Mastering the Leave-Out

Your leave-out can make or break your weave.

A leave-out that is not properly maintained will stand out against your extensions and will ruin the realism of your sew-in.

Hairnistas with texlaxed or natural hair textures often encounter the most difficulties blending (or prolonging the blending) of their leave-out with their extensions.

 Their traditional go-to to master unruly leave-outs has been to use a apply heat. However, as any hair dresser will tell you, frequent application of heat will fry your hair and will make the dry, heat damaged strands more difficult to blend with your extensions.

To control your leave-out, instead, adhere to the following:

Apply a moisturizing conditioner to your leave out once every 3 days.

While it's not necessary to condition your hair in its entirety every 3 days, make sure to condition your leave once every 3 days to keep it moisturized. Hair that is properly moisturized feels softer and maintains a higher luster; thus, will be easier to blend with extensions.  Here are the conditioners we recommend for leave outs:

5 Minute Cowash Straight from Eden Conditioning Treatment	Deep Conditioning Argan Oil Intensive Conditioning

After flat-ironing, apply beeswax or a beeswax based product to leave out.

Applying beeswax to freshly flat-ironed strands acts as a barrier against humidity—the culprit responsible for your leave-out's rapid reversion to its kinks and coils. The key is to use a small amount. Too much and your leave-out will be a greasy mess! 

Smart Hair Buys: I've taken out my weave...What do I do now?

Although many hairnistas will not admit it, the 2-4 week breaks between a sew-in can inspire PMS-like agitation. Suddenly, you have to change gears and try to figure out what to do with your hair. It can be even more stressful if your hair is experiencing breakage or your hair is in an awkward growth stage where many styles are not achievable. Below is a care guide for what you should be doing when you take out your weave.

Deep-Condition! Moisturize!

Weaves are great protective styles but it can be difficult to fully care for your hair beneath the tracks. Hence, some hairnistas will find that hair feels brittle or akin to 'dry-trash' after removing a weave. To remedy this:

1. In the first wash after removing your weave, deep condition your hair. Deep conditioning treatments that we recommend (these work extremely well for those less porous hair types) include:
• ORSHair Masque for Color and Heat Damaged Hair
• Creme of NatureMoisturizing Milk Masque.
2. Co-wash your hair often (aim for at least once a week), use a leave in conditioner (optional but highly recommended), apply a good moisturizer daily, and use protective oils. Products we recommend include:

• Cremeof Nature Straight from Eden Conditioner
• Nunaat Leave InConditioner
• Creme of Nature Butterlicious Curls
• B's Jamaican Avocado Oil
• Batana Oil.

Minimize Heat!

Removing your weave can leave you stumped for styles; many hairnistas will want to reach for that flatiron. Hold off! Your hair is delicate after being twisted up in a braid for months. Adding a lot of heat immediately can cause breakage. If you must use heat, deep condition prior to heat styling and apply a heat protectant. 

Otherwise, check out YouTube as a resource for styling your hair without using heat. Here's a couple to get you started:

•  http://goo.gl/6GMXsD 
•  http://goo.gl/L1zqLo

Use a Satin Cap at Night!

You've gotten all this new growth with your weave. It's a shame if you allow friction from pillows and sheets to snap off the ends and nullify all that growth. Use a satin/silk cap at night to protect your ends.