How to take a sabbatical from hair extensions

You know that moment... you take out your extensions and suddenly you feel 10 years older, 10 pounds heavier and 10% of your former fabulousness.  You see that you ends are thinning and in desperate needs of a trim and your hairline is thinning and is in need of a break.  

But just how do you take a sabbatical from hair extensions without screaming to the world...I wear extensions... or I'm not naturally this fabulous? We feel you...we understand you so here are few tips to take a few weeks off from hair extensions!

Week One 

Protective Styling

When you do protective styling you can hide or fake the volume that you once had from extensions and no one will really be able to tell your hair isn't as long as it is. 

Here are two of our favorite protective styles for fall:

For these two looks you will need bobby pins and hair ties.  The goal is to look slightly undone and not too perfect.  The key to owning these styles is to keep everything else groomed in absence of your hair extensions.  This is the time to get your eyebrows arched, experiment with a new blush or lipstick and always have either earrings, or a statement necklace on to distract from the fact that you are working with 8-10 ounces less of hair than you had before.  

At night take down these styles when you get home and slap in some creamy moisturizing deep conditioning treatments to compensate for the lack of moisture you had when your hair was in extensions.

Week Two

#Instabraid

This week is hard... you are dying to at least throw in some clip insbut if you are going to take a break you should give your hair a total break from tension, clips, braids etc.  This week is a great week to experiment with the milkmaiden braid trend. This will require either having a stylist or a friend braid your hair for you and leaving it for the week or going on You Tube and Instagram and learning how to do it yourself.  This look is great because you can do it once and have it last for a few days.  

Once again the key is to give good face & accessories while you take a break from extensions.  After two weeks your hair should have had a chance to restore its protein and moisture balance and regain some strength at the roots.  

While there is no perfect answer to how long you should take a sabbatical from hair extensions... just keep in mind that the goal is for hair extensions to be the ultimate accessory not necessity.  

If you are looking for more hair inspiration check out our Pinterest Page or #sunnyshair to show us your hair extension sabbatical styles on Instagram or Twitter.