Some people wear extensions because they are unable to grow their own hair long, or as quickly as they would like to. Some people genetically cannot grow their hair past a certain point. Others might be able to, but realise that growing your hair long is a slow process: the average growth rate of hair is about 1 cm a month, so getting your hair from, say, shoulder length to mid-back is going to take some time. You could have an important date coming up, such as a wedding or your husband's company dinner and there simply isn't time to grow your hair long enough.
Some people have thinning hair or bald patches. There isn't much you can do about that except cover them up. Hair extensions can completely cover bald spots and they can provide a lot of extra volume to thinning hair.
Add Highlights
You might want to add highlights to your own hair without the risk of using chemicals or dyes, and carefully selected hair extensions can enable you to do this. You can also enjoy many different types of styles for your hair when you have extensions which you can't do if your hair is shorter.
However, wearing hair extensions may not be all sweetness and light and they can come with their own set of problems. Whatever type of hair extensions you use, they will take a little getting used to. There is no doubt that you get a feeling of having something extra in amongst your hair, and they do, of course, add some extra weight, albeit not a lot.
Unless you use clip-in hair extensions, which you can put in yourself in five or ten minutes once you have got the hang of it, you are going to have to spend some time in the stylist's chair. Even something as straightforward as tape-in hair extensions can take the best part of an hour, while weave or sew-in extensions will have you sitting there for several hours. The longer you sit, the more it costs. Furthermore, you are going to have to go back every few weeks to have the extensions removed and replaced, as your own hair grows out. On top of that, some types of hair extension are only good for one or two uses and then have to be replaced, so that is an additional cost. This last point is a very good reason for using top quality human hair extensions which, given some tlc, can last for up to 12 months.
It Costs Money
Overall, using hair extensions is going to cost money, unless you opt for very cheap synthetic extensions. However, although they are cheap these simply do not have the look and feel of real hair and you are very restricted in what you can do with them. You can't apply any sort of heat because they are made of plastic (yes, really!) and you will melt them if you do. So you can't use curling tongs, straighteners, or even blow them dry. You can't dye them, either.
You have to be very careful how you brush your hair, because if you get it stuck you can pull out your extensions, or even your own hair. So you no longer can brush from roots to ends, which is the "correct" way to do things. You have to brush up from the ends to the roots, but of course this means that you are no longer brushing oils from the roots to the ends so you have to add oil on to your ends manually so that they don't dry out and become brittle.
If you have any type of glue on your extensions you will need to wear a shower cap and try to make the gap between shampoos longer so that the shampoo doesn't start to break down the glue.
However, if all of this is putting you off, it shouldn't. Google "hair extension specialist near me" and you will find one who can answer all your queries and advise you as to the best type of extensions for your particular hair.
