How To Prevent A Damage From A Sew In Weave

This is a hair weave from 2008, I left some of my hair out and used clear curl activating gel to blend my hair with the weave, this is a wet n wavy remi hair I purchased locally in the Bahamas, I couldn't find the hair company on line it lasted me 3 installs.

So you want to enhance you look, but don't want to damage your hair.  You can add extensions without damaging your hair, just follow the tips below.

My Tips On Wearing Hair Weave 

Prepare Your Hair For The Weave

• Give your hair a good shampoo with your favorite shampoo that gets your scalp and hair cleaned properly.  If you use the mayo treatment below you will have to shampoo your hair after the treatment.

• Treat your hair I use to make my own Mayo Hair Treatment.  Check the video out below on how to make the treatment.  I use to use fresh eggs, but then I started to just use the mayo, olive oil and tea tree oil.  I presently use ORS Olive Oil Professional Replenishing Conditioner, check my review of the product below and how to use it.

• Use a moisturizing conditioner and restore some of the moisture to your hair.  You want to balance your hair with protein for strength and a moisturizing conditioner for moisture that may have been lost during the treatment and when you shampoo your hair.  As both of these processes can make your hair dry.

• Prepare for Install: Now you need to make sure that your hair is properly detangled.  Or you can blow dry and flat iron it.

Find a Hair Stylist & Quality Hair

• Hair Weave: Select a brand of hair that's great quality and will last your install.  Get friends recommendations and ask your stylist what to use.  I prefer to use Virgin/Remi Hair. 

• Hairstylist: You may have a hairstylist that you already love going to, but you have to make sure tell them that you don't want the braid or the thread to tight.  You want you weave to last, but not for thread to be pulling on your edges.  If your stylist doesn't listen and the braid or thread is still tight then you may need to find another stylist who will listen to what you want.  You should only feel a slight pressure, but it shouldn't give you a headache, make your head throb, you shouldn't have to take a pain killer, or it's so tight you have bumps on your scalp.  Most importantly it isn't suppose to damage your hair, and pull out your hair line.

• Select Style of Weave: If your natural doesn't blend with the weave then do a full weave leaving no hair out.  

  

  Wig I made with none of my hair left out.

  If you get a curly weave it may be possible to blend with gel, but you may have to retouch the gel up every day.  

  

  Curly hair weave that I was able to blend my leave out with, by using gel.

  Trying to straighten your natural hair that you leave out to blend with the weave may cause you to get heat damage it happened to me, but it was only a small portion of hair.  The damage wasn't to severe, but that section of hair always had more split ends then the rest of my hair.

Take Care of Your Weave, Hair and Scalp

• Shampoo & Condition: You may be wearing the weave for convenience but it needs special attention just like your hair.  Cleanse your hair, scalp and weave at least once a week.  If you use alot of product on your weave it will need a thorough cleaning.  After you shampoo, then apply conditioner to your hair and the weave to replenish the moisture you lost after shampooing.

• Hair Treatment: You can also give your leave out and weave a hair treatment every 2 weeks or once a month.

• Air Dry: It's probably better to air dry your weave, this will allow it to last longer instead of blow drying.

• Style: It would be much better to use a curling iron or flat iron that has a temperature setting. This will allow you to put it on a temperature setting that will give you the desired looked but won't damage the hair.  You can also use magnetic rollers or any type of rollers that you like.  On wet or damp hair apply your favorite leave in or setting lotion. Then set the hair with the rollers of your choice and allow to air dry or go under a hooded dryer.

• Comb: You should comb your weave starting from the ends working your way up, also comb in small sections using a large teeth comb. 

• Follow the instructions: that came with the hair, it always has great tips on how you should care for the hair. Or follow the tips that the hair vendor that you purchased the hair from gave you.

• Oil: your scalp so it doesn't become to dry.

Taking Care Of Your Hair At Night and Home

• Bun It: At night when your ready to go to bed, pull all the hair into a bun and secure with a ponytail holder preferably a satin scrunchy and hair pins to hold in place.  Then wrap your hair in a satin scarf.  This will also keep a slight body wave in the hair so that you don't have to keep recurling.  

• When your home in the day and your not going out secure your hair in a bun or pin it up.

Working Out

• When you work out put your hair up in a bun, you will need to secure with pins to keep it from falling out.

• If you work out a lot then curly hair styles that can be wet often would be a good option, bring all the products you need with you in your gym bag.  You will also need a clear gel to blend your hair if you left some of your own hair out.

• If you feel you must shampoo your whole head then using just conditioner should be enough to remove the sweat from your whole head.  You don't want to use shampoo to frequent, it will dry your hair, scalp and weave out.

Taking Your Weave Out

• Most hairstylist recommend you take the weave out at 1 1/2 months, you can go by their recommendation or stretch it to about 2 months.  This will give your hair time to grow, protect your hair and allow the thread and the weave to loosen a little bit so that you can take it out.  And most importantly save you time and money.

• It's easy and convenient for you to let your hair stylist take the weave out and loose the braids, but you can do it at home.  Just get a razor and cut along the thread, this is easier than using a scissors.  Just be careful not to cut yourself, your hair or the weave.  Make sure you get as much of the thread out as possible.  Then saturate your hair completely with water and a detangler.  Then gently loose the braids out.

•  Now you can proceed doing the steps above all over again Prepare Yourself For A Weave,  however you can give your hair 1 to 2 weeks break before you put in another weave.  You can wear a wig in the maintain, ponytail or afro puff.  However, if you are treating your hair properly and following the steps above. It just may not be to damaging to go ahead and weave your hair again.  It all depends on who does your hair and how tight they braid your hair.  When you weave you hair immediately after taking a weave out and don't pay special attention to the hairline, you can loose it.  

Finally

Braiding/Weaving is a great protective style, but you may want to keep your edges and hair from becoming damaged.  The main key is for it not to be braided to tight, treat your hair before your install and make sure your hair gets some moisture every week or more often depending on the quality of your weave.  Then treat your hair when you take the weave out.  

Natural Joyanne