Everything about hair extensions

A much overlooked choice among hair extension techniques and methods are micro-cylinder hair extensions, which sound pretty fancy and complicated, but are actually the easiest of all to install and remove. The micro-cylinders are tiny tubes that are used to attach the strands from hair extensions, using a special technique, to your own natural base hair. It's all very natural and done without, any heat, glue or methods that can cause damage to your hair. The installation can be done is as quick as thirty minutes, but that does depend on how much you want done. Removing is just as quick and the whole process is painless. While, this is probably the safest method on the market today, it's still wise to keep a good care of the hair extensions. Using the right shampoo and conditioner are a must and also using the right hair brush can really help prevent any snag. Snagging can cause the extensions to become more noticeable.

A very popular choice among all ages and ethnicities are weaves. Weaves are simply the process of placing hair, from extensions, into your existing hair. Weaves are also commonly known as tracks, the process might also be referred to as hair integration. Weaves are a very long process and require far more thought about them, than micro-cylinders. We'll explain the whole process below.

The first choice for weave hair extensions is choosing the right hair. This is going to have a major effect on the overall look, attractiveness and how realistic your weave looks. Weaves come in two forms, synthetic and natural and obviously both will have their advantages and disadvantages. Synthetic weaves, are more suited for twisted styles or braided, because they can't always provide the right look for a certain style and can then be easily spotted as fake. Another thing to point out is in some cases, albeit rare, the synthetic hair can irritate the skin and can cause damage to your hair. While the risk is minimal, it's something worth considering. Natural weaves, will obviously be more expensive to implement, but are more suitable for a weave hair extension. There are also many choices, but popular ones include European, Asian and virgin hair. It does come down to a personal choice in the end and the money that you have at your disposal, but you need to look at both choices to see which one will suit your needs.

Once you have your type of weave sorted out, it's time to decide between single strand and wefts.

The individual strand method means gathering small groups of hair strands (20-50) and then attaching that to your natural hair. Attachment can be done through fusion, glue, clamping or waxes, which we will discuss further, and will only last a couple of months before they will need to be taken off and re-done.

Wefts, or tracks as they are sometimes called, are groups of hair that are continually attached together at the top and are left to hang freely at the bottom. They have two forms, handmade and machine-generated and quite presumably the handmade ones are a lot more expensive than the machine-generated, but they are custom built to completely match your scalp and head. While, this does have a big advantage, machine-generated do come in a variety of sizes and shades, so they can still be made to fit in with your own natural hair. Again it falls to your own tastes and budget.

From there, weaves can be attached in one of three methods, braided, bonded and fusion.

The braided method for attaching the weaves is the most natural. Your own hair gets braided along the scalp to form cornrows and this is done in the middle of your head to minimalize the chance of being noticed. Then weaves are sewn into the braided hair and the natural hair is then combed over to really blend the extensions in. The great advantage about this method is there are no chemicals added to your hair and there's no heating process either.

The downside to this type of method is that they need to be really carefully checked and looked after, because if the braids are too tight or the extensions are too heavy then there's more unnecessary trauma to the scalp and hair. This type of method usually allows the extensions to last for about two months, but can vary. It's also worth noting that this type has been known to help your own hair grow and promote natural growth, under the right circumstances. With the braided method, it's a very good idea to use oil to keep the area where the hair extensions is attached, moisturized, this prevents any damage and breakage of the extensions, which in turn could rip out your own natural hair and cause, not just a great deal of pain, but also lead to premature baldness further down the line.

Bonded weaves, are when the hair is divided up into smaller sections and then a glue is added to connect the weave to the natural hair, this is done as close to the scalp as possible, about a centimetre away. A protective layer of plastic is used to stop any glue from reaching your scalp, so don't worry about that. Usually, women tend to overlook the type of glue used, but this in itself can have a big effect on the bonded method.

The different types of glue used are going to give you stronger or weaker results and the stronger ones are going to be far more difficult to remove later, so it's a good tip to talk to your stylist about the glue being used and learn about the types of glue used yourself. It's also wise, although your stylist should have the experience to already know this, to watch to make sure that the glue is added very sparingly, because the less used, will mean the chances of damaging your hair are lessened.

You always need a good stylist, definitely someone who has a lot of experience doing this type of method on a daily basis, as the method can become very tricky, especially when it's removed. The method lasts for about two months before the weave will start to loosen and then you should return to your saloon to let a professional remove the extension. There's a significant chance of damage occurring, to your natural hair, when using the bonded type of method to attach a weave. There's also a chance that you are allergic to the bonding solution, which isn't completely uncommon, and even if you have a good stylist and they know what they are doing, there's still a chance of the damage happening. Our recommendation is that you don't use the bonding method, on a regular basis and that you take a long time out between using the method to allow your hair to repair naturally. That doesn't mean you can't go with other types of hair extensions, while you wait.

The last method I'm going to discuss in this lens is fusion. It's quite similar to the bonded method and its application is the same at first. The hair is gathered into smaller parts, like the bonded method, but then the natural hair and extensions are fused together with keratin resin. The keratin resin is heated with a simple glue gun and once it melts its then ready to attach the extensions.

The fusion method last's the longest out of the three methods, that have been mentioned, around 2 -3 months life, but it is also more expensive than the others. The advantage of this type of method, along with the bonded type, is there are no weave tracks that have to be hidden, so it appears very natural and much fuller than the braided method.

All the methods above require you to take very good care of your natural hair and your extensions. Remember that your weaves are prone to becoming brittle and can very easily dry up as they don't have the natural oil that gets produced for your own hair, so applying an oil to them to will prevent this from happening.

Getting into the routine of washing, condition and using moisturiser on your weave and natural hair, is a great way to keep the weaves life and to keep your own hair and scalp healthy throughout the time you're going to be wearing hair extensions., because don't forget the weave is a foreign object, that will pick up its fair share of dirt and bacteria, so washing ever 7 - 14 days and building that routine is a must. There are products designed for hair extensions in mind, so finding those products to use is a great way to keep your hair and scalp healthy and keep your weave looking great throughout its life.

You should avoid using dyeing or bleaching your hair, while you have hair extensions in, all it will do is add extra stress to your natural hair that it doesn't need. It's likely to quickly dry up your weave, which can just make your natural hair and your hair extensions unmanageable. The best way to look at your weave is as if it is your natural hair and care for it as you would your natural hair, but be vigilant about it and make sure you don't neglect your own hair in the process.

Never leave your extensions in for more than the recommended time, 6 -8 weeks is a good period for most extensions (fusion probably longer) and then it's time to head back to the saloon and get them removed. Your stylist will probably do this for you anyway, but make sure if they don't, that you check your own natural hair and scalp to see if there is any damage. If there is damage, it's advisable to not have any more extensions done, at least, for a 6 month period, to allow your natural hair the time it needs to repair.

Looking great and having great looking hair will always enhance how you feel about yourself and give you that extra boost of confidence, so hair extensions will always be a great option. We hope we have provided you with enough information, so you can make the right choices for your own hair and keep your natural hair healthy, along with any hair extensions you choose to have done.