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I have been wanting hair extensions for as long as I can remember, which is basically since birth (lol). My hair has always been on the thin side, and even though I have been growing it out since 2009 (the last time I really cut drastic inches off), it still just won’t get to where I want it to be.
Let me start by saying that my hair has come a long way in recent years. My friend & hair stylist Jill told me about Nioxin, which is for thinning hair, and it changed my hair. For reference, I used the Shampoo & Conditioner followed up with the scalp treatment. She and I both noticed my hair changing – it did take time but I truly believe this helps build thicker and healthier hair.
PS – if you are in the Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati (or surrounding) area, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Jill Salyers at Blush Salon for any and all things hair. She has been coloring my hair for more than a decade and does tremendous work! I send everyone I know to her because I know she does the best work! To book an appointment with Jill, call Blush Salon at (859) 371-2587.
Ok back to extensions. I’ve always wanted them, but have always heard how bad they are for your hair. In college, I was in a serious relationship with a set of clip-in extensions and wore them daily. I loved them so much I even slept in them, which left me with quarter sized bald spots on both sides of my head, right near my temples. Yikes!
Fast forward to a couple years later, Jill told me about tape-in extensions. I had to have them naturally! We ordered them, and in they went! I LOVED them. They instantly gave me length and thickness. However, I couldn’t really pull my hair back into a high ponytail because of where they are positioned. So I wore my hair in low ponytails whenever I wanted to have my hair up. My hair is very fine in front, framing my face, and on one side, the weight of the extensions started tearing my hair and were dangling. So I immediately took them out, never to be put back in again.
Over the past year or so, I’ve been hearing so much about hand-tied extensions. These are supposed to be the BEST when it comes to not damaging your hair. So I was ecstatic when Jill told me she was traveling to Utah to become certified! As soon as she came back I started badgering her to order them from me (sorry Jill!). She matched my hair with her swatches and we landed on two different colors since I have lots of highlights and tones in my hair.
When the day came for my appointment, it was like Christmas morning! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get there.
Before Pictures
The Process for Hair Extensions
Jill sectioned my hair off and applied the first row of beads. Each bead is clamped onto your hair creating a track, and then the entire weft of hair is actually sewn through each bead to secure it into place.
After the first weft was sewn in, Jill sectioned off my hair again so that we could add another row of beads for a second weft.
Jill added two wefts of hair to each row of beads by simply stacking them together and sewing them on as if they were one piece.
So I have two rows of extensions, with four total wefts of hair. The process took several hours, and I did get a tiny headache later that evening, but luckily took some Tylenol under the advice of Jill and it went away quickly.
The After Pictures
How I feel about Hair Extensions so far
I LOVE THEM. Duh! Not only do they add to my length, but they give me so much more volume and allows me to do so much more with my hair, like this braid.
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Not only that, but I can now go way longer between washes. Washing and drying all of that hair has added so much time to my routine, but I only have to do it every 4 or 5 days now, whereas before I washed every other day.
I will be going back every 8 weeks (the same as my color appointments) to get them moved up. I’m very anxious to hear if there is any damage to my natural hair, but so far I have not noticed anything so I am very hopeful that these will live up to the hype.
What questions do you have about hair extensions?
xo,
If you liked this blog, you may also like my recent Eyelash Extensions post where I talk all about my lashes and 6 lash extensions aftercare tips!
