Tangling at the nape
Localised matting at the nape is almost always friction and aftercare — collars, seatbelts, sleeping wet, no nightly braid. Whole-length tangling that starts within the first few washes is a hair problem: it points to hair that was not directionally aligned and was held together by a coating that has now washed off.
Script: 'Let me look at where it's happening before we change anything. Tangling at one point usually means friction; tangling everywhere means we need to look at the hair itself, and I'll handle that with my supplier.'
Shedding from the weft or bond
Some shed is normal on any install. Continuous shed from a Genius Weft usually means the seam was cut and sealed poorly, or the weft was over-tensioned during the row. Shed from K-Tips points to bond size, heat setting or a bond being taken into the shampoo far too soon.
Weigh what has been lost if you can. A quantified complaint is a resolvable complaint; 'it's shedding a lot' is not.
Dryness and a straw texture after a few weeks
Extension hair has no scalp oil supply, so it dries faster than the client's own hair by design. But hair that turns brittle unusually early is the classic signature of a cuticle that was stripped and replaced with silicone. Once the coating washes off, the hair has nothing left.
This is the failure that a ten-wash test would have caught before the install. Run it on every new supplier before you put their hair on a paying client.
Shade drift and brassiness
Water chemistry, sun, purple shampoo overuse and the client's own home colour all move a shade. Note which is likely before assuming the batch was wrong. Genuine batch drift shows up as a mismatch straight out of the packet against your reference swatch — not eight weeks later.
Keep your reference swatch and your lot number. With both, a reorder can be matched to what the client originally approved.
What to say, and when to give money back
Acknowledge, inspect in person, name the cause plainly, and state what you will do. Never diagnose over text. Never refund before you have seen the hair, and never argue with a client who has already decided — replace the hair, keep the relationship, and take the evidence to your supplier.
A supplier who will not look at a documented failure is telling you what your next season will look like. That is a supply decision, not a client problem.
Protect yourself with a written policy
Aftercare instructions, home-care products, wash frequency, heat limits, and the maintenance schedule — signed at the first install. Most disputes end quickly when both parties can point to the same sheet.
State clearly what is covered: manufacturing failure, yes; damage from home bleaching, chlorine, or missed move-ups, no.
Buyer Questions
How do I prove the hair was at fault?
Photograph the hair dry and wet, note when the issue began, weigh any shed, and keep the lot reference from the packet. That package is enough for any serious manufacturer to act on.
Should I offer a refund or a replacement?
Replacement first — it keeps the client in your chair and keeps the labour revenue. Refund only when the relationship cannot be saved.
How can I prevent most complaints?
Test new hair for ten washes, match shades on a physical swatch in daylight, and put aftercare in writing before the first install.