What to do with old weft hair from sew in hair extensions?

Did you once wear sew-in weft hair extensions, and now you are not wearing them? I am often asked what to do with them so that they are not wasted. There are several options, you can create a different method of hair extensions that is more appropriate for your hair, or you can create temporary hair extensions that can be taken on and off. Pre-bonded hair extensions, from the manufacturer, are stronger than this option. Some of these options are great for DIY crafty people, or you may want a salon to transform your hair wefts. The options below include instructions as to how to create your own hair extensions, please do not throw your precious hair away!

Option 1 (Semi-Permanent Solution)

Create Individual Keratin Bonded Hair Extensions

Perhaps the beaded sew-in weft hair extensions were too heavy for your hair, you can transform them into individual keratin-bonded hair extensions! Individual strands are super comfortable, and can easily be hidden within the hair. What's even better is they last up to five months with little to no maintenance. You may need your stylist for this one!

1) On a clean surface, lay down plastic wrap in 2 rows. Place your hair weft (1 row) at a time on the plastic wrap in a straight line.

2) Secure the weft (just below the sewn portion) with wide clear tape, Carefully cut off the top (sewn) portion of the weft. Sprinkle Keratin hair extension powder approximately 3/4" from the top of the hair.

3) Use an old flat iron or a hair extension iron to melt the powder into all layers of the weft at 350 degrees. A hair extension iron can be purchased on Amazon, or an old flat iron will work fine. Melt the area from left to right using the tips of the iron(s).

4) Once the keratin powder is melted along the weft, you can now cut the top horizontally, and then cut the weft into 1 cm or .39 inch vertical sections. You have now created keratin-tipped hair extensions that can be purged into your own hair, in a strand-by-strand fashion.

Option 2 (Temporary Hair Extensions) 

Create your own Halo Hair Extensions If you can sew a few stitches this will be easy for you!

1) Lay out your hair wefts in multi-layers. You may have to stack all the hair wefts on top of one another. remove any old threads, and stitch the top of the hair wefts across the top with complimentary thread color. This will secure all the wefts together.

3) Take the two ends of the wefts, and measure the fishline to the round of your head. You can purchase fishline on amazon, or purchase pre-cut fishline especially made for halo hair extensions.

4) Sew the fishline to each end of the hair weft, and carefully place the halo beneath the top of your hair, just below the crown.  

5) If you have to adjust the size, remove one side of the fishline to make the halo smaller, or re-sew the new fishline to the two ends of the hair extensions.

Option 3 (Temporary Clip-in Hair Extensions)

Make your own clip-in hair extensions in one long track, or divide them into sections.

1) Separate all wefts, you can use a seam ripper, or a small pair of scissors to carefully cut them apart. Be careful not to cut the track, especially if they are hand-tied hair extensions.

2) With a fabric tape measure, measure from behind your ears from left to right, then measure from the back of your ear to the two inches away from your front hairline. 

3) Once you have the measurements, you can stack one, two, or possibly three wefts on top of each other. This will be your main clip-in section which is the measurement from behind your ears. Sew them all together at the top of the weft.

4) Stack the hair wefts (2 or 3 rows) for the side of the head. You can also fold the wefts to the measurement from the back of the ear to two inches away from your front hairline.  Sew the extensions together at the top of the weft.

5) For the larger section, sew 4 to 5 flexible clips to the top of the hair wefts, and then sew 2 to 3 flexible clips for each side of your head.

6) The flexible comb clips easily clip into your own hair, now you have clip-in hair extensions!

Option 4 (Semi-permanent hair extensions)

Tape In Hair Extension Button Clips 

The hair extensions button clips will last in the hair for up to one month, with no glue or tape. You can apply them yourself, or have your hair extension salon apply them for you. You can make them at home, or ask your salon to transform your hair wefts into this cool hair extension technique. You may have to search the internet using the term; "tape in hair extension button clips." Button clips snap into your natural hair.

1) The button clip is approximately two inches wide and will support two layers of hair wefts. You may have to take apart your old wefts, and stack 2 on top of each other. Secure the weft with wide clear tape below the track.

2) Using an adhesive called Bond-A-Weave (see link below) place glue carefully across the entire button clip, and quickly adhere to your hair wefts, just below the track.  

2) Be sure to use enough adhesive to connect all rows of your old hair wefts.

3) Glue the button clips, across the top of the hair weft, just below the track. Be sure to keep them level. Be sure to leave space for cutting in between the button clips.

4) Allow to dry for approximately an half hour, using sharp scissors, cut across the top of the button clip, and then cut in horizontal sections.

5) Be sure to use clean sections, and cut away stray hair.

6) I suggest having a professional hair extension expert apply these for you to avoid traction.

These hair extension snap on and off but will last for a month or so. It is important that they are applied in clean sections to avoid pulling on natural hair.

If you are ambitious, you will be able to make your own hair extensions with your old hair wefts. You can also purchase hair wefts, and create different types of hair extensions using the instructions above. It is much easier to create a halo or clip-in hair extensions, but if you need advice on keratin bond individual strands or button clips that snap on, leave a comment below.  

 Hair Extensions Background

At Noelle Salon, they evaluate your natural hair, and listen to the client's wishes on styling, color match, and look. They use human hair extensions like 100% Remy human hair, or Virgin Hair (unlike Bellami hair). Hair extensions can be used for short hair or 24 inches of a full head of hair, and they have worked with different methods like tape-in extensions, clip-in hair extensions, Keratin and enjoy using the Veila Pull-thru method with the Veila Hair Extensions for ease of hair care. Styling can vary from flat iron, natural curl, or curly hair. Whether you are looking for a change of style or look for a day such as a Clip-in ponytail, having a high-quality ponytail extension can mix it up for you. Your natural hair journey with your hair growth can be enhanced with Hair extensions when protective styling is applied, and regular maintenance is used. You can change your hair in one day - feel free to reach out and explore the possibilities.