Pre-Fitting Advice

To be eligable for extensions you must have hair that is long enough to tie into a pony tail. It only has to be a little one as long as all your hair (minus a fringe if you have one) can be put into it.  If your hair isn't this long then the bonds may be visible and I will not be able to fit extensions for you. If your own hair is less than 6” long it will not be possible to wear your extensions up in a high clip, bun or pony tail, although you can tie them back.

Ultimately, what you start off with will greatly depend on what you end up with. If your hair is longer than 6 inches it will blend a lot better than shorter hair. If your hair is bobbed, it is advised that you have your bob line removed, as if not you will see a line even with extensions. Similarly, do not have your hair trimmed before the fitting as a natural look rather than a blunt cut will blend in a lot better with extensions.

Once a sample or colour match is taken from your hair, you must not colour or dye it until after the fitting.

The day before the fitting you would need to wash your hair but do not condition it. It is vital that you do not use conditioner on your hair the day before the fitting, as this could cause the bonds to fail. Conditioner coats the hair in a silky substance which is what the bonds will stick to and not your hair.

When finished, the extensions will be razored to blend them into your natural hair but as extensions cannot be cut like your own hair you cannot have as many layers as your would your natural hair because you will lose thickness at the bottom of the extensions.

I am a fully trained, qualified and insured hair extensionist and can cut the extensions for you should they be too long as well as blend them in with a razor comb but I am not a hair dresser, therefore if you require a style you would need to book an appointment at a hair dressing salon and it is highly advised that you choose someone who has been trained to cut extensions and has had at least 6 months experience at doing so.

Remember, you have to be prepared to put in the time and effort into looking after the extensions. If you have not got time for your own hair now then you will certainly not have time to look after the extensions properly. Extensions are high maintenance and require a lot of care to keep them looking nice.

The extensions start from 14' in length upto 36'. During the application 1.5cm around the entire hairline and either side of your parting will be left out in order to disguise the bonds.

My advice when deciding what length to choose is not to go for more than double your own hair length. For example if your hair is shoulder length, I don't recommend having extensions longer than 18' as they will be harder to blend and may not look as natural. I can of course, only advise though and you are free to choose whatever length you wish.

You will need to expect some discomfort for the first week as the scalp will need time to get used to the extra weight of the extensions. For a full head of extensions your scalp will be supporting an extra 4-8oz of hair. The discomfort will include itchiness and scalp tenderness. For the first few nights, sleeping on the extensions may be quite uncomfortable until your hair has grown 1mm and they aren’t so close to your scalp. Some people experience itching for up to 2 weeks after the application until the scalp has got used to the extra weight. If you experience continued itching, it is probably because you aren’t rinsing the shampoo out thoroughly enough.

For the first couple of weeks you will experience some shedding and you may lose a few extensions. This is perfectly normal as the extensions settle down. Approximately 200-300 individual extensions will be fitted with the fusion method (full head) and 200-250 with the micro ring method, so losing a few is nothing to worry about. Please note the amount of bonds is an average. The actual amount will vary depending on how thick your hair is, how much hair you have, how thick you want the extensions, the method used to fit them, wether you choose a full head/half head/3/4 head etc.

Regular brushing is a must to prevent matting. This is very important as if the hair does get matted it will be a nightmare to un-tangle and you run the risk of losing quite a few extensions in the process.

If you ride a horse or a motor bike the extensions may hurt if headgear is too tight so you may want to up the size of your helmet.

If you go swimming regularly, or are going on holiday, you must try not to get pool or sea water onto the extensions. Ideally, wear a swimming cap or keep your hair out of the water and tied up/plaited to stop tangling. Chlorine does damage the bonds if they are exposed to it on a regular basis so always be very cautious when swimming.

Always wear a hat or headscarf when sunbathing and keep the bonds as cool as possible. If you can, apply a sun factor to your hair to prevent the sun from drying it out.

After swimming, untie and spritz with a leave in conditioner and use a wide toothed comb to brush through.

Repeated exposure to chlorine or seawater can turn the fusion bonds sticky and they will then probably drop out. It’s always best to be over-cautious. If you do get chlorine on the bonds, rinse them thoroughly with shampoo and be very gentle until they are dry.

Colouring the extensions

You can colour your re-growth, but try your best to avoid colouring the bonds (fusion bonds only) - excess dye too often can weaken the glue. Dying your hair once every 4-6 weeks will be fine but any more than this any your extensions may not last the 3 months. Use an intensive conditioner afterwards and be very careful until they are completely dry again.  When dying hair extensions, you will need to spend at least 20 minutes rinsing the dye off totally.

Removal of the extensions

If you wish to remove the extensions  yourself you will need to allow approximately 8-10 hours for removal of a full head of hair or 4 hours if you wish for me to remove them for you. To remove fusion bonds you will need pure acetone. You must drip or spray acetone onto the bond, letting it dissolve for 5 seconds, crush the bond with pliers, drip on more acetone, crush again and the extension will slide out.  To remove the glue residue left in your hair,  keep it wet with acetone and brush gently but firmly with a very fine tooth comb (a nit comb works brilliantly) until the glue brushes out. You must only work on one bond at a time.

I sell full hair extension removal kits for £20 which include everything you will need to remove the extensions yourself and hints, tips and complete step-by-step instructions on how to remove them. The kits will ensure complete and safe removal of your extensions.

You will need to book an appointment to have micro rings removed, as it isn’t possible to remove them on your own.

You will be left with small knot of hair where your natural hair has grown down which is easily removed but time consuming. During the removal, you will see some of your own hair come out. This is perfectly normal as it is the natural shed from your scalp which hasn’t been able to drop off because of the bonds holding it in place (on average we lose about 100 hairs a day naturally). So, 3+ months of 100 hairs a day can look like a lot but you will not have big bald patches as fresh hair grows through pushing the old hair out and replacing it. Just remember that all the hair you used to get in your hairbrush is still on your head. The hair you will have been getting on your brush is the extensions.

Things to bear in mind

The extensions will not damage your hair. There are only 3 ways in which they could damage your hair;

A) If they are fitted by someone who doesn't know what they are doing. At present there is no governing body which states you have to be trained, qualified and insured to be a hair extensionist. This is obviously very worrying as it means anyone can go out and buy a craft gun, super glue sticks and claim they are a hair extensionist.

Use your common sense. Ask to see pictures of previous clients, certificates and insurance. You cannot get insurance without a certificate to prove you are qualified in hair extensions so if they don't have insurance, ask them why.

Also, don't be afraid to ask questions. A good hair extensionist will be able to answer any question and will sound knowledgeable about what they are doing. If you are asking questions and getting vague responses then alarm bells should go off and my advice would be to make a sharp exit. You pay a lot of money for extensions and want them to look good. Don't get ripped off by all the 'fake hair extensionists' out there!

Another thing to bear in mind are salons which offer hair extensions. Most people would think that if you go to a hair salon for extensions then you are bound to get a good job done. Well maybe not. Unbeknown to a lot of people is that hair salons often send ONE person from their salon on the hair extensions training course/s. This person then comes back and trains the juniors and other hair dressers on how to fit extensions. This is not good enough. Hair extensions is a very specialised trade and takes months of practice and experience with ONE-2-ONE training needed to get perfect results. They will still charge you £400 to have hair extensions fitted but they might be being fitted by someone who only has a weeks practice and has been trained by some-one who isn't actually qualified to teach others. Make sure the person you have the consultation with is the person who fits the extensions. Then you can be sure you are not being ripped of by having a junior fit them.

B) If you don't look after them properly by following the correct pre-fitting and after-care advice. if you don't look after them don't expect them to behave as they should. Hair extensions are very high maintainence.

C) If they are taken out incorrectly. For example if you use nail-varnish remover instead of pure acetone or yank/cut them out, obviously this will cause damage. I sell the full removal kits and offer a removal service if you wish for me to take them out for you.

In extreme cases excess tightness, for example wearing the hair tied back too tight has resulted in the hair being pulled out.
Very rarely, a clients scalp reacts against the extra weight. If this happens you will experience severe itching and/or a rash or lumps will appear on the scalp. You will need to have the extensions removed and then use of a good scalp tonic will help calm the effects down. 1 in 4000 have experienced loss of hair due too the fact that hair on the scalp was too weak to support the weight of the extensions. Unfortunately, this cannot be determined until your wear extensions. And again, might I stress that this is an extreme case. If this happens you will loose extensions from infront of your ears and near the front as this is the softest hair. If you loose any extensions in the first week from this area and they have your own hair in the bond, you will need to have them removed straight away. Do not leave them and run the risk of losing all your hair.

Might I stress that the above are VERY extreme cases. I have never had any of my clients suffer wth any of the above, or know anyone who it has happened to but it could happen so I always like to make clients aware of this before the fitting.

Products to use

I always recommend John Frieda's range of hair products to my clients as from experience they keep the hair in the best condition and actually do what they say they will. The Tigi BedHead range is another good one. I do supply extension shampoos, conditioners, masks and sprays by Balmain and X-10 which are specifically designed for use with extensions but in my own experience, they are no better or worse than John Frieda or Tigi so it is upto you which you prefer to use.

The products you must NOT use on your extensions are FRUCTIS, TRESEMME, ANTI-DANDRUFF SHAMPOOS, HEAD LICE TREATMENTS and any shampoo which contains silicone and/or citric acid. These are all far too harsh and will weaken the bond causing it to slip and they will then fall out.