Long Hair, Don’t Care: Hair Extensions Review

It doesn’t seem all that long ago to me, but when someone recently commented with surprise at the fact that I once had super long hair, I realised, it’s really been quite a long time since my hair reached my waist! Once upon a time, I was known for having long hair, and I still half-identify myself as a long-haired person, despite the fact that my locks now barely touch my shoulders. Take a look at me and my long hair back on Christmas Day 2012:

I’m actually in the process of growing my hair out again now. The reason? Wedding! I don’t want to stick with the same shoulder-ish length hair then get to a week before the wedding and realise that I want tumbling curls down my back, so I figure that if it’s long and I decide a couple of days before I want it short, well, I can get it cut short. Other way round, not so easy.

My hair grows crazily fast, which can be a bit of a nuisance because it won’t hold a style that it’s been cut into for long, but is brilliant for when I went to change up how my hair looks, especially if I want it long again. Sadly, it’s not so quick that I can go from bob to waist length overnight, and there are mornings where I wake up and really miss it.

There are a couple of options I do have though: 1. a wig. I’ve always loved the idea of wigs to completely change up your look, and I’ve recently loved Cici Marie’s recent posts featuring hers. I’ve also heard tales of them being super itchy though and looking just not quite right, so I’ve never taken the plunge. Option number 2: hair extensions. And these are the option that I’ve always considered to be much more sensible for me. So when I got the opportunity to try out these light brown ones from Hair Ext, I was super excited! And without further ado, here’s how they look in a before and after!

I actually had a slight hitch in the plan when I bought these as they perfectly matched the bottom of my hair which was previously highlighted, but not the top half that was growing through in its natural colour of a darker brown. I’d been planning to get my hair done anyway to sort out the half-and-half kind of look, so this gave me the chance! Although everyone does keep laughing at me saying that you’re supposed to buy hair extensions to match your hair, not get hair extensions then change your hair to suit! To be fair to me, I did buy them to match – just the bottom half! Plus I loved the colour of the extensions so much when they arrived that I wanted that all over anyway – they are a lovely shade of light brown, but on me they appear in a warm orange toned light brown, which is awesome because it’s exactly the shade I’m always striving for in my hair!

I actually got my hairdresser to put these in for me after doing my hair, but I’ve also tried putting them in myself too and found it to be pretty simple. They have simple snap combs that sit really easily in my hair. Kellie, my wonderful hairdresser, sectioned off my hair professionally and backcombed these to help the extensions grip better, but even with no professional experience (as I said in my recent facts post, I’m terrible at hair!), I can get them in and they don’t look half bad! I just need a little more practice to get them even! Kellie actually suggested that I cut them to layer them a little to sit more naturally with my thick and layered hair, so I think I might do that in future.

These hair extensions are 20″ long and 100% remy hair that have been coloured with high quality dye, and I think you can tell this from the colour of them – they catch the light beautifully and are smooth to touch. You receive 10 wefts of hair with these extensions, ranging from 8″ across (with 4 combs) to 1″ (with 1 comb), so that they can be spread across your head evenly and create a natural look. It took a bit of adjusting to find the right ones to use in which place in my hair, but when we got it right, it created a thicker and gloriously long look to my hair. It’s safe to say, I do kind of love having long hair and will be pulling these out frequently!