Shedding and tangling. These two words can make anyone that uses a hairpiece groan in despair. It can be disheartening to brush your hair system and watch precious locks of hair fall out of place, or ending up with a fuzzy mess after trying to detangle your collection of custom hairpieces.

We won’t lie to you, some tangling and shedding is likely to happen over time, but by avoiding common mistakes, you can reduce the damage to your hairpiece. So, if you are tired of losing strands of hair or spending hours detangling your hairpiece, then look no further, we have compiled a list of hair system maintenance steps to keep in mind to prevent damage to your hair system: 

Brushing and Combing Hairpiece maintenance starts with proper combing technique. It’s no surprise that the most common reason for a custom hairpiece to become tangled, and of course shedding, is due to the hair system being brushed improperly. This is because when a hair system becomes tangled, the natural reaction people have is to pull on the hair while combing it through, which causes it to shed.

The good news is that this can be fixed easily! A major mistake that most people make is using a brush to detangle their hair system. Brushes are meant for styling a hairpiece, not detangling hair. It’s best to start detangling with a wide-toothed comb first and then using your regular brush after your hair has been detangled. It is also important that you use brushes and combs that are designed for use with hair systems. 

Before testing out your new combs on your hair system, we have a few tips on how to best comb your hairpiece while keeping damage to a minimum:

• Comb your hair system in small sections. If you like to part your hair in half and start combing through those two big sections, it’s likely that you will end up with a chunk of tangles forming in the middle of your hairpiece, and if you tug at this you will cause the hair to shed. Combing in small sections of your hairpiece will isolate the tangles created, making it easier to get rid of them without hair shedding from your hair system. 
• If your hair system has long hair it’s best to start combing at the ends and working your way up from there. 
• Comb every part of your hairpiece, especially if it is thick-haired. This may seem like obvious advice, but a surprising amount of hair system users forget to take care of the outer sections of their hairpiece, the most visible part, and neglect the inner sections of their hairpiece, which is actually more prone to tangles.
• Comb using one hand, using the other hand to hold the section of hair as near to the base of the hair system as possible. This prevents damage to the hair roots of your custom hairpiece if they are accidentally pulled.      

Turn down the heat

Another reason for shedding is heat. This can affect female hair system users especially if they are prone to using curling irons. Always use a heat protectant before styling your hair. This also applies to straighteners and blow dryers. If you are using a heat protectant afterward it’s best to brush it through your hair system after you apply it so it is spread evenly throughout the hairpiece. Want an extra tip? If you’re looking to style your hair system after all brushing why not check out our Artistique Spray by Premier Products, which is a styling gel that helps prevent your hair system from being damaged by over-heating and over-drying! 

Dry Hair

Dryness is a big issue for your custom hairpiece. Try not to clean it too often, after all, your hair system doesn’t have the ability to replenish itself with your body’s natural protective oils. To keep up proper maintenance of your hairpiece it’s necessary to use a moisturizing treatment from time to time. It’s like a tall glass of water for your hairpiece. Try out our Remy Soft BlueMAX Moisture Lab 3 Step System, it provides you with a hydrating cleanser, a recovery cream, and a protective sealer. This helps to lock in moisture and protect your custom hairpiece from damage by adding a protective coating to the outer surface of the hair.

Curly Hair Tangles More Often

With awesome hair comes great responsibilities. We know how great curly hair looks, but if you own a curly-haired hairpiece, keep in mind that these are naturally more high-maintenance and so you need to take a bit more care with them when it comes to the maintenance for this hair system.

Knot Sealer

If you’re unsure as to what a knot sealer is and want to know more about it, please have a look at this blog post for a comprehensive look at the art of knot sealing.

Drying Your Hair System

After cleaning your hair system, don’t just leave it lying around while you wait for it to dry. Place it on top of a wig stand or a mannequin head and apply some leave-in conditioner and gently comb it through the hairpiece.

If you haven’t yet purchased a leave-in conditioner then now is the time to do it; they’re your best friends when you want to reduce tangling or shedding. Have a look at our Walker Tape Leave-In Conditioner which is a vital part of any hair system maintenance routine.

You should wait until the hair is completely dry before brushing it as hair is at its weakest state when wet. Another important thing to remember is to never sleep with wet hair, so do everything you can to avoid this.  

24/7 Hair System Usage

We know that most of you don’t want to take your hair system off, and that’s fine by us! Although if you are facing a lot of shedding, it’s a huge help if you don’t sleep with your hairpiece on. If it’s not possible to take off your hair system while you sleep, then consider switching to a silk pillowcase, using a silk hair cap, or a scarf.

Go Easy On The Chemicals

Using heavy chemicals on your hair system is something you cannot do. It can severely weaken the hair strands of your custom hair system, especially the hair cuticles, causing hair to shed from your hairpiece! In extreme cases, heavy usage of chemicals can damage the poly or lace base of your hair system.

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