The Extension Newbie Learning Curve

I was just pondering what a long, stressful (and yes, fun and exciting) process coming to the world of extensions can be for a newbie. I myself am only one step from newbie-hood but was marveling at how much I've gone through, experimented with and learned just to get to a place where I was moderately happy and marginally confident about my extensions.

First you come to these extension boards and start reading, and it feels like you're in a foreign country, with all the concepts and products. It took me literally months of reading all the posts before I had the least idea of what anyone was talking about. At first I thought there was NO WAY I would be able to do this to my own hair. After a few months I thought, maybe a few clip-ins? Even that was daunting, with the cost and the fear that if I didn't do it right I would look ridiculous.

Then it started to dawn on me that maybe I could actually attach stuff to my head and have hair like the pretty ladies in the pictures here. = ) That's the time you start obsessing about what kind of hair to buy, what color, how to attach... I really got scared thinking I could end up with stuff stuck in my hair or with bald spots. I remember ordering my first color ring from Amm and being so nervous. I'd never paid with PayPal before and thought maybe I'd be ripped off! Then the color ring came in the mail and I was so excited I almost fell down the stairs getting to the package.

Then comes the time you get your credit card out and really start spending money--hair, hair attachment products, hair care products, hair attachment devices, coloring, the ever-necessary shower filters... And before you know it it is time for your first install! I was terrified, sweating so much I had to keep re-drying my hair. Finished, and I was horrified at the mullet I ended up with! I hadn't put in enough hair, had put it in too low, didn't have any layers, and really had too short hair myself to pull it off well. My stylist gave me a hand with a decent cut, and things were a little better. The first shampoo was scary as well. I kept waiting for those things to creep down my legs and go down the drain! Probably the most stressful thing was posting those first pics, though! I was sure I was going to hear my worst fears echoed in the feedback, but after the "gals" (and Moff!) weighed in that it looked pretty good, I started to relax a bit.

Next terror was the first take-down which took about five hours, I think! Sticky gunk everywhere, and I'm thinking, I'm going to do this every four weeks??? No way!   And washing all that hair down the shower when I washed my own hair after? Jeez. I WOULD be bald if I kept that up!

Then you get brave and start trying different methods, some of which turn out horribly, making you wonder how the other people do it and make it look so well. I'd have ended up in a burn ward if shrinkies had turned out to be the best method for me!

Then the hair supplier you've been counting on decides not to sell hair any more and you can only buy uncolored hair and you have to start experimenting with coloring that expensive hair you've just bought! That first coloring experiment felt like the day I decided to let the doc circ*msize (silly program won't let me spell it right) my little son. (Yep, I've apologized to him a million times since.)

The point of my rambling here is to reassure anyone who is new to this that even a super-pro like Sherrie started off with her first install one day, with the wefts glued to her fingers and the sink and the final results being less than pleasing. (I'm just guessing about Sherrie, but I'm sure she has her own stories!) Especially with the help of the people on these forums, every mistake is just a part of getting to the point where you find the methods, the hair, the products you love and will be installing and posting purty pictures before you know it, just like the pros!    
    
    

Edited by kristie m - May 21 2006 at 5:26pm

Poor Moff! You must have been frantic, being away from home with a hair disaster like that. I'm going on my first vacations wearing extensions (SF/Napa, and then Chicago/Manhattan) later this year... part of me is so excited to take my new hair out-of-town, and part is worrying about how much stuff I'll need to take along in case something goes wrong with my hair. I keep telling myself I won't need a whole suitcase full of hair stuff for emergencies, but then imagine something happening like what happened to you. Thank goodness for the Internet, laptops, and high-speed connections in hotels! I'll have my pals at HB.com, Extensions 101, and the BHM forum at my fingertips if I need you!

P.S. I loved your Barbie story. It's funny but almost every one of my gay friends has a little-boy growing up Barbie story to tell. And every single one of them is a raging Ab-Fab fan! I love that pic in your signature--Patsy ROCKS!

I am so glad that there is hope for us newbies. I am still afraid to DIY, that is why I had my first install by someone else.  I think that eventually I might feel comfortable enough to try it myself.

Moff,

Abba too, huh? Well, your ability to slam down the wodka and the Princes makes you more butch than most of us!

What is it with those sweet old Swedish/Norwegian grandmothers anyway? My gramma used to knit me hats, slippers, sweaters, scarves, afgans, and even outfits for my Barbies! My emergency head-cover that goes with me whenever I travel is my trusty wig, just in case.

I'm sitting here as I type with my blowdryer blasting on a big packet of foil with hair in it. What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, huh?

Great advice to the newbies! Yep, guys, don't rush to do anything without thinking it through about a hundred times. And an understanding hair stylist or colorist can make all the difference when you're not sure or stuck with something you hate.

i cant even remember how i found this forum.......about five years ago, i was frustrated with my slow growing hair, and after seeing so many 'stars' on tv/movies/music videos go from short hair/long hair in months, and then in mere days i finally knew what was up!......so i went online then and founds some clipin extensions..........oh how i loved those, i wore them sooo much, but since i always took them out at night and never wore them when i was just at home i didnt shampoo them often. so after a few washes we went to an outdoor concert. it was 80+degrees outside and i was walking around with my clipins in, later in the day i heard this lady beside me say to her friend:"is that all her hair, my god"....so i was beaming inside thinking 'ha ha, its extensions....yay i have long hair'.....a few minutes later i felt the back of my head......that crappy a$$ cheap clip in hair had POOFED up like the Grinch's heart: it grew ten sizes that day!....no wonder those ladies were talking about my hair, my clips had turned into a big ball (no, my husband hadnt noticed, what a *&^%#@@!)