You've been wearing a u-part wig or sew in for the past few months and now your worst fear has been realized...your leave out is damaged!
So how do you proceed to deal with it? How should you treat (or prevent) damage all together?
Leave out is key to a natural looking installation. But when your leaveout starts to get damaged there are a few things you can do to help it and make sure your hair stays on point.
First things first: HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE HEAT DAMAGE?
Heat damage may be obvious to some, but others may have a hard time knowing the signs. Here are some...
-
A protective style is great for growth. But if you have hair to the middle of your back but your leave out is shorter than your pinky, then you've got heat damage.
-
If your eave out looks like a very small section of strands that have been relaxed
PREVENTION & TREATMENT
-
Cut down on shower time to avoid the extra moisture. Believe it or not, those loooonng hot showers can actually cause your leaveout to become more frizzy meaning more times you will need to flat iron it.
-
Use a good deep conditioner. If you straighten your hair A LOT in the same spot, a regular deep conditioning could actually help your hair stay strong through the excess heat.
-
DON'T STRAIGHTEN EVERYDAY! It doesn't matter how much you protect your hair, if you are applying heat EVERYDAY, you will get damage.
-
Wear a closure. Closures not only give your leavout a break, but just makes styling much easier. You wont have to bother blending or battling the wind, or humidity that the whether can bring.
-
Match your texture. If wearing hair extensions is a must and you're not ready for a closure just yet, find hair that closely matches your texture. This will cut down on the amount of straightening you have to do to blend. Try giving silky hair a break and go with something more kinky, curly, or wavy. PRO TIP: If you go for a curly look you could bantu knot, or twist up your leave out at night and then in the morning when you take it out, it'll blend in perfectly!
-
Use quality products! The more vitamins and minerals your hair gets, the happier it will be. Don't always reach for "bargain" products when it comes to your hair, remember you get what you pay for.
Here is a helpful youtube vid for maintaining your leavout without heat.
