Before you hit the pool, beach, or trail this summer….

Before you hit the pool, beach, or the trail-we need to check your bag for the worst offender of extension ruin…your sunscreen.

Personal care products are, well, personal. While I hate telling you what you can and can’t use, unfortunately if you have hair extensions, this time I have to.

There are two different kinds of sunscreen on the market: Chemical and Mineral.

Chemical sunscreen is NOT extension safe. The active ingredients avobenzone and/or oxybenzone turn extensions pink and orange, and can cause your extensions to become very dry and even completely ruined.

Mineral sunscreen IS extension safe. The active ingredients in mineral sunscreen are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. These ingredients do not affect extensions. Unfortunately the down side is it has more of a white cast.

Most of the sunscreen on the shelf is chemical sunscreen. I have found Ulta snd some* Targets to have a variety of both mineral and chemical sunscreens. I do typically have better luck at Ulta, they have a wider range. I’ve been in some targets that have 3-4 mineral sunscreen options, and some that only have one so it’s really hit or miss.

You can opt to use mineral sunscreen anywhere your hair might touch like your face, neck, arms, shoulders, chest, and even back and belly depending on length of your hair, and chemical sunscreen on the rest of your body, if you desire. That being said, even spray chemical sunscreen particles can find their way to your hair and potentially affect it as well.

Ok ok but what if you do mix up your sunscreen or have to use chemical sunscreen in a pinch and now your hair extensions are pink/orange? are you just SOL and have to invest in new hair…again?!

Not necessarily.

Some have had luck with various Malibu treatments like Malibu CPR or Malibu Crystal gel.

Theres also a DIY concoction of lemon juice and a clear seltzer (like LaCroix) that you let sit for 10-15 minutes. (You’re definitely going to want to do a nice moisturizing hair mask after).

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Talk to your stylist before doing anything. I guess if googling “hair extensions turned orange” or “how to fix pink hair extensions” landed you here…I hope this helps. Just note, this is not professional advice as much as it is things I’ve heard* that work sometimes*.

As always, reach out if you need anything and let me know what you want next!

Talk to you soon,

Alex ❤️