Let’s Talk Hair | How I Style My Hair with Extensions

Thank you to Herbal Essences and ShopStyle for sponsoring today’s post. 

Good morning Monday friends!  How was your weekend? Ours was packed with chores, baseball, basketball and most importantly, we celebrated James’ 10th birthday on Sunday!

I could go on and on about him and all of the qualities that make him so special.  But, I’ll just say he has been a JOY and DELIGHT since the day he was born and is to this day!  We love him so very much!  And I get to spend today with him to since I’m volunteering at the 4th grade field trip!

LET’S TALK HAIR

This post has been highly requested and on my list for awhile now.  Ever since chopping my hair short, y’all have been asking for an updated hair tutorial. When I mentioned on my IG Stories that I got tape-in extensions, you had so many questions about that too.

Today, I’m spilling the beans on all of it!

HOW OFTEN DO I WASH MY HAIR

Let’s start with the basics.  How often do I wash my hair and what shampoo and conditioner do I use?  When I was younger, I was a daily hair washer.  I just didn’t feel clean if I didn’t wash my hair daily.  Fast forward to adult, working mama life and ain’t no one got time to fully wash and condition and DRY their hair everyday.  Plus, with all the great dry shampoos out there these days, it’s easier to go a few day in between washings.

I workout often and get pretty sweaty, so I usually wash my hair every three to four days.  And because there’s dry shampoo and product in my hair, I love to use a shower brush to really get a good scalp massage while I’m shampooing.  Keeping your scalp nice and clean and getting that debris out of it is key for shiny, healthy hair.

As for the shampoo, I tend to switch it up every few months.  Recently, I was gifted the new Herbal Essences Potent Aloe collections and have been using them ever since.

This new line combines real botanicals endorsed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  I didn’t know this, but Kew is one of the leading authorities on plants with 260 years of plant science expertise. Herbal Essences is the first ever global hair care brand to have real botanicals endorsed by them.

The hero ingredient in these products is sustainably sourced Aloe Vera, which protects your hair from damage in the potent dose in these shampoos.

Potent Aloe + Hemp Shampoo • Potent Aloe + Eucalyptus Shampoo • Hemp Seed Oil + Aloe Lightweight Hair Oil Mist • Potent Aloe + Mango Shampoo

Herbal Essences Potent Aloe + Bamboo Shampoo • Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mask • Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mist Oil

The first collection I used was the Potent Aloe + Bamboo because it helps strengthen my hair since my hair has breakage around the front.  I love the scent and how my hair felt after using the shampoo and conditioner.  Both products are color safe and sulfate free.

In addition to regular conditioner, I always use a mask on my hair at least two or three times a month.  The Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mask is just what I needed for dry, damaged hair.  The Argan Oil & Aloe Mask helps restore, repair and smooth frizzy hair and it’s deeply nourishing.

Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mist Oil

The Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mist Oil smooths, detangles and helps fight frizz.  I shake the product to mix the two phases, spray it on my damp hair, and then let it air dry as much as possible before drying it with heat.

HAIR EXTENSIONS

Like I mentioned above, I’m still dealing with growing out the hair around my face that broke off.  My long time friend and hairdresser, Renee, has a line of tape-in hair extensions that are made with human hair and so easy to maintain.  I like that they are tape-ins, so they don’t damage your natural hair as long as you take care with them.

The tape-ins come in a ‘sandwich’ about three inches wide and the upper and lower pieces fit onto a strand of your own hair, secured by taping the two hair sandwiches together.

You can get a whole headful of extensions if you really want to add more volume or length.  For me, I have one sandwich, cut into two pieces on either side of my head.  Even that little bit of extension adds a lot of volume and fullness without looking fake. *I just added a third extension on Friday after I already took these photos.

You can treat the extensions just like your regular hair.  The only thing you have to be careful of is not to put conditioner right where the tape piece is, so that it doesn’t lose its grip.  You also don’t want to brush right where the tape piece is.

These type of tape-ins can last about 6-8 weeks, depending on how often you wash or how fast your hair grows.  I’ve had mine in for several weeks now and my hair grows rather quickly, so you can see that the tape part is coming down a bit.  She also has several color options available so that you can get the color that best matches your own.

Using the Herbal Essences Argan Oil + Aloe Hair Mist Oil along with my hairdryer brush makes it so easy to get a smooth, salon style blowout at home.  You can dry the hair extensions just like your own hair.

Here’s a close up look at what the extensions look like underneath the top layer of my hair when they’re dry.

STYLING SHORT HAIR

If I’m running short on time, I might just leave my hair straight after blow drying.  But, I really like how it looks with a beachy wave, so if I have more time, I often curl it.  I alternate some days using a wand and sometimes using a regular curling iron, but I think the curling iron is faster.

It’s kind of hard to show in pictures how I curl my hair, so I’ll do a Story on it and save it to highlights.

Lately, I’ve just been parting my hair where it wants to naturally go – slightly to the left, and then I start curling on one side, from back to front.  I used to section the hair off, but I’ve found that I can skip that step.

I start with the curling iron barrel open and hold it horizontally, curling the top portion of hair near my head, leaving about an inch or two of hair out of the curling iron.

When I get to the bangs around my face, I start with the curling iron about two inches from my head, so that those pieces aren’t as curly.

You can also pull the hair down after releasing it from the curling iron if you want your hair more wavy and less curly.

Then I just repeat it on the other side.  You can alternate the direction of the curls, but I usually just curl them all away from my face.

Next step is styling the curls.

I like to use a wide tooth comb to comb through all the curls, then mess it up with my hands for an undone look.

You can use a texturizing spray and then a light hold hair spray to keep things in place.

I’ve had these tape in extensions in the past, and when I was ready to remove them, I just massaged olive oil into the tape part to loosen the glue and slid them out myself at home.  It was really easy and my hair wasn’t damaged at all.  If you take good care of your extensions, you can take them out and get them put back in again at the root after your hair grows out.

Does that make sense?  Well, like I said, I’ll be sharing a video tutorial on Stories with a better look at everything, including how I can put my hair back in a ponytail to workout, without the extensions showing!  If you have any other hair questions, leave them in the comments below and I’ll be happy to answer them!

 

♥ SHOP THE NEW HERBAL ESSENCES BIO:RENEW POTENT ALOE COLLECTION BY CLICKING THE IMAGES BELOW ♥   

Have a fantastic day friends!

 

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

16 Comments

    1. I’ve been using Batiste, Oribe and everyone tells me I need to try the one by Living Proof, so I’m going to order it! I love their texturizing spray!

  1. Your hair looks great, thanks for the curling tips! I just had to mention to my fine hair friends (like me) that even tape-in extensions did greatly damage my hair. Although I did have more of them in than you to add length so that could be a big part of it. However, because my hair was fine, the weight of the tape-ins did cause hair breakage and hair loss over just 10 months unfortunately.

    1. I also get the thin tape in my hair. Sometimes they use thicker, heavier tape to secure the tape-ins more. I’m not sure if that’s what you had, but mine have always slipped out easily with olive oil when I was ready to remove them without any damage to my hair.

      1. Yes – mine definitely had to be removed in the salon so they Probably were the heavier type. Also, I had more/longer ones in than you and my hair is a fine texture. I’m sure it’s great for some – I just wanted to throw it out there for newbies to investigate before starting extensions. Thanks for all you do Megan!

  2. Thank you Megan, for this wonderful post. I have always wanted to know how hair extensions work and also the techniques of styling it on my own hair. Highly appreciate your tips on the type of shampoo use and also ways to have a good hair wash. Your tips on different kinds of styling using the extensions were explicit. Herbal Essence products seem to work wonders on all types of hair.

  3. -Hi!

    I am losing my hair and it has gotten so thin. These tape in extensions would be perfect for me! My hair is about the same length as yours, and now my hair is nearly the same shade as yours. Where can I purchase these extensions, please?!

      1. Thank you so much for responding so quick! You are an inspiration to me with your work-outs and healthy diet. I love reading your blogs and seeing your latest fashion styles!

    1. Lately, I’ve been using a 1.5 inch and the brand says “pro tools” on it, but it’s just a cheapie that I got from Target or Amazon- I can’t recall!

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