| Hair Extensions! |
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I stared at my hair in the mirror, frowning. It was too short. I really wanted longer hair! I’d thought about extensions many times, I’d just never gotten around to researching it. I nodded to myself. Today was the day!
I then went and looked up some information on hair extensions. I found some information that explained the best types of hair to use for extensions of any kind.
The first was real, human hair which is more expensive, but looks much more natural. It is recommended that, unless you are Asian, which I am not, that Asian hair be avoided because of its differing texture to other hair and its dark color. The advantages of using real hair are that I could style it much as I styled my own but is prone to matting together if not separated properly and I would need to use very good shampoo to keep it healthy.
The other option for extensions was fibres or synthetic hair. The advantages of this type are that it is cheaper, in case I wanted to change my hair on a regular basis without having to pay a lot of money. It was always good to have a new look. Unfortunately, this type of extension material easily matted, especially if shampooed, and was easily singed.
I found that there were six different types of extension methods as well.
The first kind of hair extension was a weave. This included braiding synthetic hair (not usually recommended because it didn’t look very real) or real hair to my natural hair. The only problem was that it could apply weight and tension, especially when wet, to my real hair.
The second method was called bonding. This included applying the hair to my real hair with the use of a latex plug which would be glued to my hair for short term usage. Unfortunately, the only way to get these off was to use oil and heat, which could become messy (especially if you were clumsy like me!). Besides, I wanted my extensions to be able to stay in long enough that I could grow my hair as long as I wanted it. No, bonding would be great for a temporary look, but not long term.
The next method used metal tubing. This was when metal tubing was attached over the natural hair. Unfortunately this could break off the real hair in some cases and could be hard to remove, not to mention the added weight. This was especially not recommended for thin hair. I guess that put me out of the equation then!
The fourth type used heat-shrink tubing. Weird name, don’t you think? I did. Anyways, this utilized tubing that, obviously, shrinks on the natural hair when heated. The good thing about this type of extension was that it didn’t harm the natural hair, as many of the others would. Unfortunately, this kind did not have to gripping power to stay in the hair for a long time, although because the tubes would sometimes loosen over the course of a couple of showers. So, once again, this type would be great for temporary use, but not for a long time.
Another form of extension was called “Adhesive-based Fusion.” This included using an adhesive (usually not wax, which melts easily) that can endure chemicals and heat. The adhesive remover used dries out the bonding agent, dissolving the extensions into powder and is much less messy than having to use oil and heat.
The last type of extension that I found utilizing single human hair pieces. These were bonded to the hair in small sections and were particularly useful because they looked most natural and are very durable. Another pro of these is that I could style them just as I do the rest of my hair as well as the ability to be colored to perfectly match the rest of my hair. It also would cause no damage to my natural care and if I really wanted, I could reuse the hair if I used the right form of application method.
It took me a while and I had to talk to my hair stylist, but I eventually picked the method and type of extension that would best suit my services. Now I’m living my life with the perfect length of hair! |
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