Curls: How to Perm Extensions with Exhibit A Salon
Hey Stylists, looking for curly hair extensions? If you think you can’t use Great Lengths on your curly heads, think again! The trend of curls are back and if you have a curly haired beauty in need of extensions, this step-by-step guide will help you extend your skill set and your offering by giving you the know how to deliver lushes ringlets to your bouncy babes.
Extension Curl Expert
We interviewed Steve Candeliera, owner of Exhibit A Salon, on how to perm Great Lengths to match hair that wasn’t suitable for standard Great Lengths bonds and texture. He says that while perming your Great Lengths takes a little more time in the prep work, the outcomes are amazing and it gives extensionists a serious edge in the market.
We documented his amazing make over on actress Danielle Cormack and he talked us through the process.
A little disclaimer here if you’re a stylist interested in perming Great Lengths… While many stylists have great success with ‘after market modifications’ we just simply can’t test all products to ensure their compatibility with our hair. Choosing to perm your hair comes at your own risk and we strongly advise to run a test strand prior to application.
1. Curl Consultation For Extensions
In Steven’s consultation with Danielle she requested some length but also wanted to embrace her curls. Because Danielle, already had hair just passed her shoulders with quite big curls, Steven opted for 50cm strands which ended up curling up to about 40cm. Steven’s tip for stylists: expect a 20% reduction in length when perming the hair. Danielle’s hair is also a healthy density and 130 bonds were needed in order conceal the baseline.
2. Applying Extensions to Perm Rods
First, Steeven washed the extensions with Clarifying shampoo to remove any excess residue before perming. Then,with 130 perming rods all laid out, Steven began the process of individually wrapping the bonds around the smallest diameter perming rods. He chose the smallest so that the curls would initially by quite tight, but so that he would have control to let them ‘drop’ later on.With his trusty apprentice to help, this individual bond wrapping took a little less time, but Steven says to make sure to calculate this extra time into what you charge your client.
3. Applying Perm Solution
With the rods fully loaded they were laid out on a towel and Steven applied the normal hair perm solution which he let them sit for 25 minutes (the maximum time frame). He then placed them in a colander to rinse the perm off. Once they were clean, the extensions were laid them back on a towel and applied the neutraliser for 10 minutes.
“Normally, you would take them off the roller and neutralise again but I left them on the roller and neutralised them again for five minutes because I didn’t ‘want them to drop when they were wet.” said Steven.
4. Prepping the Curly Extensions
Once the extensions were neutralised they were placed back on the towel to air dry over night. The next day, they were unwound from the rods and placed on the hair extension trolley, perfectly spiralled in long gorgeous curls. (Steven advises that even if the curl looks too tight, don’t worry, you can loosen it up later anyway).
5. Prepping your Curly Haired Client on Application Day
In a typical Great Lengths application, a client will have their hair washed with Clarifying shampoo and then blow dried straight. Steven advises that with curls you follow the same protocol with washing with clarifying shampoo but make a couple tweaks to the rest of the prep work.
First, you’ll need to condition the ends a bit, being careful to keep the conditioner away from where the bonds will be placed. Curly hair will be too tangly to work through otherwise. Also, once washed, blow dry with a diffuser allowing curls to form. This is important so that you can properly assess where you will place them bonds and how you will later cut the hair to match the client’s natural hair.
6. Applying Permed Extensions to Curly Haired Clients
Working from the bottom up like you do with regular Great Lengths Extensions, you can begin to apply extensions. Steven noted that with Danielle, because he was brushing as he went, her hair got ‘bigger and bigger’. Don’t worry about this, you’ll wet it down after.
7. Cut and Style Curly Extensions
“After application I took Danielle back to the basin and wet down the hair. Then I gave it a good brush through and applied a curl cream and then slowly blended it out, shaping it around the front. I was quite conservative as I wanted to wait for her to come back to give her a more thorough cut.”
Steven then diffused and the hair looked beautiful, full of soft curls. One thing Danielle noted was that the extensions seemed a bit curlier than her own hair. Steven let her know these would settle over a week.
8. Final Visit
Just like regular Great Lengths wearers, a follow up appointment gives the stylist time to assess how they are settling and give a trim and blow dry to get them absolutely perfect. Danielle’s hair was reshaped with a little more weight taken out of the bottom and the curls has dropped ever so slightly. The match was perfect.
To see more of Steven’s work at Exhibit A salon, watch him on insta at: instagram.com/exhibitahairsalon
