Buying hair extensions online? Here are three tips to help you choose the right ones for you
Hair extensions come in all sorts of materials, colours and lengths so ensuring you are picking the right type for you is very important.
To help you choose the right hair extensions for you when shopping online, the experts at Clip Hair have put together this handy guide with three key tips.
1) Understand the material you are buying
There are two types of hair extensions; human hair and synthetic hair extensions. Human hair extensions are made with only human hair while synthetic hair uses synthetic materials such as animal hair and plastic to create the hair.
Human hair is the most natural type of extension and are generally the better material to go for as they look much more authentic and real. You can wash, dye or style using heat tools on human hair extensions just the same as with your own hair.
When it comes to buying human hair extensions, the best option to go for is Remy hair. Remy hair extensions are great because they do not tangle due to the hair cuticle layers all facing the same direction from root to end. This also ensures that the extensions blend in well with your own natural hair, whilst synthetic hair extensions do not offer such a natural look.
Synthetic hair usually has an unnatural sheen to it, much like many wigs you see in shops. It also has quite a coarse feel to the touch, very different to the feeling of natural hair. Sometimes it’s difficult to know whether your extensions are real or synthetic, however there is an easy at home test you can try where you burn parts of the hair, if the hair is synthetic then the hair will turn into hard plastic like balls and melt into each other, whilst human hair will burn and turn to ash as it would natural hair.
2) Choose the length and weight you want
Hair extensions add volume and length to the hair; however, it can sometimes be tricky to blend the hair extensions with your own hair, especially when you’re not sure which type of hair will blend with your hair type and texture.
Blending long hair extensions with mid length hair is no problem, however if you have short hair it can be much harder to secure the extensions, so they blend into the hair. We recommend getting extensions for short hair if your natural hair is at least three to five inches long so it’s easier to blend it into your natural hair for a seamless look. For a natural finish, it is best to mix lengths for layers, to help to balance shorter lengths with longer lengths so your overall look won’t appear uneven.
Understanding the grams when buying extensions can sometimes be confusing, especially if your new to extensions, so we created this handy guide on how to choose the right hair extensions for thin and fine hair, and another for those with medium and thick hair.
You should always consider the texture of your hair and the grams you need before buying your hair extensions as this determines how the hair extensions will blend.
3) Get the right colour match
Colour matching is probably one of the most important decisions when it comes to choosing hair extensions, if you pick the wrong colour this could make your hair look completely off. When searching for a colour match, always ensure you are matching the colour to the mid to end lengths of your own hair and not your roots. You should use hair extension colour matching services for the best results.
A key thing to remembers it that you should never match the hair extension colour to your roots, this is because the hair is new, so it hasn’t naturally lightened so the colour will be different to the rest of the hair. If you buy your hair extensions to fit with this tone you will end up with hair extensions that are too dark, and it will look uneven.
At Clip Hair, we offer a hair extension colour matching service where you can email pictures of yourself as well as a sample of your hair, so our colour matching experts can find the perfect match.
There is also the option to dye your extensions if the colour isn’t quite right, of course it would be much easier to just ensure you colour match correctly so ensuring you do your research and use the colour matching service prior to deciding is imperative.
If you do want to dye your hair, the hair extensions must be made out of real hair for this to work. It can be treated like dying your own hair, however be careful not to over dye as it can become damaged because it is natural, real hair.
Clip Hair UK offer a wide range of hair extensions for all hair types and are shipped worldwide from their UK HQ.
Photo by Yoann Boyer
