Everything You Need To Know About Hair Extensions | Clip-Ins, Tape-Ins, Bonds, Hand-Tied

What i really want you to know is this: most of it's, not real hello angels. Welcome back to my channel today we're talking everything, hair extensions, a super big, deep dive and i'm finally ready to do this. Video with you, because i have tried every single one of these types, so not only am i speaking from doing a ton of research and doing a deep dive for you, but i'm also speaking from experience, quick disclaimer before we start this video. This video is neither to encourage or discourage you from diving into the world of hair extensions. I know that having fine, hair and thin hair can be extremely extremely frustrating, and i have another video about my tips and tricks on how to deal with that here. On this channel - and we talk a ton about hair and beauty and lifestyle, but this video is rather just to educate you so that you can personally make a decision whether you decide to go this route or not. Now i'm sure a lot of you have seen clip in extensions before it's kind of like the gateway extension route. Hair extensions, specifically clip and extensions started to become very popular in the 1990s hair was bigger than life and there probably isn't anything more iconic than topanga lawrence in boy meets world, her top of the head ponytail. Oh, so you think that's it. You think it gives me all my confidence is my face and hair and the fact that they're perfect yeah, i think that puts a little spring in your step or rachel from friends and all of her iconic hairstyles as well right in the 1990s. This is when these hair extensions started to become a little bit more cost effective and a bit more widespread in availability. We were starting to see hair extensions really take part in models. Super high fashion, tyra banks rocking hair extensions in the 1990s and yes, she did rock them. Maybe you didn't exactly have your finger on the pulse of super high fashion, but if you grew up in the 1990s or you're around at that time, you most certainly heard of miss britney spears and her oops. I did it again. Video was most certainly iconic for her big hairstyle and her hair extensions. Colored, hair extensions are also a really fun way to show personality and most certainly you're still seeing them around today. Okay, let's get to the nitty gritty of it, though this is actually what you want to know clipping extensions, also known as weaves or wefts. Those are other words that you will likely see online, and this method is very simple. It is essentially a weft with a little tiny clip on it, and these clips are very pressure. Sensitive and they're. Very tight and they're used to just basically clip them in your hair and boom. You'Ve got a hair extension now when you buy a package of these wefts, you can get anywhere from 7 to 10, sometimes 14. Who knows how many are in there and those clips will either have one little tiny clip on there or four now for myself my head is actually kind of tiny, so those four ones don't exactly fit. They would be like hooking onto my eyebrows at that point, but the reason why they have all these sizes is just to accommodate for a lot of different head shapes and in fact there are a lot of places, wig stores, specifically that if you do buy these Extensions, you can get them cut down to size. There are two routes that you can go with these clip and extensions, synthetic or human hair. Obviously, there is going to be a bigger price difference in between the two, but with synthetic hair, often times you can't really use heat on it, because you are really going to run the risk of one ruining your hot tulle and also kind of warping. Your hair extension, if you are going to go the route of clip in extensions, i definitely suggest doing some more research and finding some ethical brands where you could source human hair extensions. So, let's talk about price. This is the first thing. This is the lowest costing set of extensions that we're going to talk about throughout this entire video. You could go anywhere from synthetic 75, even if you just wanted to opt for getting a ponytail. You can also just purchase that off the top. There are some ways i could teach you in a future video how to use the line extensions to make a really awesome pony, but i digress. These can go anywhere from 75 to 300, when you're, looking at a pack of extensions and they'll, come in different lengths, and that's also something to consider when it comes to price and your own choice. When we're talking about length something i want you to really think about so 16 inches is usually the shortest you could, i assume, get shorter ones and oftentimes you'll cut them down because a lot of women, for example, the clip. I showed you of kristen bell at the beginning. She has shoulder-length hair, but she still had extensions in and you can 100 do it with short hair just to volumize versus lengthen. If you look here at these different hair guides, 16 inch. 20. 24. I even saw some that were like 26 inches on a gal when i was just surfing in through a couple of the extension websites that i've looked at and hair salons. You really have a lot of room to play, but i need you to know and remember these don't grow with your own hair right and, with that being said, wear and tear heat styling, naturally you're going to end up trimming these along the way just to keep Them looking really nice and healthy, especially in your first pair of extensions you're, not going to 100 know how to care for these properly. No offense you're just going to be going through that learning route. So i always suggest go that two inches longer than you're. Sure of because already once you put them in you're going to want to get them cut just so, it looks really nice also a lot of gals who get their hair extensions in really one of the most exciting things is to curl your hair. So if you think that you're going to be doing a heat, styling, curl often, then naturally you'll just want to get them a little longer, because it will go up just a touch. One thing that is very different from clipping extensions and all of the other ones. We'Re going to speak to today is that this is a daily application. Never sleep in these absolutely never never. Never! That will definitely put a lot of strain on your actual natural hair and it's just a way better practice to take them out. At the end of the day, because these clips can sometimes be a little bit bulky, maybe you've also done a backcomb to get them in there. You just want to reduce the amount of stress on your follicles, so let's really dive into the pros and cons. Okay, versatile hairstyles, you can definitely do a ton with extensions, whether it be ponytails, hair down, curled hairs, updos. Definitely an awesome option also that daily application kind of nice to take it out. At the end of the day, you can scratch your scalp. You can do a really nice hair mask where it's all up in there, without your extensions in of course, and then you can clean them separately as well. Also, they are super great for special occasions. So if you are just looking to get hair extensions for a special occasion, prom graduation photo shoots. I say that clip and hair extensions are the way to go honey. They are the most cost effective and you can do them right at home. Now, let's talk about some of the cons, because this con will likely be on every single one. You can damage your hair if you are putting them in improperly so learning those tactics is definitely awesome to know and making sure again that you are never sleeping in these. They can be a little bit clunkier if you aren't putting them in again properly and, if maybe you're putting in too many. So this is something to be mindful, but that's more on you than a con to the actual product. It can be tough to color match them, so what i suggest is, if you are looking at a type of extension and you don't have the ability to go into a wig store, for example, which is where i suggest you look up. If you are looking. Where can i buy hair extensions? It'S awesome because they'll just have an entire wall of them and they'll pull a bunch down and pull your hair through and they'll like try to match them. That'S definitely the way to go, but if you can't and you're doing it online, i suggest going to a hair extension website i'll try to find a few and link them down below and get a couple of samples. So what you can do is i'll. Send you a pack and say you want to be ice blonde they'll, send you their one two and three options for that and then, as soon as you get that you can color match with that, i say this specifically for this one, because normally you'll have an Extension technician doing this for you. I also want to say a big word of warning. If you are someone who suffers from alopecia or severe hair loss, this is not the way to go. Sadly, because the weight that these clips put on your hair and your follicles could definitely expedite the way that your hair falls out, which is definitely not what we want in this scenario. Next up tape, extensions. I think these ones are maybe a little bit less intuitive. Well, it is definitely a tape extension. There are tape pieces on these extensions, but i remember when i first went in for tape extensions. I did tons of research because all i was thinking was, how does it work? Do they tape it to my scalp? What is happening here so i want you to think of a tape, extension kind of like an ice cream sandwich. The tapes are the two outside bits and the inside bit, where all that ice cream is that's your hair and they smush it together. It'S basically medical grade adhesive, and then it just stays there and as your hair grows out, the tape grows out along with it. There are two different types of wefts that you could get, and i learned this especially because i am a fine haired woman and i also have blonde hair now the one that you see on the right there called waterfall. Those are ones that you'll have right around your crown when you literally have a weft right here or right here, it is wild the process of how close they could get them to the front and the back, so those ones are really going to allow that as It grows out you're not going to be seeing the tape bit in your hair you're, going to be seeing that top bit, that is kind of a hidden hair tactic and then below that bit. That'S where you're going to have this regular tape extension and the reason for that is the waterfall ones - will be a little bit pricier but 100 worth it. If you are concerned, because you have fine hair, i love this picture from luxy hair because it really shows you the two bits. This is how thick these bits of hair are, and sometimes i laugh at it because i'm like, oh my god, that's how much hair i have on my actual head. Can you relate so this is the sandwich and they will pull off that adhesive and what is so great is you can use these again and again we'll talk about that in a second, but first i want to cover cost because at first there is definitely sticker Shock, you are purchasing this hair right and if you go into a salon, i go to bond girl hair in toronto, i'll link them down below. I have another video later in this. That i'll show you they're amazing amazing, ladies so talented, and what is the most expensive part is purchasing the hair and they don't actually make a ton of money off of that purchase of your hair. So you are also going to be paying for your technician, to install them and then take them out and then install them again. For example, unless you are absolutely one straight, color is to go for a couple of different packs of different colors and that they way they can blend in your hair for blondes. Specifically, when we're talking about these kind of extensions, the permanent ones and on what i will do is i will make sure, especially in the summer when i want to be really bright blonde, i will make some of those wefts extremely blonde, so that i kind of Have blonding really brightens it up, but i'm not bleaching, my actual hair, so it's a good way to kind of allow for all of that really harsh stuff on an extension, that's not actually your natural hair, if that makes it, the cost of those extensions are really Going to vary whether it be the color the length and the volume, because what you're paying for is actually grams of hair. So sometimes, when you are looking online on instagram, for example, they will have little posts that say: oh, this was a 22 inch. 200 grams of blonde extensions - and you can kind of get an idea of what that looks like the cost of these, can absolutely vary as we chatted about, depending on the type of hair where they are getting it from and then as well. Your technician costs, but after the first initial appointment, where you get your new hair, which is always exciting because it is just in such perfect condition. After all, those sequential appointments which will be around six to eight weeks in between each other, the cost is going to be much less because all you're paying for is the technician's time. So i touched on this just briefly. Yes, you are going to have to get these moved up because, as they grow out, you're going to start to see them a little more and what's really important as well, is when you think about it, as your hair grows out. If this tape is growing out with it, you are naturally just going to have hair falling out, but the hair isn't going to fall out on the ground. It'S going to be stuck in that tape. So i don't want you to worry too much when you go to your appointment and you have your tapes removed, because there is going to be quite a bit of fallout in there because of just natural hair falling out. Your hair falls out every single day, but this one is just going to be stuck in that tape, but as it falls out, less and less hair is going to be holding on to your scalp and to the bond. So why? You want to make sure that you get your appointments scheduled. Is that you don't ever want that in between hair to bond to be super super weak, because, as more hair falls out, it's going to then put more strain on your follicles. We always want them to be strong, cared for and never getting that tangly bit in between the scalp and that tape, often time people who have really bad scenarios like horror stories with extensions. It'S because they didn't care for them. They didn't get them replaced. They weren't brushing them enough and you can brush. This is a tangle teaser. Actually i have with you. You can brush right over top of hair with extensions. I have currently a hand tied which we are going to talk about, but it's the exact same for tape. Ins and it's the exact same for bonds, a frequently asked question with all of the permanent extensions is: how long does the hair last well, that really depends on you babe, because if you take care of it, i've had hair extensions last for a year and often Times the average could be anywhere from nine months to a year so to completely ease your mind, what can you expect from your tape and appointment when you first go in and have your initial? This is when they are going to color match your hair you're, going to decide what hair you're getting you're going to be given a quote that appointment will likely cost around 50. That 50 dollars will go towards your actual installment appointment and that's something. I think that you should definitely know getting a quote and getting all the information is really important and getting that professional color match. This is where you're going to decide what type of hair you're going to get the length. All of that, when you go for your installation appointment the night before you really do want to make sure that your hair is nice and clean, and you have used absolutely no product on it and you're going to be using one of those clarifying shampoos to get Absolutely everything out of it and no conditioner. This is very important. Just clarifying shampoo that day of nice and straightened and boom there you go take a before picture because the after is going to be shocking and then you go in and they'll just have all of the wefts right there for you, and it just starts to very Very quick, your tape and extension appointment, probably maybe around an hour. Not even it's honestly super quick to get this done. They pull it up, they put the one sandwich on and then they they flip it over and then they do the other one and there there's one in if that makes sense. So that's all well and good. When you go back and at that first appointment book, your next one for the six to eight weeks to make sure that you can get in as you go through having these you're gon na know, how long makes sense for you, whether that be closer to the Six weeks, maybe your hair grows really fast or closer to the eight weeks. Maybe your hair grows really slow when you do go in for that, as i mentioned before, they're gon na have to take all of that glue out so you're going to have acetone put on your hair. That'S going to be peeled off, really nice and easily and then they're going to have to comb through and take all of that glue out and then wash your hair and scrub your scalp, but in that process this is where things can get tricky. If you don't have really a lot of self-confidence about your hair, because you're gon na see a lot of it come out and that can be stressful. But again a lot of that will be the fallout if you are just taking care of your hair. A lot of it will just be natural fall out that got caught in that glue and then from there. What can be kind of tricky is you may have another hairdresser? Who does your color appointment and then you have to come back and get your tapes reinstalled. So it all depends on what your technician can do. Can they do your install your takeout, your hair, your color, your cut and everything all in one day, because that's going to be a very long day and basically, your whole day is going to be taken up with that appointment. Let'S talk quickly about the pros and cons, so a big probe, you don't need to tend to it daily and in fact you actually just forget that they're, even in it's super awesome, they hold styles really really amazingly, and i found that i used way less heat On my hair, i washed my hair way less, which was amazing. I really snuggled up to my dry, shampoo and boom. I was off and going and even just throwing up in a ponytail felt so impressive, because there was so much more hair there. That was always really nice for sure, with the tape, ins and they're really natural looking and they don't tangle easily. The great thing specifically about this method is, you can use the hair again and again and you don't feel bad. You know when you continue on and you take care of them and it's just really nice to have them cons. Definitely you are adding weight to the follicle. We don't ever want to ignore that. So that's something if you do have hair loss problems. This could be something that you know it just may not be the route for you to go. They are definitely more of an investment 100, but after that first initial investment things do get a lot easier as you go especially creates that incentive to take care of the hair. You cannot do this by yourself at home. I know there are some youtube videos showing you how you can and i'm sure a lot of people have and have been successful. But if you are just diving into this world, please do not do that. Go to a professional and learn exactly how this needs to be done. Personally, speaking from experience, i would never do this by myself. I put an asterisk beside this one because they can be hilarious in the wind, especially tape extensions, because if it's windy, one tape will just go floof and it just flops right over and it can just be absolutely ridiculous. So this is just something you just don't know until you know - and this goes without saying - can definitely damage your hair, if not removed and taken care of throughout the process properly. Okay, this one always feels so much more intense we're talking bond extensions bond extensions are so interesting because you can literally have hundreds of bonds in your hair, not just maybe 20 or 15 tapes, hundreds of bonds, and they are really tiny and they are held to Your virgin hair with a keratin bond and heat stamped on and then kind of rolled i'll, show you a video of an example of this that keratin bond melts onto your virgin hair and then just grows out as your hair grows. All of these rows are so specific and what i find really interesting about bonds and what i was interested to try about them was: you can actually do a half bond, so a micro bond, especially if you have fine hair. This is something i definitely think that you should ask your technician about. If this is the route you choose to go because they will literally take the bun, which is kind of like a wisp of hair and then cut it in half, so that it's two little tiny ones and that way you can ensure maybe a tighter blend bonds Can most certainly run you, maybe even a little bit higher than tapes, and the reason for that is just there are so many of them now likelihood. The hair is a little similar, but the technician appointment could definitely be much higher and the reason for that is because sometimes i think i'd recall when i would go in for a bond appointment, it would take anywhere from six to seven five to seven hours of Them doing my hair, and at least you're only doing this once with every set of hair, but there's also a con. That comes with that. So we'll talk about that in a second. But what should you expect for your appointment very similar, purifying shampoo? The day of you go in with straightened clean hair, no product on it at all, and then they just get to work, and i'm going to show you a little video of what this looks like and how long that process does take can depend on how many Bonds that you have but expect at least five hours plus could be eight hours. Uber eats right to the appointment. So what you can see here is her individually taking those little bonds protecting your head with that plastic cover and then just melting the bond to the hair and then rolling it in. So it's really nice and tiny, and the way that that's removed is when you go for your removal appointment four months from then, which is a really long time right. You'Re gon na have these for so much longer than any other type of extension. They break the bond and then slip it off of your hair and then it's discarded. So that is definitely a huge con, for me is the fact that it's a one and done pros are very similar to the tapes in that you don't need to tend to it daily, the four months from then hey. Maybe you are going on like a really long trip and you want to have this done and you don't even want to have to think about going to a hairdresser appointment. This could be the one for you four months, that's a pretty long time and then it also reduces the amount of heat or washes that you do have in your hair. I found that my hair - just i just didn't - have to tend to it as much which is great and then, as you go through that process, it just gets less oily and things kind of stay pretty great. It'S definitely natural, looking not easy to tangle you're, not as worried about that difference between the scalp and the bond like the scalp and the tape, because there's just so much less hair to be worried about. There is a potential that a bond could literally just fall off, and that is because maybe you do naturally lose a bit of hair and you have a bit of strain and oftentimes. I believe, when i was talking to my technician, ashley, she would say: yeah don't be worried if one or two just absolutely fall out, it can definitely happen and it's not necessarily a super bad thing. You really do just forget that you have them in all together unless you're feeling around your head and, what's also great, is i find that when it comes to doing hairstyles like these guys with the the big banana clips and things like that, it is so much Easier, you can do that with bonds and there's a lot more versatility in hairstyles that you can do versus the tapes, for example, you're adding weight to the follicle. It is hard to get a part and then separate it from the back, because they're just all over your head, and it definitely is more of an investment versus that clip-in option. If you are just looking for a starter pack - and you can most certainly not do this by yourself at home - it can damage your hair if not taken cared for or removed properly. During the midst of quarantine, when i actually had bonds in, i had to take them out by myself and get 100 acetone, which is super hard on your hair and use pliers, and it was just it was just a nightmare. And so this is something that i want to make sure that you always have an appointment with a technician to get these removed. So keep that in mind when you're budgeting for this method. Next up we're going to talk hand-tied extensions, and that is the method that i currently have in my hair. So hand-tied extensions look a little bit like this and when i was first going in for a consultation, i literally had to ask. I have no idea what is going on here, even after looking at videos online. So hopefully i can provide a little bit more insight to that. So in this picture here, what you see is those little bonds but they're, not keratin bonds. They are like little plastic loops that they sew up into your hair. So it's almost as if you just had your piece of hair and a little bead on it. They'Re called beads they're called beads. You have a little bead and then they take a pair of pliers and they squish them down. So it's literally just holding your hair, and here what they are doing, is they're, taking the natural hair and they're creating a track for the weft to be sewn in this definitely helps add more volume to your hair and much less tension versus maybe some of the Other methods, when you go in for your appointment, you are going to be given a variety of different types of hair. All of them may be coming in at different costs, depending on the brand, specifically the length and the color. All of the things that we've already talked about, so this is what the process looked like. I found this on at babe underscore hair on instagram, and i was like. Oh, this video actually does a really good job, so first they create that track and then they use just clips to clip on the hair. Now this weft is just extremely long. It looks like a cliff and extension weft and it's not those individual pieces. It will literally go like a halo around your head and depending on how you want this to look. There are people who could get one row, two rows three rows, but they come in rows and likelihood you're not going to go higher than that, and then the process is is that they sew them onto the track. So it's basically the hair in between the bead and your scalp is used as the track to put the hair on and, what's really great, is that you actually don't use any glue or any keratin bond. So the pros you don't need to tend to them daily, which is great, reduces the amount of time that you are washing or heat styling, and they really just maintain that style a little bit longer to get them moved up. It'S very similar to a tape and extension because they grow out the same as well, and that's around the six to eight week period that you're going to want to go in and get your highlight done, and everything like that anyways natural. Looking result, you can use the hair again and again and just to add once more no glue or keratin bond is used in this one. Some of the cons you're still adding weight, you're still adding something to your head, so we will constantly address the follicle weight. There definitely an investment again, and you cannot do these yourself at home. I have found personally that some cons with this one - sometimes you can see the little bit pop up and if they are not perfectly perfectly placed it, can be a little bit annoying to put your hair up. So if you're someone who puts your hair up a ton, this may not be the method for you, but it may. Actually, you may just get one row in the middle of your head. Bob'S your uncle and it's super easy to put your hair up so whether it comes to styling your hair up or down. All of these ranges have options of something you could do. There are tons of care tips that i could give you for extensions, but i think this video has already been long enough. Maybe i'll do how to care for your extensions, no matter the type in a future video, but here are a couple of quick ones: sulfate free shampoo, brushing from the bottom moving your way up when taking out knots, silk pillowcases, that's good for anyone's hair to lower Friction when you are sleeping, we often sleep on one side and you'll find that that side will actually be thinner than the other. Can you tell i already went to this side and then adding oil into your hair at the bottom and not using too much shampoo on your actual extensions? You really just need to do that closer to your scalp, but we'll deep dive on that in the future. If you do want to see that video, please do, let me know in the comments below and let me know if you've been considering any of these methods. None of them are right. None of them are wrong. It'S just something that you're choosing for you and at the end of the day, no one can tell you what is right or wrong for you to do to your body. So, whatever choice, it is go for it and give it a try. And if none of these are an option for you, that's fine too. I know that personally, i used to get a lot of anxiety when i would get my hair extensions removed, specifically tape and bond extensions, because i would just see the drastic difference and i didn't like that - and i didn't want to preach that relief, because i knew It had such an impact on my mental health, but now, after having quarantine and being with my natural hair for so long and then doing this other habit, extension type of method the hand tied. I don't feel that way anymore and if you do take care of your hair and your extensions, all of them. I have actually seen my hair grow more than before, because i use less heat styling and i use less product in my hair. So oftentimes a lot of these methods are really up to you to take care of it because you don't want to end up looking like this, which is an absolute horror story. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Please do. Let me know if you have any questions that i didn't cover. I would love to answer them down below. Let'S continue to create a community in the comments, and let me know if you want to see any other videos just like this, and i will see you in my next one bye, a reputable. If you get a repairable brand, you