Hair Extensions - The Good, The Bad
& The Ugly |
| Karen Marie Shelton - Copyright - All
Rights Reserved |
| Revised Publication Date: 02/06/10 |
Introduction
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Almost everyone will agree that having long hair is a lot of time and effort.
Sometimes it seems like the time and effort involved is too much. The instant way to long
hair is long haired wigs, long hair pieces or hair extensions.
Hair extensions have been
popular off and on for several years. Many movie stars ranging from Madonna
and Demi Moore
to Cameron Diaz have
used hair extensions for movie roles. It is a great way to create an instant long haired
look.
With the recent introduction of clip-in extensions more women,
celebrities and non-celebs alike, are wearing add-on tresses than
ever before.
What Are Hair Extensions?
Many people are curious about what materials are used to create various
hair extensions. This is not an easy answer since hair extensions can
be created from 100% real human hair, 100% synthetic hair or a mixture of
human, synthetic and animal hair.
Hair extensions are available in just about any color, texture or
length. Popular TV star Brandi
often wears extensions as well.
How Hair Extensions Are Applied
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Ashton Kutcher
and Demi Moore |
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The hair extension is placed on the parting of a small section of hair and the
hair criss-crossed over the extension. The real hair and the hair extension are then
tightly plaited or braided together and painted with a bonding solutions.
A heated clamp
melts the solution sealing the extension around the hair. This is known as "heat
sealing".
Hair extensions must be attached by a professional hairdresser or hair
expert. It is very difficult and risky to attempt to add hair extensions on your own.
Not
only will the attachments be hard to handle, you may wind up with an uneven overall length
or possibly damage your hair unnecessarily.
Life Expectancy Of The Extension
Most extensions, if applied properly, will last up to four months. After this
the special glue-like bond attached to your natural hair will begin to loosen and fall
off. Many people will only keep their hair extensions for a short period of time for a
special event or occasion. How long extensions are kept is a personal decision.
Care Of Your Hair Extensions
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Hair extensions are washed and treated the same way as you do your natural hair.
Hair extensions do tend to wear out with normal wash and wear. As your hair grows,
this will tend to affect the extensions. It is recommended that you used high quality
gentle hair care products to encourage a long life for your extensions.
Removing The Extension
Removal of hair extensions can be done by the professional that applied them or
can be carefully removed at home. You can remove hair extensions by twisting the tiny
braided attachments and then gently snapping the seal.
Disadvantages Of Hair Extensions
It is a well known fact that hair extensions can do damage to your natural hair.
The glue that is attached to your natural hair can burn and split the ends of your hair.
This means that you will almost always be required to have the ends of your hair cut after
the extensions are removed.
Also, if a lot of long or heavy extensions are added, this applies additional
pressure to your scalp. One of the dangers of extra pressure to your scalp can be a
thinning of your natural hair. In some cases there have been reports of headaches from the
added weight of the hair or allergies to the bonding glue that is used. Everyone is
different and will react to hair extensions in a different way. They are not necessarily
good or bad. It depends on a number of factors that you have to consider.
If you are
trying to grow your hair long, you might want to think seriously of the potential damage
the hair extensions could do to your long hair quest. However, if you only would like a
new look for a few months and are prepared to lose some inches along with the extensions,
they can be a great solution.
The best advice is to find an expert at hair extensions and discuss all the pros
and cons of the instant hair look.
Advantages Of Hair Extensions
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Hair extensions can be a lot of fun if you are aware of the risks and the
procedures. If you get good advice and find a professional who is skilled at extensions
here are some of the advantages you can enjoy:
1. You have an instant new look that is fairly
easy to care for once it is applied.
2. You can change the look at any time and know that the
long hair has a limited life cycle.
3. You can have an intricate patterns of different colors
or beads added to the extension without additional damage to your hair.
4. You can try the
look and feel of long hair before you decide to invest a lot of time and energy growing
your own.
Summary
Hair extensions can provide the instant gratification of a gorgeous new long
hair look. It can also be costly and time-consuming to have applied.
There are
both pros and cons for hair extensions. As long as you do the research and are willing to
assume the risks hair extensions can be a new adventure for your hair.
To read lots of great tips by real Do It Yourself hair extension
experts check out the
DIY
Extensions Forum on the
HairBoutique.com HairTalk board.
Social Media Network Information
Please follow me on Twitter at:
http://Twitter.com/HairBoutique. I look forward to
meeting new
people
from all walks of Twitter and learning from their Tweets. Visit us
at Hairboutique.com
located at: http://www.HairBoutique.com, on Facebook, MySpace and
YouTube.
Thank you for visiting us at
The HairBoutique Blog
and for leaving your comments. They are very much appreciated. We
apologize in advance but must remove any direct advertisements or
solicitations.
Original Publication Date: 5/2000 - Revised Publication
Date: 02/06/10 |