Can you imagine she did..and the poor prince fell to his doom because her weave didn't stay put?? Our WORST NIGHTMARE!! There are SO many options on the market these days when choosing hair extensions. I, myself have experimented with a few and can say I love some and I hate the others. My good friend, teammate and hair extension specialist Zak has taken the time to share ALL of the extension details. If you're interested in any of the methods outlined, call to salon to set up an appointment with the guru himself-214.369.2500 All of the following content was solely provided by Zak Nave.
Whether nature has taken its toll, or you are wanting to speed up that grow out phase, hair extension services are an amazing way to make your hair dreams a reality. However, all are NOT created equal and some methods may be more appropriate for you than others. The key is finding a stylist who will walk you through options, get you the appropriate kind for your hair type and lifestyle and will properly train you on how to care for your new investment. A prior and proper consultation is definitely necessary to insure the best experience.
All hair installed at Form Salon is of the highest quality human hair. It is always our goal to extend the life of your hair investment and to protect the integrity of your natural hair. Depending on the type of method chosen, extension life and longevity will vary, but proper aftercare and maintenance will extend the life of your extension hair. Extension maintenance is recommended every 6-10 weeks depending on natural hair growth and hair health. The cleaner and closer to the scalp, the better for your natural hair. The number one cause of damage from hair extensions is improper after care and not sticking to a healthy maintenance schedule, followed by seeing an unexperienced stylist for installation. Pricing ranges between $500-$2000 for initial install and maintenance is $200 per hour.
The perfect hair extension candidate: Someone who wants to add fullness or length to their look and has natural hair that is healthy and strong enough to support the extension itself. For best results have bob length hair or longer. It is always our goal to make clients wearing hair extensions look like it could've grown out of their head. You want people wondering if it's your hair or not.
Seamless Weft Extensions: This is my personal favorite and is taking the extension service market by storm for its quick installation and natural look. Similar to hand-tied and beaded row methods, this method utilizes 2-3 long strips of hair, strategically placed onto the head with about 15 silicone beads, in a way that makes the natural fall of your hair disguise them perfectly. This service is fantastic for adding natural looking length, body and is incredibly easy to maintain and wear. Most clients report not even noticing them after the first couple days. Fun fact about this method is that you can still wear your hair up without putting tons of effort into hiding the extension. Initial Install and maintenance time: 1.5 hours
Tape-In Extensions: This is my next favorite method. Tape-in extensions utilize small 1.5 inch strips of hair, sandwiched with a double sided adhesive tape on each side of 1.5 inch thin section of your natural hair to help add body and length if desired. This method is great for any client but particularly clients with hair too fragile to support beads or a client that wants to add fullness to specific areas of the head, like the front sides for example. Only drawback to this method is longer time in the salon during maintenance appointments as a removal solution is used to soak the hair sandwich to release the tape from the hair. Extensions are cleaned of any sticky residue and new adhesive is added and reinstalled. Other drawback is that this hair needs to be replaced more frequently than wefts but less than strand by strand extensions. Initial install time: 1.5-2 hours, maintenance time: 2.5-3 hours
Stand Extensions: I-Tip, Keratin bond, chemical bond or bead-in strand by strand extensions take a small bundled strand of hair and attach it to the root of a similar sized segment of your natural hair using a silicone bead to clamp it to your real hair or a chemical bond that utilizes heat to fuse the chemical and strand to your hair. I have found that the best client for these methods are clients that just need small amounts of added volume and minimal length in specific regions of the head. Great for thinning clients that just need some added body, but also want the versatility of being able to wear their hair in different ways. The downside to this method is that installation time is substantially longer than other methods, thus increasing the price because of the work and time involved. Its also harder to make a full installation not look artificial. Large amounts of these strands to complete a full transformative look can look stringy if not styled correctly and this hair has to be replaced more frequently than other methods as the tip loses it's integrity and can no longer be reattached to your natural hair. Initial install time: 2-3 hours, Maintenance time: 3-5 hours
Sew-in Extensions: Utilizes long wefts of hair that are sew into a braided row foundation done tight to your scalp. Great for full transformations, but your natural hair must be strong enough to support the on scalp braids to avoid breakage. Not the most comfortable method to wear if you're not used to the tension. Initial install time: 2 hours, maintenance time: 3+ hours
Halo or Clip in Extensions: These are both great for someone wanting to add length or fullness temporarily. They can look phenomenal and transformative when installed and styled correctly. Halo extensions are a weft of hair that is a connected to a circular string and it is worn almost like a hair headband of sorts. Clip ins are multiple pieces of hair, clipped into teased segments of your natural hair. Temporary extensions are meant to be worn for your event or look and then removed before sleeping. Extended periods of not removing your temporary extensions can result in hair breakage and damage.
Extensions and hair color matching: It is always the goal to get as close of a color match as possible without having to color the extensions, this increases efficiency and the life of your extension hair. Sometimes custom color is needed for that perfect blend, and is provided at an additional cost.