Diary Of A Hair Extension Addict
Diary Of A Hair Extension Addict
Article by Aleisha Clark
Experiment Objective:To decide which extension method was the best based on my personal experience. I need to point out from the start that I am an experienced hair extension technician who has applied all the methods trialled in this article for my clients. But I wanted to provide feedback based on my personal experience rather than comments received from clients.
Experiment Method: Over the space of 12 months, I decided that I’d personally try using three of the more popular hair extension methods in my hair to see what I liked and disliked. Each day, I recorded in a diary my thoughts, any problems experienced, the good points, and anything I thought potential hair extension buyers might be interested in. Experiment Timeframe: 12 Months (4 months per extension method)Hair Extension Methods Trialled: Clip ons, fusion, micro ring. All methods used human hair extensions.The Results:Clip Ons (Months 1-4): I added 8 pieces (wefts) of hair. The wefts were attached to my head using clips and I had to remove them each night before I went to sleep. By the end of 3 months, I was really getting over adding and removing them and they were a bit uncomfortable by the end of the day. I have decided these would be great if you don’t want permanent hair extensions. They’d be great for one-off occasions like weddings or parties. For those of you out there that don’t mind adding another 5 or so minutes to your morning routine then you should give these clip ons a go. They looked really natural too which I think is very important.
Rating Guide:Appearance:4/5Price: 5/5Ease of adding: 5/5Comfort: 3/5Overall: 4/5Fusion (Months 5-8): I had these extensions added at a salon in Sydney and it took about 4 hours to have them added. Because I wasn’t able to add the extensions myself the cost was higher than the other two methods. Each extension is individually fused to your natural hair using an adhesive. I was a bit nervous for my hair as an adhesive was used on my hair but I didn’t have any problems throughout the 4 months and they were removed successfully at the end of the trial. I had a few extensions fall out over the 4 months but nothing too drastic. I think these would have to have been the most comfortable extensions to wear. My biggest issue was that the extensions used were quite thick (about 0.8g per extension) and they looked really chunky in my hair.
Rating Guide:Appearance:5/5Price: 3/5Ease of adding: 3/5Comfort: 5/5Overall: 4/5Micro Ring (Months 9-12): I had a friend help me add these extensions as the method is fairly easy to add yourself. Each individual extension is attached to a small ring. You simply pull your natural hair through the ring and squeeze it shut with pliers. It took just under two hours to add them. Once they were added, there was slight discomfort (dull pain) at my hair roots for the first night and within 24 hours this discomfort was gone. I thought I’d notice the micro rings in my hair but after the 24 hours I didn’t notice them at all. The extensions looked really natural (more natural than the clip ons), I think mainly because the extensions are added individually rather than one big weft. One other thing was that the rings were undetectable in my hair, but if your hair was really short or very fine they’d probably be a bit more noticeable and another method may be better for you. As with the fusion method, I also had a few extensions fall out over the four months. That wasn’t a drama and I could add them back in using my own pliers.
Rating Guide:Appearance:5/5Price: 4/5Ease of adding: 4/5Comfort: 4/5Overall: 5/5
In conclusion, I found all 3 methods did a good job of giving my hair lots of length and volume. I think clip ons are better suited to those girls wanting to use extensions on and off. I could also see clip ons being great if you spend lots of time doing sports or spending heaps of time in the pool.
The micro rings and fusion were both comfortable and looked natural. I opted for the micro ring method as the winner based on price, ease of adding and a really natural look.
I hope this helped any girls out there who are considering any of these hair extension methods. Good luck with your extensions!
About the Author
Aleisha is an experienced hair extension technician who lives in Australia. She is passionate about hair extensions and is a director at one of Australia’s leading hair extension suppliers, Salon Hair Extensions.
