Perm Hair Extensions

Young woman with curly hair extensions — Photo: Yulia Podlesnova/Shutterstock

Q: Can I perm hair extensions? If so, will the damage be extreme?

What do you suggest as I have naturally curly hair and want my extensions to blend as much as possible when worn naturally? The hair extensions are slightly wavy only.

A: The level of manipulation possible with your hair extensions depends ENTIRELY on the type of extensions you've used. In order to be able to perm the hair extensions, they need to be human hair extensions that have NOT been treated with a hydroxide-type relaxer or metallic dye for color.

The better option is to use hair extensions that closely match the texture, color and wave pattern of your natural hair. However, if you've already paid for a head full of extensions that don't match your own hair, then you need to talk to your stylist about the extensions that were used and see if they can be permed to match your own hair.

There's no way for me to say for certain what would happen to any hair extensions you already have, since I have no way of knowing precisely what kinds of extensions are used in your hair. I can warn you, however, that attempting to perm extensions that have been relaxed using a hydroxide-type product or colored with a metallic-based dye will have disastrous results - probably leaving you with a pulpy mess where hair used to be.

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See also:

Hair extensions

Perms and perming hair

My hair is curly. Is it possible to get straight extensions?

What type of hair extensions are the cheapest but are human hair?