On my 14th birthday I got my first set of clip-in extensions and they were the most amazing thing in the world to me. I've never had hair past shoulder length, my hair simply doesn't grow, so having long hair for the first time felt amazing. My hair has also always been thin and frizzy, but my extensions thickened it up and they covered the frizz of my natural hair so I couldn't be happier. When I was 16 I decided clipping them in every morning was too much effort, and a girl in my school recommended someone who does bonded extensions for a reasonable price. So after a few emails I had an appointment to get my first set of bonded human hair extensions. At the time my hair was dark brown so colour matching was easy, until then my hair was blonde and I used blonde clip-ins.
To buy clip-in extensions, I would recommend going to a shop rather than trying to colour match online, you'll get a colour which blends perfectly with yours this way, and if you go to shops such as Sally's the staff will help you colour match. I used to pay £60-£70 for a full set of clip-in hair extensions which is fairly reasonable for real hair, and a set would last me nearly a year, however when my first set started to thin I bought some cheaper rows to thicken them up again, but they thinned out within a couple of months. It's worth investing into high quality clip-ins if you're going to get them, because they look so much more natural and last way longer.
Clip-ins are great if you have natural coloured hair, but if you're like me and like dying your hair regularly, and dying it abnormal colours you'll start to struggle. Hair extension brands tend to stock only natural hair colours, so if your hair is a colour such as blue, you'll struggle to find your match. What I did was buy the lightest shade they had and dyed them myself. When I dye my hair however, I use semi permanent colours and the extensions took the colour differently to my real hair, and the colour washed out of each at different times. You also have to dye them separately so dying them the exact same colour in the first place is hard. This made things difficult and I would only recommend buying clip-ins if you keep your hair the same colour.
If you want your hair to look natural and layered, you'll have to get your extensions cut. But if you get them cut, you have to wear them in the exact same place on you head every time otherwise the lengths would be all uneven. You get used to where they all go after a while but at first it's slightly difficult to find a position on your head for each row which is comfortable, looks natural and blends well.
To add length to short hair, or thickness to long hair which is a constant natural colour, I'd recommend clip-in hair extensions. If you want to add thickness to short hair, or dye your hair often I don't think these are for you.
Before making an appointment to get bonded hair extensions, have a look around at different stylists who offer them, look at their website or Facebook for photos of previous clients they have had and see how natural and well blended they can make the extensions look. Once you have found someone suitable, they will probably want to see you for a consultation to have a look at you natural hair to see if it is in suitable condition for extensions, and to decide which mot hod is best for you. Apart from bonded extensions you can get tapes, micro rings, nano rings and wefts. For me, bonded extensions work best because they're the most hardwearing and last the longest.
This method is great because after the initial 3-4 hours in a chair and a lot of money later, the extensions are in for up to 3 months. You can wake up with long thick hair and not have to spend time every morning clipping in and adjusting extensions to get the most natural look possible, because its already done. I find my hair a lot easier to to in the morning with bonded extensions because you just treat them as if it's your real hair. Because of how often I change and dye my hair it's convenient for them to already be in my head because i can dye my hair and the extensions all together and i can ensure the dye is in both for exactly the same amount of time, which is hard to do with clip ins. It also means I can wash them with my natural hair so dyes wash out at the same time too, so the colour always matches.
However bonded extensions do have downfalls too, like clip ins they will never be exactly the same texture as your hair so blending them in effectively is still difficult but this problem can never be avoided. Because my natural hair is curly and frizzy and my extensions are smooth and straight, i can never let my hair dry naturally because as you can imagine, it looks ridiculous. Because of my extensions I have to straighten my hair most days which is only damaging my hair more. Bonded extensions also melt, which makes straightening right up to the root of your hair very difficult. It can't really be done without risking loosing an extension and the constant heat of a hairdryer also softens them.
I tend to cut my extensions even after the stylist has because I don't like the look they go for. Stylists tend to leave them as long as possible with minimal layers to make them look thicker, however I find they blend a lot better when slightly shorter with more layers. I do this myself which is always risky so would probably recommend going to a hairdresser to get them cut properly, but I just don't have the money to do that.
Whether it is to add length or thickness, I recommend bonded extensions. These work great with natural hair colours but if you like to dye your hair regularly, I would choose these over clip ins. I have been getting bonded extensions for a year and a half now and they haven't damaged my hair, you just need to look after them properly and they will last around 3 months if you don't apply too much heat to them.
To buy clip-in extensions, I would recommend going to a shop rather than trying to colour match online, you'll get a colour which blends perfectly with yours this way, and if you go to shops such as Sally's the staff will help you colour match. I used to pay £60-£70 for a full set of clip-in hair extensions which is fairly reasonable for real hair, and a set would last me nearly a year, however when my first set started to thin I bought some cheaper rows to thicken them up again, but they thinned out within a couple of months. It's worth investing into high quality clip-ins if you're going to get them, because they look so much more natural and last way longer.
Clip-ins are great if you have natural coloured hair, but if you're like me and like dying your hair regularly, and dying it abnormal colours you'll start to struggle. Hair extension brands tend to stock only natural hair colours, so if your hair is a colour such as blue, you'll struggle to find your match. What I did was buy the lightest shade they had and dyed them myself. When I dye my hair however, I use semi permanent colours and the extensions took the colour differently to my real hair, and the colour washed out of each at different times. You also have to dye them separately so dying them the exact same colour in the first place is hard. This made things difficult and I would only recommend buying clip-ins if you keep your hair the same colour.
If you want your hair to look natural and layered, you'll have to get your extensions cut. But if you get them cut, you have to wear them in the exact same place on you head every time otherwise the lengths would be all uneven. You get used to where they all go after a while but at first it's slightly difficult to find a position on your head for each row which is comfortable, looks natural and blends well.
To add length to short hair, or thickness to long hair which is a constant natural colour, I'd recommend clip-in hair extensions. If you want to add thickness to short hair, or dye your hair often I don't think these are for you.
Before making an appointment to get bonded hair extensions, have a look around at different stylists who offer them, look at their website or Facebook for photos of previous clients they have had and see how natural and well blended they can make the extensions look. Once you have found someone suitable, they will probably want to see you for a consultation to have a look at you natural hair to see if it is in suitable condition for extensions, and to decide which mot hod is best for you. Apart from bonded extensions you can get tapes, micro rings, nano rings and wefts. For me, bonded extensions work best because they're the most hardwearing and last the longest.
This method is great because after the initial 3-4 hours in a chair and a lot of money later, the extensions are in for up to 3 months. You can wake up with long thick hair and not have to spend time every morning clipping in and adjusting extensions to get the most natural look possible, because its already done. I find my hair a lot easier to to in the morning with bonded extensions because you just treat them as if it's your real hair. Because of how often I change and dye my hair it's convenient for them to already be in my head because i can dye my hair and the extensions all together and i can ensure the dye is in both for exactly the same amount of time, which is hard to do with clip ins. It also means I can wash them with my natural hair so dyes wash out at the same time too, so the colour always matches.
However bonded extensions do have downfalls too, like clip ins they will never be exactly the same texture as your hair so blending them in effectively is still difficult but this problem can never be avoided. Because my natural hair is curly and frizzy and my extensions are smooth and straight, i can never let my hair dry naturally because as you can imagine, it looks ridiculous. Because of my extensions I have to straighten my hair most days which is only damaging my hair more. Bonded extensions also melt, which makes straightening right up to the root of your hair very difficult. It can't really be done without risking loosing an extension and the constant heat of a hairdryer also softens them.
I tend to cut my extensions even after the stylist has because I don't like the look they go for. Stylists tend to leave them as long as possible with minimal layers to make them look thicker, however I find they blend a lot better when slightly shorter with more layers. I do this myself which is always risky so would probably recommend going to a hairdresser to get them cut properly, but I just don't have the money to do that.
Whether it is to add length or thickness, I recommend bonded extensions. These work great with natural hair colours but if you like to dye your hair regularly, I would choose these over clip ins. I have been getting bonded extensions for a year and a half now and they haven't damaged my hair, you just need to look after them properly and they will last around 3 months if you don't apply too much heat to them.
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