extensions on vacation since such water could permanently damage hair!
7 How to Revive Poorly Stored Extensions?
If you made those mistakes we talked about and didn’t store the hair properly, there’s a good chance you ended up with awful-looking wefts that are wholly tangled and lifeless.
Stop! Before you throw hair away, there are some things to try to bring extensions back to life.
- Fill up the sink with warm water and add conditioner.
- Place the tangled wefts inside and leave overnight.
- Rinse hair extensions and leave it to air dry.
- Apply some detangling spray and start brushing.
- Be very gentle but thorough.
- To finish, add natural oil to the hair, giving it that lost shine.
The extensions should look revived entirely, but that doesn’t mean you should continue to avoid proper storage. As you can see, it will take you more than an hour to revive tangled extensions. It is a long process which does not always work. So, prevention is the best way to go about it.
If your extensions were seriously damaged, be sure to read our repair guide. Remember, AiryHair also accepts returns of tangled and damaged hair bundles. We got you covered.
Do you have ideas of your own? Share them below!