Thread: Could someone please explain hair extensions?

I would love some clip in hair extensions, but I do not understand how they work! And, I really don't get how I would know what length to get... Or where to get 'em from where I could afford them. Anyone?

do you have a stylist in town who does extensions? I would recommend going in and seeing some in person so you can decide if you prefer synthetic or real human hair. Someone who 'installs' the extensions should be able to show you samples and prices, and give you the ins and outs of permanent versus temp clip ins. They are sold in various lengths but generally have to be clipped in so that your stylist can trim them so they blend with the rest of your hair.

I've never dyed the synthetic ones but have had good success with henna and dye on the natural hair.

I had some human hair ones 'sewn in' to tiny braids. The installation hurt like hell and just wearing them gave me a headache. I had them taken out but i kept the extensions since they are good quality, and I bought tiny clip combs to sew in.

But seriously with a baby and a tight schedule I hardly wear them :) Maybe once we move back to civilization and i'm dancing again

Go for it, !!!

ps i ended up buying three full length wefts (the kind that are supposed to go around your head) 18 inch long human hair for about $300. I also bought a pack of fill in one and two piece wefts off ebay but dont remember the price..the one and two inch pieces are nice when you want a ponytail or up-do and have some long pieces around your face (or like i did and dye some bright blue and wear them that way :)

Take it from a sistah whos been weavin it up since she was like 13... Clip ins are probably the best thing that ever happened. Ever.

Heres how they work. You get hair thats on whats called a weft. It looks something like this: http://www.beautyink.com/detail.asp?product_sysno={5D99134E-8CA3-490B-8061-5714CCA3D0A5}&section=ha

You part your hair horizontally (ear to ear) starting from the back of your nape, to the middle top of your head (crown) and measure the length of the part with a piece of the weft of hair. You then clip the weft to match the length of the part. (make sure you leave out a tuft of hair at the top to cover the weave. and dont bring the parts all the way out to your face to make sure you can cpver them)

Rinse. Repeat. Until you have gotten to the middle top of your head. You should have like 6-8 of these strips depending on how far apart you spaced the parts. Make sure to lay them down in the order that you measured them or else you will forget which one goes where later.

Take 2-3 wig clips that look like this: Buy Lace Wig Clips, Toupee Clips, Hairpiece Clips Online. and sew them onto the cut weft. two on each end and one or two in the middle (depending on how long the strip is, some strips will only need two some may need four)

Re part your hair beginning with the nape of your neck again. Begin placing the combs into your hair (as close to your scalp as you can get them) and snap them shut.

comb the tuft of hair down and blend it with the hair, and voila. 12-18 more inches of hair.

Once youve done all the initial sewing and stuff, the whole process of putting them in and styling should take you about 15 mins.

Heres a video if Ive confused you at all with my blabber: She uses glue which I dont recommend. But the principal is the same.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3ENNw1VB4]YouTube - how to make clip in color hair extensions[/ame]

I bought my human hair clip in extensions from Sally Beauty Supply. I love them!

the human hair ones often come from people who sold their hair for a mere pittance out of poverty, or were forced to do so by their family. i saw a gruelling tv documentary.

hurray for synthetics.

Originally Posted by Amber_moon

Take it from a sistah whos been weavin it up since she was like 13... Clip ins are probably the best thing that ever happened. Ever.

I've seen these premade for sale on Ebay and have been very, very tempted.

Originally Posted by artemisia_danst

the human hair ones often come from people who sold their hair for a mere pittance out of poverty, or were forced to do so by their family. i saw a gruelling tv documentary.

hurray for synthetics.

I never understood this... Why would you NOT pay money for something because it came from a poor person? The person got paid for something they were willing to sell. Selling their hair may have allowed them to eat in a society that didn't give them an education so they could get a job... So why would you NOT support an industry that gives people an avenue to make money.

If it wasn't their hair, they would sell something else. I guess I'm not seeing the sense in NOT paying for something that gives someone else money.

I find it baffling that people support Locks of Love still even after it was revealed that they LIE and TRICK people into donating hair by tellign them its going to cancer surviving children... and then turn around and sell 70% of the hair they receive for free to hair weaving companies for a profit. But... they wont buy Indian Remy because it comes from poor people who maybe fed their family with the money.

Amber, I would buy a doll and cut off its hair before I would contribute to a rotton company like Locks of Love.

I personally am a big fan of the half wig. I've never tried hair clip extentions. I will have to give them a try. I like the half wig because it's easy to use and if you get the right texture and color, people will not know it's not your hair. You can either part the front section of hair and leave it out to blend with the half wig, or if you get a half wig with a draw string in the back, you can pull your own hair back into a ponytail, then put the wig on over that to pull off a pony look like I am doing in the last photo.

Whatever look you are going for will determine what kind of hair piece you will get or whether you want something to just throw on for shows or if you want something for every day wear that you don't have to take on and off. It depends on your preference.

My own hair is very nice but not nearly as long. I tyically only wear this piece for performances, but since I love the way I look in it, I may start wearing it every day. :-)

I think longer hair flatters me much better.

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I don't understand how you all are hiding the wefts from being seen in your hair? I had some clip in extensions and whenever I would move or the wind blew you could see the weft against my scalp. Maybe it is because my real hair is so thin and fine?

Originally Posted by stardancer

I don't understand how you all are hiding the wefts from being seen in your hair? I had some clip in extensions and whenever I would move or the wind blew you could see the weft against my scalp. Maybe it is because my real hair is so thin and fine?

perhaps, because you brought the wefts too close to your face where the hair is naturally thinner. You need to stop the weft about an inch and a half from your hair line all the way around, and leave about a fist sized patch of hair (more if your hair is thinner) at the crown of your head.

Also, its all about location location location. You need to play around with them to make sure you get them in JUST the right spot so that you can still style the natrual hair (i.e. part it, curl it, tease it) so that the wefts don't show.

Originally Posted by saheli

I personally am a big fan of the half wig. I've never tried hair clip extentions. I will have to give them a try. I like the half wig because it's easy to use and if you get the right texture and color, people will not know it's not your hair. You can either part the front section of hair and leave it out to blend with the half wig, or if you get a half wig with a draw string in the back, you can pull your own hair back into a ponytail, then put the wig on over that to pull off a pony look like I am doing in the last photo.

Whatever look you are going for will determine what kind of hair piece you will get or whether you want something to just throw on for shows or if you want something for every day wear that you don't have to take on and off. It depends on your preference.

My own hair is very nice but not nearly as long. I typically only wear this piece for performances, but since I love the way I look in it, I may start wearing it every day. :-)

Nice pics! Personally, I'm not a fan of the half wig, simply because I cant part my hair naturally, and the hair ALWAYS has to go to the back.If you cant see scalp... to me it doesn't look natural. Thats why I prefer the track method.

The nice thing about Half wigs however, is that its a LOT less time consuming!

Originally Posted by Amber_moon

I find it baffling that people support Locks of Love still even after it was revealed that they LIE and TRICK people into donating hair by tellign them its going to cancer surviving children... and then turn around and sell 70% of the hair they receive for free to hair weaving companies for a profit.

what? I never heard that before -- is it true? that would be terrible! because one of my friends just spent a whole YEAR growing out her hair to donate for what is supposed to be a good cause!

the reasons

- because of the inhumane working conditions in the factories where the hair gets sorted.

- because western customers pay 100nds of dollars for something that has been sold for mere dollars in desperation. same reason i buy fair trade coffee i guess, cause you know the farmers got a decent, not a starvation wage.

the hair extension industry is an exploitation industry.

anyway, not trying to preach here, it just doesnt feel right to me personally.. so i'm not having any ;-)

Originally Posted by lotus

what? I never heard that before -- is it true? that would be terrible! because one of my friends just spent a whole YEAR growing out her hair to donate for what is supposed to be a good cause!

Yes its very very true.

Bad Hair Day: Locks of Love is a Scam The website contains a link to the Charity report site where you can see that they sold just over $5300,000 worth of donated hair in 2005!

The MOST sad thing... is that they CHARGE the kids with cancer for the wigs.

I wore hair extensions for about 9 months until my hair grew to my waist. The extensions were glued in and if you take excellent care (brush etc). They last a long time. I stopped cutting my hair and it grew out just fine and I had no damage. I have lots of hair anyway so I needed length and they were put in from mid crown down. Expensive but worth it. I took them out a year ago.