Extensions

 My original hair

 After!

Before & After!

Happy Thursday! As promised, I decided to make a whole post dedicated to my new hair extensions! I have alwayss had thin and shoulder-length hair and have been getting highlights since I was about 16 and that's about it as far as getting it done. I have always dreamed of having long, luscious hair but my hair never seems to want to grow long. 

With all of that being said, I have pondered the idea of extensions for a long time. I knew that my LONG-TIME middle-school friend was close to graduating beauty school and specializing in extensions so I was talking with her on and off about the idea. She told me what she recommended and the different types that she could do. I have googled all of the different types of extensions, pros and cons of them all, maintenance on them, etc. I finally caved in and went with what she recommended and what she has had for about eight years now; Keratin bonded extensions and I couldn't be happier with my decision! I finally have this long hair that I love! She ordered the perfect colors to match and blend with my hair SO well! I will go through all of the details about Keratin bonded extensions. 

Application

What a tedious process for the stylist! Putting the extensions in took almost five hours, but it was so worth it! I was getting so anxious towards the end to see the final product. Carly told me to come in for a quick consultation which was simply checking my hair out and finding the correct colors of extensions to order to match my hair perfectly! I came in that weekend for the real-deal. To apply, she basically separated my hair into layers and placed tiny little strands one by one onto my hair and used her heat extension tool to heat up the Keratin glue bond onto my strand of hair. She, then, pushed the bond up so that its at its highest point closest to the scalp. She continued this process in rows on the different layers of my hair. I have roughly 180 bonds in my hair! She did such an amazing job placing them, they do not bug me and can not be seen!

Care

They are not too bad to take care of at all! The main thing is to buy sulfate-free products and to have a special extension brush and I like to also have a wet brush too because it is super gentle! I wash every other day but may try and train myself to do every two days! When you wash, it will feel heavy at first because you aren't used to all of the extra hair! I wash my hair with my head tilted up so the water just flows through the extensions nicely and gets your hair and the extensions as clean as possible. I gently massage when I am washing with shampoo but you really don't have to be scared about washing! I really condition the mid section all the way to the ends of my hair really well to get them really clean and smooth. I towel dry my hair for a bit and I spray my hair with It's A 10 Miracle Leave- In Product before I even brush it out. This stuff is amazing and makes your hair super soft and detangles well before brushing. I gently brush it out without brushing too intense with a wet brush or my extension brush and find my part etc. After that, you can dry and style normally! They are super easy to take care of besides the fact that it takes longer to dry and style, but that's a given with more hair and is what you sign up for! 

Maintenence

Taking great care of them from the above paragraph will go a long ways with these! The long term maintenance is also not bad! You really only need to go in for a touch-up every 3-4 months typically which is great! If a couple strands fall out, it is fine at first, but when more start to fall out, you probably need a touch up. That is why starting out with soooo many bonds comes in handy. So overall, pretty painless right?! And- you have luscious long locks!

Stylist

I used my really good friend Carly D'Onofrio at Wild Horses Salon in Indianapolis. She graduated from Tricoci University of Beauty Culture in Indianapolis and specializes in extensions. If you are looking for someone to do your extensions, color, cut, blowout, etc; give her a call! You can contact her at 317-693-4342 for questions or appointments! Also, follow her on Instagram @carlydonofriohair and check out her work! 

I hope that covers everything about my extensions- email hello.littlebitofeverything@gmail.com if you have any questions!