Sunday 24 April 2011

Choosing the right hair extensions for you - where to start?

I always find when I go to the hair shop, that choosing the right hair extension for me such a difficult task.  When you are met with a mass of different hair extensions, in length, colour and styles, it can be a bit overwhelming to know the right one.  So I have answered the most common questions that I get from clients on choosing the right hair extensions for you.

Should I get human hair or synthetic hair?
 Depending on your budget there are two types of extensions that you can choose from.  Human hair and synthetic hair.    Kolours hair stylists prefer human hair to synthetic hair as human hair is much easier to work with, stylable and can be reused again and again.  Synthetic hair is good if you are really strapped for money, but I would advise to not leave it in for more than 2 weeks, as it can look tacky, static and frizzy.  There are some good quality synthetic hair extensions on the market that act like human hair.  A good example is the Futura fibre, which acts exactly like human hair, but can only be styled at certain temperatures.  It is important when buying synthetic hair to read the packaging and make sure it suits your needs.  If you are the kind of person that likes styling their hair and want the weave to last a long time, they go for human hair.  But if you are the type of person that changes hair styles frequently, and likes a low maintenance weave then go for synthetic weaves.   Another thing to note is that some synthetic hair extensions cannot be cut, this is because they work against the blade of the scissors.  So again be very careful, when picking your hair extensions.  Another point to note is that synthetic hair is very good for if you want tight curly hair styles, as the curls will be maintained much better than with human hair. 

It is preferable to buy human hair extensions for your weaves, but good synthetic hair extensions such as Futura fibre are a good alternative, and relatively inexpensive.

How many packets of hair extensions should I buy?
As a rule of thumb I always advise clients to buy at least 2 packets of hair extensions, never 1 packet. Depending on the style of the hair you may need more or less than this.

Short hair extensions – short lengths in hair extensions such as 8 inches and 10 inches have a lot more in the packet than other lengths and if you are going for a short hair style don’t go for more than 2, as you will probably use one and a half at the most.

Middle parting hairstyles – I find with my clients that 2 packets of hair extensions for middle partings is just about enough for a weave.  If you want it very full then I suggest getting a third packet, you will usually use 2 and half packets for middle parting hair styles

Side parting hairstyles  - 2 packets is usually enough for side partings, but again if you want fullness and body then get a third packet.

Full fringes – usually when doing a full fringe for my clients I use 1 packet and a half.  Maximum 2 packets, but on very rare occasions.  When doing full fringed hair you don’t want the hair to be full, but flat and sleek, so no more than 2 packs of hair extensions should be used.

Virgin hair – this is all the Brazilian, Indian, Peruvian, etc hair that is currently on the market.  Usually a pack should be a minimum of 100g in weight.  The longer the hair the less weft you are going to get in the pack.  I suggest with virgin hair to get at least 3 packets and if you want really full hair use 4 – 5 packets of hair – 400g to 500g.

Curly hair extensions (body waves) – with curly hair extensions I suggest 2 packets, the hair will lie thick anyway because of the curls, if you try and make the hair too full, the hair can tend to look square and overfull, and you want the hair extensions to look as natural as possible.

When buying hair extensions you are always going to need a minimum of 2 packets for the weave.  This can vary depending on the style of the weave.

What colour hair extensions should I get?
I find a lot of my clients picking the wrong type of hair colour for their hair extensions; I think it is important to pick a colour that suits your skin tone and the time of year.  I find that with clients if you have a lighter skin tone go for lighter shades of brown such as Colour 2 or 4, and if you have a darker skin tone go for darker colours such as Colour 1 or 1B.  These hair colours will compliment your skin tone and look much more natural.  Also in terms of the time of year, in winter I suggest having darker colours such as Colour 1 or 1B, as they absorb the heat and keep you warmer, in spring  and autumn having light brown shades such as colour 2, 4 or 6, then in summer having blonde highlighted tones such as colour 4/27, as it keeps you cooler by reflecting the heat.   By changing your hair colour according to the time of year, this will always give you a new and exciting look.  Here are some more colour advice tips into buying hair extensions:

Natural Hair colours – for Afro-Caribbean women your natural hair colour will be colour 1B if you are darker in complexion, and for people who have a lighter skin tone colour 2.

Subtle highlights - subtle highlights through your hair can give your hair bounce, shine and different dimensions.  For Afro-Caribbean women I personally feel that buying a pack of colour 2 and colour 4 for lighter skin tones, gives a very nice but subtle highlight, and for darker skin tones buying a pack of colour 1B and colour 2 gives you the same effect.

Highlighted hair extensions – a lot of girls seem to buying hair extensions that already highlighted or a mix of two colours, but are buying them incorrectly, by buying 2 packs of the highlighted hair extensions.  If you wanted blonde Beyonce highlights through your hair the highlighted hair extension pack to pick is colour 4/27, but I would advice to also buy a colour 4 pack aswell.  This makes the hair look much more natural, as the blonde colour 27 can be quite overpowering.  So whenever buying highlighted hair extensions always buy the pack o f highlighted extension, then a pack of the darker colour aswell.

Red hair extensions – a lot of my clients want to have Rhianna red hair extensions, but find it difficult getting the exact red colour that they want.  The red hair extensions on the market seem to be more burgundy than anything else.   If you want really red hair extensions the same way Rhianna has it I suggest buying platinum blonde hair extensions or blonde extensions, as close to white as possible, then dying the hair extensions red using hair dye.  Ask your Kolours stylist on more advice for dying your hair extensions red.

When picking hair extension colour take into consideration your skin tone and time of year and pick to suit this.

What length should I go for?
The longer the hair extensions the harder it is to maintain.  I advise clients to not go beyond 20 inches in hair extensions, beyond this looks unnatural and you end up with hair that is ratty, and hard to maintain.  For those girls that want to go beyond 20 inches I would advise to go for two packets of that length, as one packet will make the ends look thin and scanty.    If you want your hair to look natural a common length is 16 or 14 inches.

Fringes – If you want a side fringe I would suggest to go for an 8 inch hair extension on top of your normal packets of hair extension, this will give a natural looking fringe and is better than cutting the fringe.

Full fringes – If you want a full fringe get packets of hair extensions that are the same length as this will give a better dimension of the hair, and be better when cutting the fringe.  You don’t want the hair to be layered when doing full fringed weaves and you dont need to get a shorter hair extension for the full fringe as it looks odd and does not blend in with the hair properly.

Layers – If you want layers in your hair don’t buy all the same length and then ask your Kolours hairstylist to cut it.  This is a waste of your money and hair extension, just buy different lengths.  For the layered effect I advise to buy 4 inches apart in hair extensions.  For example if you are buying 3 packs of extensions and you want a layered effect  an example would to go for 16 inches, 12 inches and 8 inches, so whatever your longest length is, go 4 inches lower than this.

The longer the hair extensions the harder to maintain.  If you want  layered hair buy different lengths of extensions 4 inches apart.

Which style hair extensions should I choose?
There are 3 main styles of hair extensions that you can choose from.  These are straight, body waves and curly.  Straight hair extensions usually comes in yaki or European hair.  Yaki blends in better with Afro-Caribbean hair, whereas European hair is much silkier than yaki hair.  There is not much difference between the two but I always advise to go for European hair extensions as they seem to be easier to maintain, shed less and last longer than the yaki hair extensions.  They also take hair products much better than yaki hair extensions.

Straight hair – this is good style to get for middle partings and full fringes.   Try to go for the longer lengths as it is more flattering to your body, especially for middle partings.  This is also good for bobs and short hair cuts as well, as it gives a sleek and polished look to the hair.

Body waves - these are good for side partings and middle partings.  For the side parting go for the longer lengths or shoulder lengths hair extensions for middle partings go for long lengths of hair extensions.

Curly hair – with curly hair I tend to advise to not go for very long lengths as it is too hard to maintain.  Go for shoulder or just below the shoulder lengths with curly hair, it will look much more natural and be easier for you as a client to maintain.  With curly hair it  is best to go for side partings, and use mixture of weave and single braids at the parting to make the hair look as natural as possible.

Knowing the style you want for your hair is important when choosing the style of the hair extensions you want.  If in any doubt always go for straight hair extensions as it is much more versatile than any other style and are easier for your Kolours hair stylist to manipulate.

Following this guide above is important for when choosing the right extensions for you.  Always make sure you consider length, colour, style and skin tone.  With this winning formula you can never have a bad weave again.

Kolours
xxx

19 comments:

  1. I think I want to try Peruvian Virgin Hair Weave for my hair. Just to make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's nice post i really love to read this it has full of information about cheap human hair weave.

    brazilian curly weave

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like your post. It is good to see you verbalize from the heart and clarity on this important subject can be easily observed.
    human hair closure

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nowadays human hair extensions are widely used because of hair fall is a basic problem. Double drawn indian remy hair is one of the best hair extension among all those as Remy hair looks better than others.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the tips. I think this post is very helpful to those use hair extensions. Nowadays Wholesale human hair extensions are available in WHITE LABEL EXTENSIONS from where one can buy extensions to start new business.

    ReplyDelete




  6. Natural Curly hair extensions


    Hair Extensions - Buy natural short curly hair extensions online for women at the best price. We provide the best osplay synthetic lace and colored synthetic hair extensions online for women's. Contact us now.


    https://fortunehairstore.com/collections/hair-extensions

    ReplyDelete
  7. Really, amazing post to choose the best hair extensions. Thanks for sharing this helpful post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Short Full Hair ExtensionWelcome to Fortune Hair Store, Get the best hair extension & wig for women at the affordable price. We offer 8 styles curly human hair wig and blue deep wave wig with bangs. Shop now invisible wire & short full hair extension online for women's.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Are you trying to grow your beard? So here we have all the products to grow a beard. You can buy Buy advanced beard growth kit, The Beard Growth Kit, The Activator Serum, The Beard Roller, Etc.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for sharing this lovely blog! Looking forward to seeing more of such blogs. impression super braid bulk

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm very Glad to visit your informational Post.Custom Lip Balm Display Boxes Packaging boxes are really necessary for any kind of product. If you want to pack your products in a stylish way then use these Custom Lip Balm Display Boxes with customized designs, styles, colors, shapes, and stocks. We are also offering error-free design and free shipping services all over the USA.

    ReplyDelete
  14. you feel confused about any of the procedures in place, please get in touch with our customer care of custom boxes.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  16. After study a few of the content in your internet site now, and I really such as your means of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark site list and will also be checking back soon. Pls look into my web page likewise and tell me what you think. accademia parrucchieri

    ReplyDelete
  17. General visits recorded here are the most easy system to esteem your imperativeness, which is the motivation behind why I am taking off to the site conventional, examining for new, interesting information. Many, favor your heart! Choose Ombre Hair Extensions from Sassina

    ReplyDelete