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Monday 28 November 2011

I am a Hair Extensionaholic. Fact.

My name is Lauren and I am a Hair Extensionaholic.

There, I said it. Phew.

This is me, without extensions.

straight hair & wavy hair
I have an obscene tan in the left photo because that was about three months into a summer in California. I'm not normally like that!

My hair is horrifically fine, when my hair is in a ponytail the circumference is less than a 10p. I haaaate having fine hair, it doesn't grow, doesn't sit right and just gets me down.

I started wearing extensions when I was abooout 16. I was the only person I knew in my school to go down that route, and MAN did I feel like the bee's knees. I started with clip ins from Sally's, good ol' American Dream Extensions. They were straggly and cheap, and I LOVED them.

Don't I look aaamaaazing? LOL. I'm 18 here and yes, I used to dress like a Barbie. I also used to be skinny, sobsob. So as well as my cheap clip ins, I liked to add to the class by incorporating some pink hair into the mess. What a babe.

After a few other girls at school started wearing extensions, I decided to step up my game. I researched thoroughly and decided on HeadKandy Extensions. I was sooo excited to get them but now I can hardly remember what was so exciting about them.

They do look a bit shinier but this pic was taken the very first time I'd put them in so they were brand new. Still crazy obvious I have extensions in tho!

Clip ins are just not for me, to be honest. My hair is so fine that the clips show really easily and there's just not enough hair to blend them in. :(

Then, my 'moment' came. It was one of those moments that changed my life. You might think I'm exaggerating - I'm not. It was on a trip to London with my sister, and we were having a wee shop in Selfridges, when we saw...

The Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves HairDo Extension stall.

Omg. I still smile thinking about that moment. We both happily forked out £70 each on our synthetic hair.

They photographed really fake-shiny because they were synthetic. Lovely.

Jessica Simpson HairDo Extensions are still my favourite clip ins to date. Because most of them are synthetic you can't style them but you can get a huge variety of styles, lengths and colours and they're normally about £45 on eBay now.

The HairDo extensions are different because they are a one-piece, it's like a cap, and you lift up the top section of hair, clip the cap on with five little clips, release your own hair and TA DA! They are the thickest extensions I've ever used, blend really well and stay in with no problems.


The big, HUGE problem with these extensions is that they just do not last. I found that wearing them for two months, every day, was pretty much all I got out of them. They just got really dry and matted at the ends. So I invested the £150 on eBay (regularly £300) for the real hair version. And although I looooved it, and have now bought loads of these extensions, they still let me down on longevity.

Another negative is the cost. For about £80 you get a full head one-piece, but it's synthetic so you can't style it. If, like me, you regularly have straight and curly hair, you need to buy two sets of extensions. And the human hair version is £299. Ouch.

So pretty though...

A variety of styles and shades over the years

Curly for my Grad Ball, straight for Graduation

To find out more about Jessica Simpson & Ken Paves HairDo Extensions, go here. They cost £39-£299 depending on length and style.


So because of my problems with HairDo, I've been on the market for new extensions and I reeeeally want to try Halo Extensions. They do clip ins, which I'm not interested in because as mentioned before I just don't like individual wefts, they're just not for me. I've heard great things about them though if clip ins are your thing!
 But they also do this AMAZING thing called a 'halo'. Basically it's a wire that is attached to all the hair, so it's a one-piece like the HairDo ones. I love one-pieces because they're so quick and easy to use!
For the Halo, you place the extensions on with the wire on your crown like a hairband. It's practically invisible already, and then you pull sections of hair from underneath the weft and wire using a pin tailed comb to cover completely over it! Finished! It looks amazing, I despo want one on my Christmas list but I'm not sure if I have enough hair to cover over the seem of where all the hair starts(majorly sucks having fine hair). :(

To find out more about Halo Extensions and to watch a tutorial, go here. They cost £79.99-£89.99 depending on length. They are seriously amazing, and their customer service on Twitter is unparallelled - @halo_hair . You can also send them recent photos of yourself and they'll do a colour matching service, which takes away one of the big stresses of buying extensions online!

Right now I have glued in extensions, but I'll talk about them another time because I think I've bored you enough with my hair extension chat!!

Do you wear extensions? What's your favourite brand? Would you try HairDo or Halo?
Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

35 comments:

  1. I loved this post! I've always had long hair so never really bothered but a few years ago I chopped it all off and its taking FOREVER to grow back! I recently got my first set of clip ins and they were from halo hair. I have fine hair too but the clips are so well concealed within the extension that I find they're not obvious at all.

    I also recently got sent the halo and I think it would be perfect for u! It's real hair but a LOT cheaper than the price you have been paying! It's also super thick, styleable, takes 5 mins to put in and the band is invisible!

    I'd definitely recommend forking out for the halo, I'll be doing a review and video on mine very soon, so be sure to look out for it!

    You look absolutely beautiful in all these pics too by the way, like a lil princess! xx

    Visit The Other Side Of Cool
    Tweet me! @othersideofcool

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you!!

    I have never ever been able to grow my hair, it's just so shockingly fine that much more than an inch past my shoulders just looks straggly. I find I need extensions just to feel good about myself so it's a never ending quest to find the perfect set!

    I don't know if I've just had bad experiences with clip ins, I probably should give them a try again but the ones I've used always seem quite fine and the clips are bulky.

    I can't wait to see your review on The Halo, although I have a feeling already that I'll probably be forking out regardless!! =p

    ~ Lauren <3

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  3. Great post hun, i just use clip in's from sally's :) xoxo

    I gave you this award http://justtiffeny.blogspot.com/2011/11/versatile-blogger-award.html

    <3

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  4. I've never worn extentions as I have super-duper curly hair and I'm not sure they'd blend well :( Always wanted to try them out though especially as I want long hair at the moment! Grrr. Loved the post.
    Love
    gabriellasofia

    http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/
    x

    ReplyDelete
  5. This post was so useful, as i am currently thinking about purchasing some new hair extensions! I've only ever used the ones from the indoor market where i live(how tacky does that sound?!), but you have to sew the clips in yourself and i did a really bad job, plus they just don't match my bleach-blonde colour :( definately persuaded me to research different brands and types of extensions, so thanks!

    Georgie <3
    http://thehandbagsnthegladrags.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Tiffeny - I just can't pull the Sally's ones off! I think it's cause my hair's so fine, they just look straggly for me (as you can see in the photos lol!)

    @Gabriellasophia - I know you can get the Jessica Simpson ones quite curly, but I still don't think they'd be curly enough for you. =/ You've got lovely hair tho!

    @Georgie - I'm proper anal about extensions now, I hate when I see a bad set! I think that's because I've been there lol and it makes me cringe now! Defo do your research, sometimes it's better to pay a little bit more to get the good quality! ^_^

    ~ Lauren <3

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have extremely thin hair too, mine always looks straggly and untidy :( even when it's just cut!
    I tried my friends hair extensions in zonks ago but you could see them through my hair and I spoke to a hairdresser who told me to stay away from them as they would make my hair even thinner!

    I might have to look into it again as you can't see yours through your hair! And apart from the shininess you can't even tell theyre there!!

    You're hair looks way thicker in the pics with the extensions! Mega jealous! (I think yours might be thinker than mine without them, so I'm not sure they would sit right!!)

    Jen
    Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't see how temporary extensions can make your hair thinner, unless they're suuuper heavy and pull out your hair! Your hairdresser probs meant to stay clear of glue in extensions.

    The HairDo extensions are honestly so, so thick, and you can't see any clips because they're all tucked inside the hairpiece. If you're wanting to try them, I'd suggest like a £45 set of synthetic Jessica Simpson HairDo! I can't say about Halo yet because I've not actually tried it, but I have high hopes for it too!

    ~ Lauren <3

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  9. i didn't notice you had extension at all from your profile pic so they must be good! i also think your hair seems perfectly normal on the first pic but i know how hard it is when something bothers you. good luck with halo!

    jenna@www.pretastyle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awww well maybe me and my hairdresser have picked each other up wrong! I was talking about clip in and she must have been talking bout the glue in ones! Haha
    I might have to think about getting myself some now!! :D
    Jen
    Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Jenna - Thank you! They're my glued in extensions in my profile pic, I do love them but I'm nervous of any damage they might be doing. Ugh, my hair is sooo fine. Honestly. Hate it!!

    @Jen - I couldn't say for sure, but unless your clip ins are very heavy, you shouldn't have to worry about damage. Honestly, the feeling of having thick hair... it's just amazing!! =p

    ~ Lauren <3

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  12. Aww love all your pics, you look stunning! I used to wear clip-in's a few years ago but could never afford the decent ones hehe! I cringe looking back at old photos because they looked so weird and in one pic, a clip had come undone and was hanging off my head haha!! I could really do with thickness so the ones you have mentioned would be worth a shot. Thanks for a fun, informative post Lauren, love your blog xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Aw thank you Jen!! That means a lot. ^_^
    I just laugh looking back at my first stages of extensioning... I thought I looked AMAZE but in actual fact you could see every clip and it was just..ugh. I'd take them out and reattach them at school too, very subtle.
    Tbh I'm more for thickness too, I like my hair to be long but I'm happy with the length in the top two pics if I had lots of hair to play with!!

    ~ Lauren <3

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  14. Aww my hair's really thick, so that's probably why! xoxo

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  15. I also have ridiculously thin hair - I love to wear extensions (when I'm not being a lazy mofo) to pad it out and actually make me feel like I have hair ha-ha. You look gorge both with and without though and you're still a skinny mini! You've got a fab figure!

    Sarah
    http://fashionismyh2o.blogspot.com/
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. My mum has really fine hair and my dad is bald - I had no hope really!! I always get so envious of people with naturally thick hair - they don't know how good they've got it!! =p

    And thanks, although I'm a heifer compared to what I was!! =p

    ~ Lauren <3

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  17. You pull them off pretty well. :D I have really long hair as it is, used to be able to sit on it. Haha, but it's really thin :< I used to have coloured extensions in when I was younger. Just wish my real hair was thicker! xx

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  18. Omg, so jealous, my hair just doesn't grow past a certain length! You could use extensions just to add some thickness?

    ~ Lauren <3

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  19. I am a hair extensionaholic aswell, sooo bad I can't go out without mine, I found that you can get quite cheap, good set from sallys, they sometimes do an offer aswell, real hair too, but I would love to try the @halo_hair too I'm savIng up for some :)
    Xxx

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  20. I'm getting my bonded ones out tomorrow and my new set not in til Friday - nervous about the days in between where I will have nooo hair lol! Halo usually have some kind of discount available if you ask. ^_^

    ~ Lauren <3

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  21. I'M A HAIR EXTENSIONAHOLIC TOO!! hahah :)

    Marie x

    marieeeloves.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You sing it loud and proud, sister! =p

      It's a dangerous condition haha. :)

      ~ Lauren <3

      Delete
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  23. Hey, this is a late post but i thought i would comment :)
    I too am a hair extension junkie, i love the jessica simpson sets too i bought the synthetic curly one in buttered wheat and also a clip in ponytail from selfridges like you did, i currently have a weave in at the moment but it is doing my head in!

    My scalp gets so dry and being as blonde as you roots are a nightmare because i dont want to put anymore stress on my hair at the mo by going to the salon, need to take it out soon and give my hair some TLC! A weave does look good though, it's just you have to decide whether you want it to look awesome whilst sacrificing your scalp.. in a perfect world i want both!

    Love your blog xoxo

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