February 12, 2013

Hair Extensions

hair extensions
(dont judge my no makeup look, its fine)

lets get serious here..
some of us just aren't born with naturally perfect hair,
& sometimes we need a little help.
i'm not ashamed 
i could seriously write a book on hair extensions. i swear i have tried EVERY single kind there is. 
so here is my low down on them.
this is my NATURAL hair, no extensions whatsoever.(dont judge my nasty hair color under there)
notice how thin it is midshaft(middle area) to ends?
well thats due to a razor. NEVER let anyone who doesn't know how to use a razor cut your hair. 
i'm serious. its dangerous. my hair has never been the same since. 
i have naturally VERY course & curly hair. lions mane, i tell ya. 
so its been pretty difficult to find good extensions that are thick enough to match up with my natural hair. so i've been around the block with trying different kinds of hair. so i've ended up finding a good brand & making my own little weft. 
so to make mine thick enough i had to combine 4 wefts into one clip, mainly just to make it easier to put in & out rather than taking the time to put each one in individually, but it all depends on your hair. i'm all about short cuts when the end product rocks. 
i actually put the 4 on top of each other like in the picture & literally sewed them together. 
with a sewing machine. those babies aren't coming apart. 
then i just hand sewed 3 clips to the top row. i found the clips at sallys beauty supply. they also sell thick thread there thats for sewing in hair extensions that i use to hand tie the clips on. i put the weft about 2 inches above my ear like this.
obviously i layered them in with my natural to give more volume and layers. you cant really tell right now because i need to get my roots done bad! arg, i swear i was born blonde, but someone forgot to tell my hair that. but i dye the top of my hair extension weft about 2 shades darker than the ends that way it looks more natural as my hair grows out & not bright blonde. 
and this is the end result. obviously i need to style it more but it just blends in so much better. if you just want to add a little volume & not very much length, i recommend clip ins for sure. Its so much easier to just take them out & put them in wherever you feel that you need the volume/length. Sometimes i'll put in a few clips ins on the side of my hair also if i feel i need it. 
if your goal is to get more length i would recommend skin wefts, they have a strip of tape on my side & you attach it as close as you can to your scalp with a line piece of your natural hair then put another on facing down on top of it & kinda sandwich your natural hair. its not heavy on your natural hair, i believe it is the safest way to go with minimal if ANY hair loss. they are super easy to remove & they are only about two inches long so you can place them in the direction of your natural hair flow. so they dont just like stringy. 
second option would be mirco-beading, they are pretty time consuming to put in & you end up having to put a ton in if your looking for length. plus if they aren't done correctly, you will end up losing quite a bit of natural hair. so be careful! & stay away from GLUE hair extensions!!! yikes! 
tips:
- always put your hair in a braid at night if you have permanent extensions.
-if you do swimming, ALWAYS put leave-in conditioner in first 
-try not to use liquid shampoo on them because it strips the natural oils they have when you first get them, out, obviously they arent attached to your scalp so they dont get those oils like our natural hair does.  
-try not to wash them everyday, sometimes i go 2-3 times without washing my hair & just use a dry shampoo. but if you have oily hair & need to wash you can just try not to use a shampoo that lathered a lot. they tend to strip the hair more. 
-DEEP condition! if you have permanent extensions dont get the conditioner near the scalp, start 3 or so inches down to ends.
-at first its hard not to cut them up a lot to make them blend esp at the ends. but try not to, go to someone who has been trained and certified in extensions to get them cut. no matter how thick they are when you get them, the ends will always get thinner with time so be care with how much you decide to cut off the ends. 
-try to air dry them at least 30 percent then ALWAYS blow dry them in a downward direction. the cuticle on the hair needs to be smoothed down. once it is pushed up, thats where the matting starts and the tangles! 
-never go to bed with wet hair! try to at least dry them as much as you can.
-use a soft bristle brush and always start at the ends of your hair and work your way up when brushing.
bed head rockaholic dirty secret dry shampoo 
find it here
knot genie in fairy pink brush 
find it here
pureology hydrate shampoo and conditioner (the best for hair extensions!!! so worth it)
find it here

xoxo






2 comments:

  1. glamourweave.com is a global supplier of high quality human hair extensions. We have only the highest quality curly virgin indian hair extensions at best prices. Log on to our website now. glamourweave.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hair extensions were honestly a life saver for me. I was extremely self conscious about how my hair looked, but I discovered hair extensions and my life hasn't been the same since.

    ReplyDelete