Thread: Wig into an extension?

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a nice wig and the lady said that it was possible to somehow convert it into some kind of hair extension. I'm really unfamiliar with this so I thought I'd ask here! Any advice?

Okay - I just went and dug my wigs and falls out to dissect the possibility of doing this. My wig, and I am sure there are many different kinds of bases, looks like a net, that if you cut the wig into long strips from left to right at about a 2 inch strip in thickness, you could sew some kind of ribbon or bias tape on the cut edges and then add fall clips. But to be honest with you...you can get falls so cheap now a days, that I wouldn't bother.

Hmm...well I might look into just getting a fall, but the wig was only $20 so I couldn't pass it up! It was high quality and used to belong to a dancer, so I thought there might be conversion possibilities (not that I really knew one way or the other). My hair is just past shoulder length, so it's not super short, but I was thinking I wouldn't mind having a little extra! I was also wondering about doing hair tosses when using extensions/wigs? Should that be avoided?

I bobby pin my wigs on to the point were my head has a higher chance of flying off then my wig!..l;,..l;,

It all depends on how securely you place the wig or fall on. I would practice with them at home. Make a day of trying different styles with your hair and then add the wig and extensions, practice tosses, flips, turns and try different clip styles for the wig. My wig has large gaps in the netting and allows me to place a locking clip (dark brown or black) through it on the top (towards the middle of my head - under the wig) and one at the back bottom of my head. You can also use the combs - but those don't hold well on flips and tosses unless you have the comb pinned on as well.

Thanks Amaryllis! I was thinking of doing a rather hair-toss heavy choreography (I know, boo to some people here) and was wondering that about the combs provided in the wig. I've never worn any kind of wig or extension before.

Have you tried the extensions they give you at salons? What has been your experience? Do you think the store-bought do-it-yourself ones are preferable?

if the clerk called it "convertible" she might have meant that the wig is a drawstring.

I haven't gotten salon extensions, but know several people and dancers that have. These are some of the up and down sides I have heard. The up side to those are they are adhered to your hair in small sections, fairly close to the scalp and look and feel just like your hair. They ain't going anywhere. And as your hair grows..so do the extensions (by way that they are attached to your hair). They look great! The down side is that they can feel tight at the beginning, itch, feel weird and take some time for you to get used to them. They are fairly expensive to get, but the look and getting used to them seems worth it.

I prefer to use the clip on falls that come (in width) small, to large. The clips mine have are curved combs the once placed, you push the comb in the opposite direction and it snaps closed. I make sure to take the area I am going to clip them to and tease the hair in order to "secure" the clip has something more textured to "stick" too.

I personally don't like things in my hair for long - not even a ponytail - so I am more then likely going to stick to my falls and just let my hair grow out. I sometimes get a bug up my butt and chop all my hair off to a sassy bob. Now, it is to the middle of my shoulder blades.

Hi lotus- she didn't call it that, she just said she thought it would be possible to convert it.

Amaryllis - I'll have to look into extensions. I have the kind of hair that takes a million years to grow (while one of my non bellydance friends can grow a foot in a year). I really wish mine grew faster!

Are there some people whose hair just does not grow out past a certain length? Because I suspect I am one of them!

..l;,
I feel the same way! My hair creeps along in growth while my son needs a haircut every 3 weeks otherwise he looks like he is sporting a white boy fro!

Though I have wondered about natural products for hair growth, I haven't looked any up...now I'm on a mission!