When purchasing hair extensions, your goal should be to choose the shade that most closely matches your natural color. That’s the best way to ensure they blend perfectly and bring out your natural coloring.

Sometimes the shade you choose is just a little off. Other times, you want to rock a brand-new hue! Luckily, you don’t have to settle for the original color. Coloring your hair extensions is a way to ensure a perfect match, switch up your style, or try something funky!

We’ve created this guide to share our top Dos and Don’ts for coloring hair extensions. Continue reading to learn the best practices when switching up your style.

DON’T: Use Permanent Hair Dye

Semi-permanent and demi-permanent hair dyes are the safest products to use on your human hair extensions. They are gentler and cause less damage than permanent dyes. This is because they do not enter the hair cuticle itself but remain on the outside.

DO: Start with a Lighter Color Extension

Bleach can be a powerful tool for dying your natural hair if you work with a professional stylist. But you should never use it on your hair extensions.

Bleach lightens hair but it also strips it of moisture. Extensions can’t replace this moisture because the hair is no longer on a human head. As a result, your extensions will grow brittle and lose their luster quite quickly.

If you apply other chemicals and dyes after bleaching, your hair may break. Even if you achieve the perfect color, it’s not a good look!

Instead, we recommend starting with a lighter extension and going darker. If you have a lighter shade in mind, begin with a dilute or platinum-blonde base.

DON’T: Dye Synthetic Hair Extensions

Human hair and synthetic hair may look similar, but they behave quite differently. Most critically, you cannot apply dyes or hair color to synthetic hair.

Synthetic hair lacks the correct structure and will not absorb the dye correctly. The chemicals may even dissolve or warp the synthetic hair, leaving you with a discolored mess.

Human hair extensions cost more, but there’s a good reason for that. High-quality human hair absorbs hair dye while sustaining minimal damage.

DO: Wash Your Extensions First

You should always give your hair extensions a thorough wash before applying any dyes or toners. You don’t want any outside dirt or products to interfere.

Always use a gentle sulfate-free shampoo when washing human hair extensions. When your extensions are nice and clean, allow them to air dry completely. Then you can apply your dye!

DON’T: Try This at Home Without Experience Your natural hair grows back over time. Your extensions do not.

If you’ve never used hair dye, it’s not a great idea to practice on your beautiful luxury extensions. Hair color can weaken the delicate strands over time, so every mistake will shorten the life of your extensions.

We always recommend bringing your extensions to a licensed beauty professional with experience working on extensions. They understand the science of mixing and applying color.

DO: Choose the Highest-Quality Extensions Possible

Finally, to achieve beautiful, shiny, saturated, colored hair extensions, start with the highest-quality human hair extensions available. We recommend 100% European Remy human hair, which is the shiniest virgin hair on the market.

Are you seeking stunning, hand-painted extensions or a canvas to color yourself? You’ll fall in love with the Remy extensions in The Lauren Ashtyn Collection. Browse our collection of clip-in halo extensions and upgrade your style.