Can Hair Extensions Cause Hair Loss?

While the reasons, severity, and details may vary, the general answer to this question is: Yes, hair extensions can cause hair loss. "Traction alopecia is hair loss due to pulling of the hair follicle from the scalp. It can be caused by the overuse of hair extensions or improper use of hair extensions," says Eternal Hair & Esthetics founder Abe Ayesh.

He continues: "Once the muscle is damaged and detached from the root, the root may die, resulting in hair loss. It's also important to note that very long and heavy extensions can also have the same impact on the follicles regardless of the type of extension, as the sheer weight of the added hair can damage the root, especially if the weight is pulling on a small or isolated number of strands."

2 Why Maintenance Is Important?

Another reason why some girls end up with damage to their locks is avoiding hair maintenance or not doing it properly. Each extension type has some maintenance requirements that should be followed to keep them and your natural strands healthy and beautiful.

Those who ignore those rules might end up in a mess. For example, if you don’t brush your hair, your natural strands and extensions will get all tangled up. Creating dreadlocks and there will be no other way to remove the extensions than by forcefully pulling them out, or even worse, cutting the hair.

Another thing to consider is sleeping with extensions. Before you go to bed with your new hair, first check that you can sleep with your hair extension type. For example, you can go to bed with hot fusion, cold fusion, and tape-in extensions. On the other hand, we do not recommend sleeping all night with clip-in or flip-in extensions.

Also, remember to get your extensions refitted if you’re using any of the semi-permanent methods, such as keratin extensions, microbeads, or tape-in.

1 Do Hair Extensions Damage Your Hair?

If extensions have been properly attached, they will not damage your hair. It’s like anything else in life; technique is essential. Even applying makeup on your face can damage your skin. Yes, there are some chemicals. However, if you are not going over the top, then there is nothing you should worry about.

What Can Cause Hair Damage?

The biggest issue with hair extensions is not the extensions but the people handling them. Be it from inexperienced stylists that damage your hair or from super heavy hair sets that do indeed cause headaches/scalp pain and even hair loss. For more on which weight hair extensions you should get, please see our buying guide. What’s the magical number? The weight should not be more than 200 grams.

Damaging Hair Extensions by Design

Now, some methods will “damage” your hair by design. For example, keratin hair extensions that one attaches with the help of melted hair protein (keratin). These will undoubtedly leave a mark on your hair, but as far as we are concerned, the damage is by design, like gluing fake nails.

There is no real damage that we count as damage. In other others, you won’t suffer from hair loss or thinner hair. Most of the time, it directly results from applying various chemicals to hair to remove the extensions.

Types of Hair Extensions

In 1952, Christina M. Jenkins invented the "HairWeeve," which she patented as “a method and apparatus by which commercial human hair [could] be securely attached to the live hair on the head," and thus, the modern-day weave was born. Today, there is a huge range of hair extensions available. "Tape in, clip in, halo, ponytail, fusion, keratin, weaves, microbeads, weft, etc. These can be made of human hair or synthetic hair. They differ in quality, length of use, ease of application (professional or at home), and the potential to damage your hair and root," says trichologist Dominic Burg. Here are the different types of extensions:

• Tape-in extensions:Tape-in extensions adhere to the hair's root using medical-grade tape. The bond is nearly unbreakable, resulting in long-lasting extensions that need to be professionally removed.
• Clip-in extensions: Clip-in extensions are temporary extensions that clip into the hair on your head. They can be installed at home.
• Halo extensions: Halo extensions do not attach to the hair, but are rather shaped like the crown of your head and sit on the hair with a hidden wire. Halo extensions can easily be placed on the head at home.
• Ponytail extensions: Ponytail extensions are pre-made ponytails that attach to your hair using clips or elastics and do not require professional help.
• Fusion/keratin extensions: Fusion/keratin extensions are attached strand-by-stand and have glue pre-installed at the top of each piece to adhere to the hair. They are then attached with a tool that fuses the extension to your natural hair. Fusion and keratin extensions must be applied and removed by a professional.
• Bead/weft extensions:Bead/weft extensions are made from real human hair and are attached by a professional via a bead that clamps and lays flat to the head.