If you have Type 4 hair and have worn a traditional or versatile sew-in you know how challenging keeping your natural hair blended with your extensions can be.Then after you get it blended there's the most challenging part: keeping it blended without experiencing heat damage. Heat damage that is visible through dryness, split, fried ends, loss of your curl pattern and ultimately breakage. One of the reasons many opt for a sew-in service is to protect their hair, so it would really suck to get heat damage with your install. So getting an install and causing heat damage greatly defeats the purpose.
Type 4 hair is known to be dry, frizzy, brittle and just down right unruly at times. So to start it is important to shampoo and condition with moisturizing products and after that be sure to prep wet hair before blow drying with products that cut frizz, smooth the hair and protect it from heat damage. Now that that is out of the way The number 1 thing you can do to prevent this is to cut back on heat styling. I know this can be very difficult, trust me, but it can be done. To cut back I recommend using heat stylers such as flatirons once per week on your natural hair. When you use the flat iron use a wax stick to coat your leave out then use the flatiron. Wax sticks are great for controlling flyaways as well as a great pressing agent. They are heavier than a serum so the hair will not revert back as quickly as if you used a serum. Serums are great for your extensions but on your natural hair they may be too light to control type 4 hair.
For your flatiron temperature, I will not tell you what setting to put it on because everyone's hair is a little different and there are so many variables to take into consideration. For example how much wax is put on, how big the sections are that are taken, how fast the flat iron is passed through the hair etc. What I will say is start with a lower setting and work your way up to the temperature that seems to give you the results you want and always be realistic with what your hair can and cannot do.
When showering be sure to wear a scarf, plastic bag, yes I said plastic bag or some sort of barrier under your shower cap. At night sleep with a silk bonnet or silk scarf to keep your hair’s cuticle smooth flat and keep the hair tamed or trained in the flat position.
Workouts can also cause further challenges in keeping your natural hair blended. For workouts use a bandana/ scarf to keep your natural hair down or a baseball cap.
For my curly install wearers 2 strand twist at night with your natural hair incorporating some of your extensions works wonders and produces beautiful wave/curl patterns.
For hair that is slightly mismatched in color, dull or have visible split ends a trim is recommended and Redken Shades Eq gloss treatment prior to install. It will give the hair a shiny healthy look and feel which makes blending a lot easier.You will not feel the need to put as much heat on your hair to get a blended result.
Hope these tips help and good luck on your next install!