A move-up is the appointment every six to eight weeks where wefts come out, get re-tabbed and go back in higher up. It happens roughly seven to eight times a year, which makes it the number that decides what tape-ins actually cost. Time is what drives it, and the removal drives the time.
The install gets the attention and the move-up gets the money. Seven or eight of them a year against one install is not a close comparison, and it's the number that should decide whether tape-ins fit a budget.
What a move-up costs is mostly what it takes in time, so that is the thing to understand.
What happens, in order
- RemoveSolvent on both faces of every sandwich, rattail between the tabs, wefts off. Under 60 seconds a tab when the bond releases cleanly.
- Check the strandClean means straight on. Oily means a clarifying wash and a dry first.
- Clean the weft trackOld adhesive off, so a fresh tab has a flat surface.
- Re-tabNew tabs onto the cleaned wefts. One to two packs depending on density.
- Reinstall higherNew sections nearer the root, because the old ones have grown out.
- BlendA trim and a blend, because the natural hair has grown too.
The twenty minutes that decide the cost
Step two is the whole argument. If the remover left an oily film, the appointment stops for a clarifying wash, a rinse and a dry before anything can be re-tabbed. That is roughly twenty to thirty minutes inside every move-up, for the whole life of the install.
| Oil-free remover | Oil-based remover | |
|---|---|---|
| Clarifying wash needed | No | Yes |
| Extra time per move-up | None | Roughly 20 to 30 minutes |
| Over 8 move-ups a year | None | Several hours of chair time |
| Who pays for it | Nobody | Whoever is paying for the appointment |
For a stylist that is capacity. For a client it is either a longer appointment or a higher bill, depending on how the salon prices. Either way it is a real cost that never appears in a comparison of bottle prices.
What else moves the length
- Density. More sandwiches is more removals and more re-tabs, at both ends of the appointment.
- How cleanly the bonds release, which depends on the tape and the solvent being matched.
- Whether any bonds have matted at the root, which happens when an install goes well past its interval.
- Whether the wefts need replacing rather than re-tabbing.
- How much the natural hair has grown, which decides how much blending is needed.
Stretching the interval
It is tempting to go ten or twelve weeks instead of six to eight to save an appointment. It usually costs more than it saves. Grow-out means the bonds have travelled down the shaft, which puts them where they can tangle, and matting at the root is a cutting problem rather than a solvent one.
If money is the reason for stretching, the more useful conversation is fewer wefts rather than longer intervals. A lighter install at the right interval behaves. A full install left too long doesn't.
What we cannot tell you
We don't know what your salon charges for a move-up and we won't invent a range. Regions differ enormously.
The twenty-to-thirty minute figure for a clarifying wash is a working number from one salon, not a study. Your wash and dry may be quicker.
And if you are removing another brand's adhesive, the clean-release times on this page do not transfer. Those come from our tape with our remover.
What we sell for this
Close to this question
- Cost for tape-in extensions. Total cost of ownership across a full year, separating hair, labour and recurring consumables.
- Replacement tape for tape-in extensions. Frames tabs as the recurring consumable in a move-up cycle and works out the annual pack count.
- Adhesive remover for tape-in hair extensions. Runs the per-removal and per-appointment arithmetic openly so it can be checked and quoted.
- Tape-in extension refill. Works out reorder intervals for each consumable so someone can plan rather than run out mid-appointment.
- Move-up refill: tabs and remover. Compares the three purchase routes for the tabs-plus-remover combination and names the deciding question.
Questions we get asked
How often do tape-ins need a move-up?
Every six to eight weeks, which works out at roughly seven to eight appointments a year. Grow-out drives the schedule as much as adhesion does.
Why is a move-up sometimes longer than expected?
Usually a clarifying wash forced by an oil-based remover, or matting at the root from an install left past its interval.
Can I stretch it to twelve weeks?
You can, and it tends to cost more than it saves. Grow-out puts bonds where they tangle, and matting at the root is a cutting problem.
Do I need new tabs every move-up?
Yes. A pressure-sensitive adhesive bonds once. Wefts are reusable, tabs aren't.