How long do hair extensions last is really 2 questions. The first: how long one install is worn — from the extension appointment to the correction. The second: how long the hair itself lives — how many corrections in a row it can be reinstalled before it turns into straw. The first is answered by the growth of your own hair, the second by the quality of the bundle you bought. Below are both periods, what a correction includes and what it costs.
Two periods: the install and the hair itself
The install is the capsules at the root. It is worn until your own hair grows out enough for the capsules to move down: then a correction is due. The hair itself is the bundle that is removed at the correction and installed again. It lives as many corrections as its bleaching can take. The first period is about the same for everyone; the second runs from 1 correction to 5 and more, and the difference between them is the difference in what a year costs.
How long one install lasts
Capsules are attached at the root, and your own hair grows — about 1 to 1.5 cm a month. After 2 to 3 months the capsules have moved down 3 to 5 cm: they become visible, the strands start to pull and tangle at the roots. That is the life of one install — the time until the correction. It does not depend on the quality of the bundle.
Wearing it longer is not worth it: grown-out capsules twist, your own hair mats under them, and at the correction the stylist spends the time not on reinstalling but on detangling — and that is on the bill too.
How long the hair itself lives
Here the bundle decides everything. Correctly bleached hair survives at least 3 corrections — a year and more of continuous wear, with the blow-dryer, the flat iron, the sun and the sea in between. Hair that was over-processed during bleaching at the factory falls apart by the first correction: dry cottony ends, breakage along the length, tangling at the capsules. Care slows the damage down but does not bring back a cuticle stripped at the factory — how to check this before buying is covered separately: how to check the quality of hair extensions. The limit here is the length, not the hair: some installation techniques shorten the strands by 1 to 2 cm at every correction, others take nothing off — ask your stylist which one she works with, and buy the bundle with length to spare.
How long the hair lasts is decided at the moment of purchase, not in the bathroom. Hair on its fifth correction that behaves like new is bleaching that was calculated, not rushed.
The correction: what it includes
- Removing the strands. The capsules are softened with a special remover and taken off, your own hair is combed out.
- Re-bonding. The old keratin is removed, the top of each strand is sealed again.
- Refreshing the shade — optional. Blonde turns yellow over time; that is inevitable and not a defect. Removed strands are toned in minutes while they are off the head — a separate service at the stylist.
- Reinstalling. The strands are attached at the root and trimmed.
How much a correction costs
A correction is work: remove, re-bond, reinstall. Like the install, it is charged per capsule or per head; the hair is not on the bill — the same strands go back in. On top there may be toning of the removed strands and replacement of a few lost ones — per strand.
Everything changes if the hair did not survive the period: then a new bundle is added to the work — the biggest part of the price of extensions. That is why a cheap bundle that did not make it to the second correction costs more than an expensive one that went through 3.
What shortens the life
- Over-processed bleaching at the factory — the main reason, and no care can change it.
- Oils and alcohol-based products at the capsules: the keratin softens, the strands slide.
- Sleeping with wet or loose hair — mats at the roots.
- Flat iron and curling iron without heat protection, hot air straight onto the capsules.
- A skipped correction: grown-out capsules twist and have to be removed with losses.
- Coloring and bleaching on your own while the hair is on the head.
The first point is checked before buying; the rest is habits. How exactly to wash, brush, dry and sleep with hair extensions is covered separately: how to care for hair extensions.
Frequently asked questions
How long can you wear hair extensions without a correction?
Usually 2 to 3 months: in that time your own hair grows 3 to 5 cm, the capsules move down, become visible and start to tangle. Wearing them longer is not worth it — grown-out capsules are harder to remove, and some strands are lost.
How much does a hair extension correction cost?
The stylist sets the price — per capsule or per head, the same as for the install. The hair is not included: the same strands go back in. Toning of the removed strands and replacement of lost ones may be charged separately. If the bundle did not survive the period, the price of new hair is added — the biggest part of the sum.
How many times can the same hair be reinstalled?
The hair itself is not the limit: correctly bleached hair is moved from one correction to the next for as long as the length holds. Some installation techniques shorten the strands by 1 to 2 cm at every correction, others take nothing off — the number of corrections is set by the technique and by the length you started with, not by the hair. Correctly bleached hair survives at least 3 corrections — that is the bar we hold ourselves to; on the fifth correction it can still look like new. If the hair did not make it to the second correction with normal care, look for the cause on both sides: the bleaching at the factory, or the wear — heat, the wrong care, tension on the capsules.
Why do blonde extensions turn yellow and what to do about it?
Yellowing over time is inevitable: the cool tone is washed out by water, sun and styling. Do not bleach or color blonde at home. The right way is at the correction: the stylist tones the removed strands in minutes and reinstalls them already cool.
We bleach our bundles for the third correction, not for the first photo. If you need hair that will survive a year of wear, start with the catalog or write to us: we will pick a bundle for your volume, length and shade from a photo.
→ Slavic hair extensions — catalog
→ How to check the quality of hair extensions before you buy
→ How to care for hair extensions