My Experience with Hair Extensions...

I was inspired to do this post by my lovely blogger friend Victoria, she is ridiculously beautiful, i'm not even kidding! AND she has a fun blog Love, Victoria so go check her out!!! :D
Thanks girl!
SO! Some of you may know that I throw some extensions in from time to time. But most of you may not know that I have had hair extensions in-n-out for almost 6 years!!! I would go into detail about my whole "HAIR JOURNEY" but I already have in this post right... HERE :D 

Anywhosss

I wanted to go more into detail about my experience with hair extensions. I'm almost positive that I have tried about every way you can have hair extensions in you head lol. 

So the first technique of extension application I used was the

'sew-in'
All images via Google

 This is pretty much when they do a corn row braid horizontally to your head to sew on a weft to the braid. They also use this technique to sew in a weave but instead of braiding random areas of you head, they braid your whole head!... just for those who don't know lol.  But this was my first and took about 5 hours for it to be complete. If you have a sensitive head I would not recommend this because they are constantly tugging at your head for the braids to be tight enough. I was fine with it because my mom and aunt were always tuggin' at my hair when I was little lol. I believe it was around $400 dollars at a hair school (that's where I went) and i'm pretty sure they charge by hour. It always depends on where you go as well! Over all this is probably one of my favorite ways to have extensions in just because they are so much more secure to your head. The main problem I have with them is you have to get them tightened which is a long process of cutting out your extensions and re-braiding the braids. They also did the 'bead-in' or 'Fusion' technique around the front of my head just because it was so short (chin length") and it made the extensions look a more natural. They are a little bit different but serve the same purpose.

 Bead-in:

 is where they pull your natural hair through a bead, and place the hair extension strand into the bead and clamp down on the bead to make the extension secure to you head. Here's a pic of a feather extension bead-in.

Fusion:

This is when they take a strand of your natural hair, a strand of extension with fusion tips, and a hot tool to warm the glue at the tips of the hair extension, and clamp it together to form a bond. The pic above is an example of how it turns out to look like.  

Both seem quite simple but are extremely time consuming so there for cost a lot :/ They are also really high maintenance. For example, you need to use your conditioner sparingly with bead-ins because it can clog the beads which can cause your extension to fall out. And I think too much of the conditioner can loosen up the glue with fusion extensions. 

Glue-in's

This is when you apply bonding glue to the hair extension track and apply it to your scalp as close as you can. All though this looks very natural, no bumps or bulges, it can come with a very big mess. TAKE MY ADVISE with this one!! I started doing my own extensions with bonding glue after my sew-ins. I thought it would save money, which did but I had a big price to pay later :( I literally had huge globs of glue in my hair left over after putting them in and taking them out a few times. I eventually had to go to my friend that was a hair dresser, and she had to cut them out about 3... [put your thumb and index finger together], AROUND that size chunks out!!! It was horrifying! She forbid me to ever use the method again and was 150% for that idea after seeing chunks of my hair on the ground :( If you really want to go this route, I would def. recommend going to a professional, and get them removed from a professional so you don't have any mishaps like me...

My recent technique of hair extensions is very affordable and can DIY. 

Clip-in's

I have been using clips-ins on and off for about 2 years. They are really simple, all you need to do is tease your hair a little bit at the roots, where you are going to apply your clip-in, clip-in, then your done. Some pros are that they are easy to apply, easy to take out, and affordable. Some cons are that they are harder to wash because you can not leave them on your head when you wash, and they are not as secure as most extension methods to your head. At first I would buy packs of 'clip-in extensions' (clips already sewn on and cut) but later on found out you can sew the clips on your self for a cheaper price. So there on out I have just been sewing clips onto the wefts. If you know how to hand sew, it's really simple. Yeah it can be time consuming but I think it's a great way to save some $$$$$!!!

Where do I buy my hair extensions???

Now as far of brand of extensions I use, I have used only brands from Sally's. It's one of the only beauty stores around my area that have good extensions. I just don't like order extensions online because there's always that risk of not getting the right hair color to match your own hair. Yes you can always die them, but I prefer not to damage my brand new extensions. At Sally's they have color rings of most of the brands so you can see what hair color matches yours best. I usually buy the 'Satin Strands Premium 18 inch Human Hair Extensions'  They have been good to me. I feel like it comes with the right amount of hair to make your hair look full and real. When my hair was about chin length, I would use the full pack of this brand and people would hardly notice I had extensions. Now that my hair is longer, I only need half of the pack. 


How do I care for my extensions?
If you get your extensions done by a professional they usually give you a care guide to your hair extensions depending on what method you have. But no matter what kind of extensions I have had, I picked up some tips along the way.


1. Do not over wash you hair extensions. If you wash you extensions too much, they can become very dry and brittle. (I know, this is hard when you don't have clip-ins)


2. Don't under wash your hair! If you don't wash your extensions at all they build up with sweat and product and will look... nasty :S


3. Make sure you have the right brush to brush your extensions. To small of bristles (like a comb) can cause your to pull out too many strands of hairs off your extensions. A big brush with  bristles far apart from each other are great.


4. Brush your hair from the tips, up. 


5. If you have clip-ins, make sure to take them out every night and store then into a safe area like into a hair extension storage case or into a box. 


6. If your have any other method of hair extensions, then you need to make sure you tie your hair into a pony tail or braid at night to keep your hair into place. Also another tip I learned is to use a silk pillow case :)


How long to hair extensions last?
It always depends on how well you take care of them, and of course what brand of extensions you get. On average, mine usually last around 3-4 months. That is with washing, curling, and straitening. 
*Remember you you always get what you pay for*




I am not a certified cosmetologist, i'm just sharing my knowledge of what I have learned over the years using hair extensions. 


With and without extensions:

How do you girls feel about hair extensions???
Any tips?!?!
Lemme knoww! ;D