Can You Lighten Hair Extensions?

Yes, you can lighten hair extensions, but it’s important to keep a few things in mind. First, hair extensions are often made from different types of hair than your own, so they may respond differently to hair colour treatments. Second, hair extensions are usually pre-coloured or dyed before they’re sold, so if you try to lighten them yourself, you run the risk of damaging the hair or changing the color in an unwanted way. If you’re unsure about how your hair extensions will react to hair color treatments, it’s always best to consult with a professional stylist before proceeding.

Is your hair human hair?

Human or synthetic? That is the question you must ask when considering whether to dye your hair extensions. If they’re human hairs, then go ahead and colour them as desired; however, if you don’t know which type of extension they are, it is best to carry out a small test because sythetic hair extensions cannot be dyed or lightened. To test the hair extensions, take a small cutting of hair and hold one end over a flame, such as a candle or a match. If the hair catches light or produces a burnt hair smell, it is human. If the hair extension melt, it is plastic.

What type of hair extensions do you want to lighten?

Tape

Yes, you can dye your tape-in hair extensions! But avoid the area around where they’re attached because that’s where most damage will occur. Your desired color should be at least one shade darker than what is currently in there so it doesn’t show through.

Clip in, weaves and wefts

These types of hair extensions are probably the easiest to colour but again, follow instructions for tape hair extensions. Also, make sure you don’t get tint over any glue holding your weaves or wigs together because it could break down and cause them to shed! If hand-tied strands become too damaged from colouring their knots might also start coming apart which is never fun when working on such delicate pieces.

Bonded and rings

It’s important to make sure you don’t get tint on the bonded area of your hair extensions- it’ll break down and cause shedding. This is especially true for tailor-made pieces, as those bonds are less durable after 4 weeks or so with regular wear (but they should last much longer than a month).