The truth about hair extensions.

We live in an "insta" world where we all want things fast and perfect. So many pressures from the filtered world of social media and great editing in videos create a different perspective of how life should be or look. 
​
  So many hairstyles require extensions to achieve the look that is being imitated. Simply embracing and working with what you were given is never enough anymore. We have become so afraid of being ourselves, afraid of not being accepted by friends, spouses, or sometimes the workplace. So we try to live up to the social media standards of what beauty is. 
 
I started doing hair extensions on clients in 1988 when it was weft and glue. The other options of sew in, tape, keri-tip or link fusion options became available on the market years later. I stopped doing extensions years ago when I saw the long term damage it was doing on people who never allowed the hair to rest. Since the beginning of my career I never did extensions as a "way of life" for clients or "permanent fix" but as a temporary look when they wanted to try it for an event and then would remove them in a couple of weeks. 

  While working in Hotel spas I would meet guests from all over the world and was shocked to see so many with extensions in hair from taped or infused. The extensions have not been taken out in years and I could see the thinness of the hair and closed in follicles on scalp which causes permanent hair loss. 

Fast forward to now after decades of damage, the wig trend has arrived- not by choice of consumers who are not buying lace front wigs for fun but because they have to from years of extensions that have caused permanent hair loss that extensions can no longer hide. I have seen it with celebrities from years of damage to their hair from excessive styling and chemicals where it is hard to style hair because the lack of or permanently losing the hairline. 

 Customers are not warned that it's not safe to do chemical work with extensions in hair or that the extensions constantly pull the root. In the end it will cost you more money to fix the issues that sometimes cannot be fixed. 

 I am sure hair stylist who specialize in hair extensions will argue that if hair loss occurs with extensions it is because it was not applied properly or its the clients fault for not taking care of them properly in between visits. Some of that may hold true to how rapid the hair loss takes place but eventually over time and years it will eventually cause permanent damage from excessive pulling and friction at the root. 
  
  The "insta" life comes with high costs. The heavy make-up worn daily and extensions causes pre-mature aging in hair & skin. The more you damage your scalp from excessive styling it also affects the rest of your health so it is best to treat it gently with products that help and not harm.  

 The question is "How do you want to look in your 40s and up?" Do you want to still have to deal with the constant excessive beauty trends that take all your time and money? Do you want to have to keep getting surgeries to correct the long damage caused by excessive beauty behavior? 

At any age all you need is to keep up hair maintenance in a timely manner and surround yourself with people who love and accept you for YOU not for how you look. Love and accept yourself, that is a simple recipe for a peaceful easy life without all the extras. 

This blog is my experience of what I witnessed in the beauty industry the past 30+ years but I found these interesting articles that back up the message I am trying to relay. 

needahairmakeover.blog/2015/07/08/clip-in-hair-extensions-can-cause-traction-alopecia-if-worn-for-over-5-hours-a-day/
​
Clip- ins should be taken out as soon as you get home. Worn as an accessory not permanent look. If clip in extensions cause damage imagine what the other hair extensions do to your hair and scalp. 

madelinehairdesign.com/danger-say-no-to-tape-hair-extensions/ 

   Hair extension sellers are going to convince you that it is 100% safe and will grow your natural hair. I have witnessed the opposite with my own 2 eyes on people who have continuously get extensions for years. 

  So the question is what extensions are best for you?

Depends on how much money and time you have to spend monthly on getting them properly touched up. The taped in, sewed in, fusion or micro links all have to be taken out and redone once a month to allow scalp to rest for at least the same time period that you wore the extensions. But all I see is people leaving them in and getting them retouched which is causing hair loss. So no matter which technique that you choose it will be very expensive to properly maintain and if not properly maintained you will have more to pay as you get older to repair damage.