Hair Extensions

When looking through magazines and watching celebrities, one can easily say long hairstyles are back. So if you have short hair now and you really want long hair, Its going to take some time. Human hair grows about a half inch per month, so if your hair is just around ear level, it would take you almost 2 years to grow it out. Who wants to wait that long? The beauty industry recognized this demand for instant long natural looking hair and started producing human hair extensions.

So where do you start if you are thinking of getting hair extensions? You have to look at the different types of hair used for hair extensions, the different types of attachment methods, maintenance schedules and of course the cost.

There are a lot of different types of hair that are used for hair extensions. There is human hair and synthetic hair. Synthetic hair is used to add the high fashion colors, such as pinks and blues. If your looking for something more natural and realistic you should probably go with human hair. Human hair comes in many different textures and grades. The human hair must be healthy and strong to produce extensions that will last and wear without tangling or drying. European human hair is well known as quality human hair used for extensions.

There are three basic techniques used to attach hair. They are fusion, weaving and bonding.

Fusion

is a process done strand by strand in small sections using heated adhesive sticks or glue specifically made for hair extensions. Extension hair is added directly to your own hair. Hair is attached about a quarter inch from your scalp and looks totally natural. No one can visually see that you have hair extensions.

Weaving

is where a corn row or track is created around the head and close to the scalp. Extension hair is sewn on the tracks. Your own hair lies over the tracks for a natural look.

Bonding

is when bonding glue is applied onto the weft of the extension hair and then applied at the root of your hair. A weft is horizontal hair strands attached together at the top of vertically flowing hair strands. Wefts can be machine made or handmade.

There are some disadvantages to each method. Sometimes if the hair extension application method is not done properly, the hair extensions will fall out or cause damage to your natural hair. Also, with additional pressure to your scalp from the weight of the heavy extensions, there could be some thinning of your natural hair and possibly headaches as you adapt to the new weight. There have been some reports of allergies with the chemicals that are used. You should discuss these issues thoroughly with your hair stylist so that there are no surprises.

After you have your hair extensions, you will need to schedule maintenance visits to check your extensions. How often you need to go back will depend on the type of hair and the method used. As your hair grows out, some of the hair extensions will need to be removed and replaced or touched up.

On a daily basis you should treat your human hair extensions as you would long hair. Brush, shampoo and condition your hair as normal. Some hair stylists will recommend specific high quality hair care products to use with your extensions. You can also use hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons on most types of human hair extensions. Color treatments can be done on the hair extensions, but you should consult with your hair stylist before considering this.

One downside to hair extensions is that they can be really expensive. To get good hair extensions on your whole head, you will need quality human hair, an experienced hair stylist, at least one assistant and about 6-8 hours of time. The price can range from $150-$2000 depending on what you are having done. If you just want spruce up that old style and not spend a bundle you could try just adding a few highlights or lowlight hair extensions which would cost less as the time and amount of hair needed is less.