Hi ladies! I have had tons of questions about the extensions I got a few weeks ago. If you are reading this I suggest you STOP right now, go get a glass of wine or hot tea if you are not a drinker and find a comfy spot to relax. This might be a long post and I have no idea what is about to pour out of me on the page ahead. What I do know is that it will be honest, raw and maybe somewhat absurd. But, it is what it is...
Thankfully, over the past five years extensions and weaves have gained so much popularity. There are certain groups of women or types of women out there who will judge, but those are the types of women who will judge you no matter what you do because they are just not happy and will never be happy. I feel bad for those women. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my thick luxurious hair.
I had really long hair as a kid and long hair in high school. I would wake up every morning in high school and hot roll my hair. I hot rolled my hair because I'm from a small town where big hair was popular, but also because when I hot rolled or curled my hair it would look thicker. I have always had an okay amount of hair, but my hair is fine. There is a difference in having fine hair and thin hair. You can have lots of hair, but it might be fine so it may look somewhat stringy if it gets too long or you may have a thin ponytail. Exhibit A, pictured below is a picture taken of me during my senior year of high school. That was all my real hair. You can fake long hair, but you cannot fake those horrible bangs. (LOL). We all have regrets. Yes, this picture was on the front page of a newspaper and after I saw my hair in that newspaper, I knew I needed to find a new hair style. When I went to college I cut my hair a little and started wearing it straight. By my senior year of college my hair was shoulder length.
I like having short hair and some people have told me they like my short hair the best. I really appreciate that because at least I know I have some options. Options are always good. I am turning 40 soon and I might be having somewhat of a mid-life crisis. Some people go out and get a tattoo, but I went out and got some hair. All throughout my 30's I tried to grow my hair back out to the same length it was in high school. The problem is that when it got to a certain length it would stop growing and if it did grow longer, it would look stringy and be difficult to style. Since doing some research and studying women who seem to have long thick hair and are over the age of 30-35, I have realized that more people than you think have hair extensions. Some women are still genetically blessed to have thick long hair when they are older, but it seems to be a smaller part of the population. I have friends who have not colored, permed or cut their hair and they all still say as adults their hair has thinned. I'm guessing female hormones have something to do with it, but I am not a doctor.
I have been thinking about extensions for a long time, but I was afraid to get them because I was not sure if they would greatly damage my hair. They are also a financial investment. I have a friend who is a hair stylist and she got tape-ins last year and said good things about them. After lots of research it appears that Tape-Ins and Natural Beaded Row Extensions are the least damaging to your hair and both can be used on fine or thin hair. If you have fine or thin hair you have to be careful to use the correct type of extensions because your hair can be easily damaged. You can also see the extensions more easily in fine or thin hair. I discovered there are so many articles, blogs and advertisements about extensions, it is overwhelming. The information can also be conflicting. The problem is many bloggers are blogging about the extensions because they got them for free or at a discount in return for the post, it is a hair company trying to sell their product or it is written by someone who had a bad experience because they did not have a professional install or take out their extensions properly.
In researching, I started talking to my hair stylist friend and started messaging bloggers on Instagram lots of questions. Being the paranoid lawyer that I am, I also researched class action lawsuits on hair extensions. Yes, I went down lots of rabbit holes. As I stated above, it seems there are only two types of extensions that are non-damaging to the hair. Those types are Tape-Ins and Hand Tied Natural Beaded Row (NBR). The NBR extensions are nice, but somewhat of an investment. I finally decided to take the leap and get tape-in extensions. If I had not trusted my girlfriend so much I probably would have never tried tape-ins. I know that she knows my hair, was very honest and her hair is also very similar to mine so she could share her personal experience with me. If you are interested in following her or have a hair question you can check her out on Instagram as @lauraleighpar and I post stories sometimes about how I have styled my extensions @shopwithJodi
Tape-Ins will run you anywhere around $400.00-$500.00 depending on how much hair you need and what your stylist charges. The other forms of extensions are around $1,000.00 to $1,500.00. Hence, if you are thinking about extensions, but do not want a big financial investment I would suggest you go with the tape-ins first. The up-front cost is more with all extensions because you have to buy the hair. Make sure you buy real remy hair, do not skimp on the price in buying your hair. You will want to buy the remy hair because the hair cuticles are still intact. Whether you get tape-in extensions or another type of extensions, so long as you get remy hair, they will last for 9-12 months. The durability also depends on how much you style the hair and how well you care for the hair. After the initial install, you will need to have the hair moved up every 6-8 weeks depending on how fast your hair grows. The charge to move the extension hair up is anywhere from $100.00 to $175.00 depending on your stylist, the type of extensions, how many you have and your geographical region/what salons charge in your city.
Here are my before and after pictures:
I did not want mine to be super long. In the middle picture of the top row you can see the length before we cut them. I also had my stylist add layers. If you like to wear your hair straight most of the time I would not suggest adding lots of layers because they can tend to make the hair look choppy when straight. On the other hand, if you want to mainly wear your hair wavy or curly, I love the layers. The layers look so pretty curled and also help to hold the curl better. When I get new hair I think I will have it layered a little less, maybe just around the face so I can wear is straight more easily.
THE PROS
It has been four weeks since I first got the extensions. I wanted to wait to post this blog so I could give a full review. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to them, but I can honestly say that I have drank the kool-aid. It sounds weird, but the fake hair is actually so much better than real hair in so many ways.
It styles better and the style holds longer without hairspray! That is major! I will literally wash my hair, let it air dry and do nothing else to it, but blow dry my side bangs. I can wear it wavy the day of the initial wash. The extensions seem to have some natural waves and my own hair is naturally wavy. I also think after a few days the extension hair takes on the texture of your natural hair. Crazy, huh?! Thereafter, I will go a few more days without washing it and just style it once. This is nice because it makes the hair low maintenance in some aspect. You can wash it just the same as you do real hair, but wash around the tape that is close to your scalp. You can let them air dry or dry them with a hair dryer and style as usual.
When you brush or style your hair be careful and do not style it from the roots. You have to hold your hair at the roots and brush from the bottom up instead of the top down. It takes a minute to get used to, but it really isn't a big deal. You can feel the extensions in your hair at first, but by now (the fourth week) I do not even feel or notice them. The tape lays so flat they also do not hurt your head or make it uncomfortable to sleep at night. If you get highlights or lowlights, the extensions are also nice because you can use them to add dimension to your hair color without using damaging chemicals. Want blonde hightlights? Forget the bleach, just add a few extensions and you can cut them the same length of your real hair.
THE CONS
The hair is already dead because it is not attached to your scalp. Hence, it has a tendency to get dry and frizzy. It can also get tangled very easily. I think long hair in general tangles, but the extensions seem to be even worse. If you have tape-ins unlike with other types of extensions you cannot wear the hair up high off your neck or the extensions will show. You can do a low ponytail or maybe a low bun, but not a high pony tail. If you sweat from your head when you work out, like me, having so much hair can also be annoying.
After the first week of dealing with these issues I started remembering why I cut my real hair in the first place. It is crucial to keep the hair conditioned, but you have to be very careful about using any products on your roots because it could make the tape not last as long. Also, after you initially get tape-ins you cannot wash your hair for 72 hours to make sure the tape sets well on the hair. With other types of extensions you can wash your hair the day after you get the extensions done.
If you have very fine or thin hair you need to make sure to go to a stylist who really knows what they are doing because placement of the extensions is key. If the placement is not right, the extensions can show. I had to go back and get a couple of them taken out because I realized that I have a cow lick in the back of my head where one extension always showed. I have also noticed that when the wind is blowing harsh they can tend to show and seem to show a little if you let your roots get super greasy. (The sign to wash your hair!)
It is also crucial to have a professional remove the extensions. If the proper removal solution is not used and they are not removed in a very gentle manor you can easily have breakage and damage to your real hair from the adhesive on the tape-ins.
FINAL THOUGHT
All in all, I can honestly say getting hair extensions has been a positive experience and I would do it again. Technology is so great! We can now change our hair from short to long depending on the season. Some women are shy about letting people know they have extensions, but I don't care. We all know that Dolly Parton's hair is fake and she wears wigs, but that doesn't make her any less fabulous.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to message me with ANY questions. I am happy to keep your extensions confidential and answer questions or find you a referral source. I am also listing some Instagram accounts below of a few hair companies that sell remy hair, are reputable and have great pics.
You have thoroughly covered all the bases. Anyone considering extensions should read this.