Information about Track Hair Extensions

I found a hairstylist that does the track hair extensions. By that I mean she braids little braids and sews the wefts to that hair. I have been searching the web for information regarding these kinds of extensions and have found very little. Of course the stylists said they are great and she wore them for many years. I would like to know anyones experience with these good or bad. I want them, but scared to pay the money and find out I can't stand them. A couple things the stylist said bothered me. Such as you can't wash your hair everyday. I have extremely thick hair and live in Florida where it is extremely humid and hot. I couldn't imagine not washing my hair everyday. I am concerned they will weigh on my scalp and cause me headaches or pull my hair out. So if anybody can give me feedback on their experiences that would be great!

srzink, my sister wears those extensions (the ones you sew in) and she gets along fine with them, as long as you got good quality hair they will be fine! And about washing your hair alot, she sometimes ties back the extensions and washes her real hair on top of her head over the shower or something!

braiding and sewing, if done properly, can be the safest of all hair extension systems. Your head will probably ache a little for a couple days, because the tracks will be tight, but as long as its not actually pulling hair out, you should be ok.

I wore the braided track method (a weave) for about 5 years with no problems. I am caucasian, and have straight, fine, very thin hair. I met an African American lady in cosmetology school who had been doing weaves for years (and specialized in caucasian hair) and she did mine for the and they looked great!

To 'anchor' really fine hair, she took just a little bit of bunk synthetic hair, and braided into the cornrow when she did the track. That way, my hair would have something to grab onto and not slip as much.

I never had a problem with them coming out. I would wear it (3 tracks) for 8-10 weeks before I'd go back in have it taken out and redone.

It did not damage my hair at all, but I think that for some people, you could get traction alopecia from the constant tight braiding.

I would tease and then smooth my hair in the crown area to cover the top track because my hair is thin, but also no problem there.

After wearing them for 5 years, I switched to a strand method because I wanted to try that. The strand methods are way more comfortable.

The only other 'negative' thing I could say about getting a weave is that it can become kind of stinky (musty) smelling because the weft and braid really holds onto sweat and takes a long time to dry underneath the braid and hair. I work out every day, and I also did wash my hair EVERY day with no problem with slippage.

What a great idea--do a lot of people add synth hair to make the tracks? I've never heard of it before, but it makes perfect sense for Caucasian or Asian hair. Everyone always says the major problem with thin, straight hair and tracks is tat the hair doesn't cornrow well enough to hold the tracks, but with the synth....eureka! Thanks for the info, Metalgirl!

Yeah, I wasn't really considering tracks anyway, but the synthetic-hair step is good to know (I really had no idea!). :)