Are hair extensions for me?
Truth is….they’re suitable for almost everyone!
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More and more stylists have now started to move toward calling ‘weaves’, the free flow hair extension method. The reasoning behind this is simply the fact that this method isn’t as bulky and visible as the traditional ‘weave’. Unfortunately, many people are unaware that 'weaves' are actually in fact the safest method of hair extension installation on the market and more people are turning to this method to help grow out their hair. A large percentage of hair restoration clientele suffer from female patterned hair loss, alopecia, trichotillomania, hormonal hair loss and have recently finished chemotherapy treatments. The percentage of people with fine hair is growing more and more each day within men and women of all races. Traditionally, African-Americans would braid their hair to help it grow, as they have extremely fine hair, just lots of it. Hair that is within the braids is free to grow more as it isn't exposed to heat styling, dyeing and any other chemical treatments.
With free flow extensions, the best feature is that the extensions aren't getting attached directly on your head with bonds or glue, there is a buffer in-between. This buffer is synthetic hair; this is used this to create the braid only pulling tiny pieces of your own hair into the braid. Everyone’s parting is completely different, due to your head shape, patterns of hair loss and lifestyle, one can’t install your braids in the same way as the person before you. One thing that is a common denominator is that all the parting must be square. This means that all of the tension points are 100% equal, because the braids are in a rectangle formation. Unfortunately you cannot have 100% tension points with fusion or singles, unless you are measuring a square in between each bundle of hair installed, if so, this process would take days!
With fusions and singles you are using bonds, glues or adhesives. Upon removal, that’s when the most damage is done, as heat, removal solution or extreme pulling must be used to take these out. At this point you’re losing handfuls of hair each time you remove them, not to mention the fact that you are unable to reuse that hair, which isn’t exactly cost effective. With free flow extensions, we only use thread and synthetic hair, so upon removal you aren’t losing any extra hair as all we have to do is cut out the thread and take out the braid. Because of this, you are able to maintain your extensions for years at a time and still have your hair in excellent condition, not deteriorating.
Unfortunately, these days sewn in extensions get a bad rap, simply because they aren’t installed properly.
When you are in the market for extensions, it’s important that you find a salon that specializes in extensions, as they will be in the practice of doing it everyday, constantly improving their method of attachment. Make sure they won’t be using any kind of glues or bonds to your hair as in the long term they will cause nothing but damage.
Questions to ask your hair extension specialist:
2. Has this hair been colored before?
3. Has it been coated with silicone or wax?
4. How long will it last?
5. If they are using bonds or glue: How much hair will I lose? Is this good for me in the long term?
6. How often do I need to get my hair maintained
7. Do I need to purchase new hair every time I get my extensions re-done?
Any extension specialist should always be able to answer these questions for you, if not, they may not be your best option for a specialist.
Check out our FAQ page for more answers to help with your research.