Last night, I sat for three and a half hours while micro-loop extensions were put into my hair. All the while, my youngest was being crazy and climbing into laundry hampers and hiding in cat crates - he's so silly. On top of that he got a sucker stuck in his hair lol. I got my hair done by a woman not much younger than me, almost 25 years old, who had 10 years of experience under her belt with hair extensions. My hair hasn't been dyed in over a year, so the dark at the top is a dark blonde and is my natural color. The blonde at the bottom is the dyed hair that has been pushed down by the roots. She used 5 different color blondes and I think it turned out amazing. Added about 12 inches of length!
I wanted to get my hair professionally done this time, because every other time I would install the extensions myself and end up with tons of damage. This was because I was using hair glue to glue them in and the hair glue remover did not work, so I always ended up literally pulling and combing the extension wefts out. It was brutal and was ruining my hair.
This time, I chose the least damaging method - actually, it's not damaging at all. I had micro-loop extensions installed, and it uses small silicone beads that are attached to your hair shaft and the fake extensions. All you do is slide the extensions and your own hair, through the bead, then use pliers to tighten the bead so it's not loose and does not fall out. I admit, it's kind of annoying to sleep on at first, but you get used it. I have a headache now but it's mostly due to the weight of the extra hair I'm not used to. Eventually you get used to it and it feels like your natural hair.
The hair I paid for is premium REMY hair and not coated with silicone like most extensions. It is also 100% human hair. It can be dyed, curled, straightened, anything you would do to normal hair. However, since I want mine to last for years to come, I am not going to dye them at all since I don't dye my real hair, and I am going to try my best to use heat product only once per week or less. I don't ever use product such as styling gel or spray so that's a plus.
I also am going to try not washing my hair with conditioner and shampoo. Your hair has natural oils that protect the hair shaft and conditioning or shampooing your hair is actually doing damage when you think it's helping. Of course this doesn't mean you don't wet your hair or take a shower lol, but you just don't use any product in the shower on your hair. The only thing that is recommended to keep your hair safe and stay organic and natural, is to use all-natural products such as coconut oil, egg yolk and yogurt. These three natural foods do wonders for your hair!
Usually these extensions cost anywhere from $600.00 - $1500.00 depending on how many strands you need installed and the length of the extensions including installation. My girl charged only $150.00 for installation and the cost of the hair which was $100.00. Of course, she gets good prices and only charged at cost so the only money she made was the installation fee. I think that is an amazing price and she did an amazing job. It just goes to show you don't need to pay outrageous prices for good, quality service.