Hair extensions are separate pieces of hair that you can use to blend into your own. Generally, these tend to be longer than your own hair, but sometimes it's just to enhance your hair's thickness rather than gain a lot of length.
They add length and fullness to human hair by incorporating human or synthetic hairpieces that are usually clipped, glued, or sewn into place.
Hair extensions come in a range of types, sizes and colors that clearly define them. This article is a comprehensive guide with everything you need to know about hair extensions. One read to know it all.
1. How to choose and get the perfect hair extensions
You will find there are hundreds of hair extension options available. How do you know what is best for you? Choosing whether you want temporary or permanent hair extensions and picking which installation type is right for you is the best first step!
Here is a detailed and informative guide to give you all the knowledge you need to select and buy the perfect hair extensions for you.
Now you do not have to have a clear idea about what to get. Just with curiosity in mind, you can read on. And you will get the most perfect hair extension after!
2.Human or non-Human Hair? Temporary or Permanent Hair Extensions?
If you are serious about getting fuller volume or a luxuriant celebrity look, definitely choose human hair extensions. Only with human hair it will last and look natural just like your own hair.
But if you want a change of hair color just for fun, wearing it one time or two for a party or to entertain yourself, it will be a novel experience to try synthetic hair because it is really cheap and thus much more flexible. It is more for temporary use-wearing them 24/7 is not recommended. Also unlike human hair, it can not be styled. Once heated, the synthetic hair might be damaged.
Temporary Hair Extensions
Temporary hair extensions include flip-ins and clip-ins. Clip-ins tend to provide increased volume and length. Flip-ins, however, increase just the length without much impact on volume. Both are easy to install and can be attached by yourself in 1-10 minutes, saving the installation fee in a saloon. So you can take it off every day at night.
Women use short-term hair extensions for special occasions or as an easy daily wear alternative to permanent hair extensions.
Permanent Hair Extensions
Permanent hair extensions, while not permanent, don’t have to be removed at night as temporary hair extensions do. For example, you can attach these extensions by a variety of methods, including links or I-tips, glue, tape, etc. They can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 months as long as you care for them well. See our list below for the most common permanent hair extension installation methods.
3. Different hair extension methods
The following guide is 6 methods/types of hair extensions with real human hair, in the order of being easier to install to more difficult, from taking a shorter time to taking longer.
Clip-in extensions
Best for: Medium-density hair
Length of Wear: Clip-ins with real human hair last around 6 months to a year
Installation Time: 5-10 minutes
At Home or Salon: At home
Clip-in extensions come in strands of different lengths with clips sewn to the strand.
You can quite easily apply the extensions yourself. If you are unsure when trying at home for the first time, watch a video tutorial. Or, have a hairdresser to put them in your hair to blend them to show you how to apply them properly.
As mentioned, clip-ins are the least permanent form of hair extension. This allows you to choose whether you want short hair or long hair for the day or night by removing and putting them back in whenever you want. They are the least time-consuming and cause limited damage as they don't require heating or don't use any adhesive or glue to stick in your hair.
Clip-in human hair extensions are fairly low maintenance and only need to be washed every 15-20 wears or if there is a fair amount of product on them. You can style them, dye them and cut them to your own preference.
The downside is when the clips get dislocated or when not concealed correctly, they could be seen. More concerning is that they cause bald spots: Clip in hair extension wefts are heavier and place a lot of weight on your hair, pulling the hair and making it strained over time. The weight off the clip in wefts are too heavy and will pull out hair one by one, eventually leaving gaps and bald spots.
Tape-in extensions
Best for: Fine or thin hair
Installation Time: 1 hour
Length of Wear: 6-8 weeks, then need to be moved up to account for hair growth
At Home or Salon: At Salon
Tape-in hair extensions are the most popular product at Hairlaya right now. They are definitely one of the most familiar hair extension type, a super popular option looks similar to what they sound like. The piece is pre-taped and then taped or glued together on either side of your own hair. These need to be applied by a professional as they need to be placed close to the root of your hair for the most seamless look.
The benefits of tape-in extension is that once installed, they're in. There is no fuss of taking them out or putting them back in and you can go about your day with long luscious locks.
The only drawback to these in day-to-day life is that they can be tricky to conceal if you want to braid your hair or put it in a high ponytail can be challenging. And you need to get these moved up every 6 weeks, then you need to remove and re-apply them as your hair grows out. You will need a stylist to remove the extensions (with Hairlaya's wonder glue remover) and then re-apply them higher up as long as they're in good condition. If they haven't been maintained well, you might need to purchase another set of extensions.
Finding good quality tape-in extensions used to be hard. But Hairlaya offers a range of styles in incredibly good quality. If you're looking to purchase you can get real human hair extensions from Hairlaya with a premium quality but a very friendly price.
Hand-tied
Best for: Medium hair types
Installation Time: 2 to 3 hours
Length of Wear: Up to 2 years with proper care
At Home or Salon: At Salon
This technique takes a small section of the client’s natural hair and uses it as an anchor braid horizontally across their scalp. Then the sections of the extension are stitched or sewn into the anchor braid using a needle and cotton thread. This makes for secure and long-lasting hair extensions.
Hand-tied extensions look seamless and natural. It blends in perfectly with the naturally grown hair. The extensions won’t damage the clients’ hair since they are all-natural human hair. They require the wearer to have comparatively medium hair to properly cover the base braids.
The maintenance is minimal when it comes to hand-tied extensions and can be treated the same as your real hair. Hairlaya's extension wearer see the most natural and healthy looking hair improvement after using hand-tied extensions!
I-tips extensions
Best for: Medium to thick hair types
Installation Time: 2-3 Hours
Length of Wear: 6-8 weeks, then move up
At Home or Salon: At Salon. Salon application recommended
I-Tip is one of the newest extension application systems and is proven to give excellent results. I-Tip extensions are made up of several hair strands glued together at the tip. It is applied without the use of heat or glue.
I-tip extensions are "stick" extensions. A full pack of extensions will include 100-200 strands. To install, simply take small strands of your own hair and insert them through the ring with the hair extension. Then use a set of pliers to close the ring.
Keep in mind that just like with all long-term hair extensions, the tips must be moved closer to the roots as time goes by.
Fusion bonds
Best for: Medium to thick hair types
Installation Time: 1-2 hours
Length of Wear: Re-adjust every three to four months based on your hair type and growth rate.
At Home or Salon: At Salon.
Salon application by a hair care professional since requires special heating tool.
Fusion extensions (a.k.a pre-bonded extensions) are fused to the hair using different adhesives such as glue. Fusion bonds are the most demanding in terms of time and labor. They are also the most permanent option to extend the client’s length or enhance the hair’s volume. Bonds fuse the extension to the client’s hair with an adhesive like keratin. Fusion bonds can be done in extremely tiny portions depending on the amount of time and money a client is willing to spend and how skilled and dedicated the hairstylist.
Fusion extensions create your favorite look, but only select people can have them. If your hair is already moderately damaged you may not be an ideal candidate, as pre-bonded extensions are somewhat damaging to your natural hair. Fusion bonds tend to have the risk of serious breaking
due to the numerous chemicals in the glue and complicated heating process. This method can cause hair loss, breakage and scalp irritation. They can be difficult to undo.
Micro links
Best for: Medium to thick hair types
Installation Time: 2-3 hours
Length of Wear: 6-8 weeks, then need minor adjustments to account for hair growth
At Home or Salon: At Salon
Micro links are pre-attached loops attached to hair strands. They normally come in packs of 100s strands. Unlike i-tips that require additional beads, micro ring extensions come with everything pre-attached. Poor-quality hair extension companies have poor quality loops that sometimes don’t attach properly or don’t have tube colors that match the hair extension.
The installation process is simple. To install micro link hair extensions, simply take a strand of your hair and insert it through the tube, then simply pull the loop which secures it. This gives you the freedom to focus on specific spots to build volume and length as desired.
To be continued...
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