Hair Extensions: The Long and Short of it

Are hair extensions for you? Get the 411 from this Spa Girl who took the plunge!

I love my mother, but unfortunately I inherited her thin hair. I’ve dreamed of long, flowing locks for years but like many of you, hesitated to get real hair extensions and opted for clip-ins to create the volume and length I wanted. The process of clipping in extensions and styling them every morning was a daunting process, which I was totally over. I was ready to upgrade!

So where do you go for quality hair extensions? Who do you trust? Do extensions ruin your hair? Is it worth it? Yes, those questions plagued me too. Read on for my own personal experience with hair extensions!

How I Chose

After an extensive amount of research I decided on DreamCatchers Hair Extensions for two reasons. First, DreamCatchers uses quality hair with a two-year warranty. The quality of the hair used for your extensions is vitally important. I’ve seen a lot of bad weaves and I refuse to be a victim of bad hair extensions. Good hair extensions should blend with your natural hair and no one should be able to tell you are wearing them.

Second, the creator of DreamCatchers is a hair loss expert and created extensions that are not damaging to thin hair. If you have thin hair, extensions that are bonded, glued or taped to your tresses can be incredibly damaging because the extensions are too heavy causing your hair to be ripped out from the root. OUCH!

DreamCatchers use a “micro-cylinder” technology that is permanent, reusable and non-damaging. Done!

Where I Went

I decided to go to Primp and Blow in Scottsdale to get my hair extensions. The stylists at Primp and Blow are trained and certified “DreamTeam” DreamCatchers technicians so I was confident that I was in capable hands. Plus, I’ve been going to them regularly over the past several months and simply adore the staff there. The friendly vibe and the extra touches like complimentary refreshments and digital magazines make it an easy place to hang out for a few hours.

First Things First

The first step is selecting the style and color of your hair extensions. This isn’t as easy as it sounds but thankfully I had my stylist, Bri, to guide me through the process. In the past, I have only seen straight hair extensions but DreamCatchers come in a variety of textures, from pin straight to Shirley Temple curly. I have naturally curly hair (that I straighten and then re-curl with a curling iron – go figure) and I was able to get extensions with a texture that matches mine. This is important because if I decide to let my hair dry naturally, it will blend with the naturally curly extensions instead of my hair being a curly mess on top of straight hair.

After I picked the texture that matched my hair, I had to decide on a color. DreamCatchers has every color imaginable ranging from hot pink to deep ebony. Bri helped me pick two colors that blended naturally with my hair — a deep brown and some lighter brunette highlights woven in for depth.

The Process

When the big day finally came, I arrived at the salon with clean, dry hair and an overly enthusiastic attitude and a good book in hand. You don’t want to have hair extensions applied to dirty hair. If oil gets under the micro-cylinder that binds your hair to the extension, it can slip out.

Additionally, patience is key. The application process can take up to three hours (with trimming, shampoo and style). Be ready to relax, bring something to keep yourself entertained and make sure that you are not in a hurry. The one thing you do not want to do is rush your stylist.

Bri got to work right away by separating the hair extensions and sectioning off my hair. Starting from the bottom and working her way up, she began to weave the extension through the micro-cylinder and in to my hair. During the three-hour process, several clients asked to feel my hair and inquired about the hair extensions. I had a great conversation with Bri (about boys, celebrities and her audition for “The Voice”) and before I knew it, she was done with the application and ready to trim. Bri methodically trimmed the extensions to blend my natural hair.

The Results

Confident and ready to take my new hair for a test drive, Bri washed and styled my hair. Not only did the extensions blend perfectly with my natural hair, it gave me a renewed sense of confidence. Clipping in hair extension was incredibly time-consuming and it never felt as though I had long hair; it just felt like something was sitting on top of my head. The DreamCatchers Hair Extensions are virtually weightless and they look and feel like my natural hair. I met my girlfriends for drinks after I left Primp and Blow, and the natural look of the hair extensions blew them away.

The First 24

The first 24 hours with my new hair was fantastic. I enjoyed washing and styling it. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was how long it took to blow dry my hair. Before the extensions, it would take me five minutes to dry my hair. It took about 15 minutes to blow it dry with the extensions. I definitely had to readjust my morning routine.

Another thing I never expected was the confidence I gained from having the hair extensions. I literally feel like an entirely new girl. While expensive ($1,500), with a two-year warranty and the experts at Primp and Blow on my side, they were worth every penny. I will never go back to clip-in hair extensions.

Follow-up

I have to go back in four to six weeks to have the micro-cylinders moved up. As your hair grows, the cylinders will move away from the base of the hair. It’s vitally important that you visit your stylist every four to six weeks so that the cylinders are released safely and then slid up the hair shaft and properly re-crimped in place. Do not try this at home!

Hairapy

Caring for your new hair extensions is easy as long as you maintain them properly from the beginning. Your stylist should provide you with a list of instructions as mine did. Here’s what you need to know:

• Make sure you ease any tangling that may happen with your fingers. Knotting can develop, which may cause damage to your extensions and your natural hair.
• When conditioning and applying products in your hair, stay away from the roots. If oil gets under the cylinders, it may cause the extension to slip out.
• Do NOT color your hair extensions. This was the one thing that Bri made very clear. If you want to color your hair, have the stylist who applied the extensions take them out first. Coloring the extensions can permanently damage them.
• Do NOT cut the hair extensions. If you need to have your hair trimmed, go back to the stylist who put them in. Hairdressers not familiar with DreamCatchers may damage the extensions using incorrect technique or cut the extensions too short.
• Take extra care when brushing your hair. Don’t pull too hard because this may rip the extension from the micro-cylinder.

Further Reading

Here are a few fun and helpful resources on hair extensions.

• DreamCatchers Hair Extensions website
• Tips on Caring for Hair Extensions
• What You Should Know about Hair Extensions
• Celebrities Before and After Hair Extensions

Got a question for me about my adventure in hair extensions? Ask away!