Get Beautiful Long Hair with Hair Extensions
By Sofia Brey | September 20, 2008
Hair extensions come in two different styles. There is the strand and there is the weft. The strands are supposed to look the most natural, but they are much more time consuming and if you are having it done at a salon, they will be more expensive, too. Wefts are wider strips of hair and as such, are easier to attach. Hair extensions come in all the colors of natural hair, though some colors are more plentiful than others. The handmade type of weft is best.
Virgin hair is considered the best for hair extensions, though European hair is a close second. In the end, if it is price that matters, European hair is easier to find and so is less expensive. Virgin hair is hair that has not been processed and that which has not undergone any type of chemical application after being cut from the head of the seller.
To put in wefts, your hair dresser will lift up the top layer or "crown" of your hair and make corn-rows that traverse around your head, from one side to the other. When the top layer of your hair is pulled back down, you will not be able to see anything different.
The longer you want your hair to be, the more cornrows and wefts you will need. If you are not looking for length so much as volume, two or three wefts will do the job nicely. Either way, cornrows and wefts should vary in size to match the way your hair grows naturally.
Wefts are "sewn" into the cornrows and your natural hair is brushed and styled over them to hide where the wefts and cornrows connect. They should not be thought of as "extensions" anymore so much as part of your own head of hair.
Taking Care of Your Hair Extensions
Your new hair extensions must be taken care of as though they are your actual hair. Because they are (or should be) real hair, you must wash it and moisturize it. In fact, because they do not actually grow from your scalp, they do not have the benefit of being naturally oiled by your sebaceous glands and so they will need more conditioning than your normal hair. When you wash your hair, make sure to give extra attention to the corn-rowed areas to prevent the overgrowth of bacteria and possible problems with a skin infection.
Because hair extensions do not grow back when yanked and damaged, you must be careful with them. This means you cannot color them, subject them to intense heat, or yank a comb through them as you might (but should not) do to your own hair. Brush out your hair carefully before showering or sleeping. As with your own hair, do not yank a comb through tangles. Rather, you should start brushing from the ends of your hair and work your way up to the roots to get rid of the tangles.
Your new look will last for six to eight weeks. You will need to go back to the salon and have the whole thing redone -- your hairdress will take out the wefts and undo the cornrows, then he or she will check for damage or build-up from products used in your hair. Your hair will be rebraided and wefts sewn back in if that is what you want to have done.
Topics: Beauty |
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