The Truth About Extensions Versus Wigs
You might be wondering about the differences between extensions and wigs and which one you should try. Sometimes you want to change up your look and try something different. Or maybe you’re trying to cover up thinning hair.
Either way, you’re bound to decide whether to wear extensions, weaves, or wigs at some point in your journey.
In this post, we’ll discuss the differences between extensions and wigs so you can decide whether either of these protective styles are right for you. If you want to learn about extensions and wigs for natural hair, keep reading.
Protecting the Hair Underneath
Protective styles are one of the smartest things ever invented for curly hair. It’s a way for you to guard the hair from elements like friction, wind, and sun rays while still looking good. Keeping your hair in a protective style can help you retain length, combat frizz, and have damage-free curls.
The idea behind protective styling is to cover the strands, and guard the ends. Some styles manage to cover the ends, while others only partially protect the strands.
Both extensions and wigs do a good job of protecting the ends of the hair, but extensions can cause follicle damage if they’re placed too tight on the root.
Natural hair can thrive under protective conditions, and you’ll be excited to have something to show for the time you’ve spent caring for your curls.
Which Styles Are Most Damaging to Natural Hair?
As you probably know, there are many types of extensions, depending on what look you want. However, some extensions damage the scalp, and a lot depends on how you install them.
Individual braids tend to be the most damaging to the hair follicles because they pull the hair from hundreds of different directions in ways that can permanently damage follicles.
Avoid any protective style which requires you to place tension on your scalp. Pulling extensions too tight can cause balding. It may not be much of a problem when you’re young, but your body’s ability to produce hair changes as you get older.
Abused follicles may corrode to the point of no return, leaving you with bald spots or a receding hairline. Your body slows the reproduction of follicle cells as you age, and it can leave you devastated if you hadn’t cared for your follicles all along.
The key is to find a protective hairstyle which at least partially covers the strand, but does not hurt the scalp and hinder production of hair.
Choosing an Extension Style that Doesn’t Destroy Your Follicles
Crochet and clip-in extensions can be very helpful if you cornrow your natural hair underneath and attach the hair onto the cornrows instead of the root. You’ll be better able to protect and promote new growth by avoiding tight and painful styles.
Many professional and amateur hair braiders are excellent at making tidy styles that last a long time, but they are unaware of the potential damage they are causing to your scalp by pulling the hair too tight.
Choose extension styles you can do yourself at home. Then you can better gauge if the style creates too much tension and adjust it accordingly. Crochet extensions and clip-on extensions require less skill than the more difficult styles like individual braids and weaves.
Be sure to choose a style which allows you to wash your hair. Hair grows best when the follicles are not smothered, and when the hair doesn’t have to fight its way out. Crochet extensions can do more harm than good if you can’t wash your scalp for an entire month.
Clip-in extensions are helpful because you can remove them daily. It allows you to wash your hair and give your scalp room to breathe. Many clip-in styles require you to leave some of your hair out, also known as leave-out. If you’re using a straight hair bundle, you’ll need to flat-iron the top of your hair to match the extensions. Flat-ironing can give you unhealthy heat damage, making it not so protective anymore.
When choosing clip-ins, aim to get a style that matches your mane, so that you won’t need to do a lot of manipulation to your leave-out hair. You’ll have an easier time covering clips if you choose kinky-curly hair, because the attachments can be concealed.
To conceal clips, face some of the kinky-curly hair in the opposite direction at the top of your head and hide the clips within the thickness of the hair. This look will create bangs which will help to hide the clips at the front.
Which Protective Style is the Most Helpful to Natural Hair?
It can be challenging to find a protective style that you love and that guards your hair too. Many of the styles that are deemed protective can do quite a bit of damage to your scalp and hair.
Wigs offer the ultimate protection because they cover the entire strand without pulling the follicle. They’re very easy and can be placed on the head quickly when you’re in a rush to get out of the door. Wearing a hairdo that requires very little styling and manipulation is the most protective for hair.
A wig is even better than a hat to protect against wind, rain, UV, and frictional damage. A small amount of protein and moisture is generally lost through every day handling and styling, so you’re saving wear and tear on your stands by tucking it in under a wig.
Wigs are ideal for natural hair as long as you don’t use anything like wig glue or tape. Using adhesive to hold the wig in place could damage the hairline, and sabotage your efforts to have healthy hair.
All in all, wig styles offer more protection over extensions because they give complete coverage and don’t pull the root. They’re easy to throw on just before leaving the house, and require very little time and effort.
What about you? What’s your favorite protective style, and have you been able to avoid scalp damage with extensions?