Clip in advice

This is tricky. I'm not all that experienced with clip-ins, but generally whenever you're buying human hair, you want to look for words like Remy or Remi, you want the cuticles to be intact and all facing the same direction, and if your hair texture is Caucasian, you'll want to look for European or silky hair (this does not at all mean it's from Europe--it's probably from Asia), rather than Yaki or "ethnic," which is texturized for African-American hair.

Companies often use other terms like single drawn or virgin to describe their hair, but it's really hard to know what these claims mean (lots of sellers claim their hair is "virgin" but it's been dyed and straightened a zillion times, so the claim means absolutely nothing). For this reason, it's good to look at the hair first, so you can get an idea of how it feels and would blend with your own hair.

Bear in mind that all extensions hair is treated with silicone, which makes it shiner than it will end up being. In addition, textures are rarely the way they look after washing--"straights" tend to be slightly wavy, and "waves" tend to loosen and get straighter. The most important thing you need to make sure of is that the hair won't tangle, which gets back to the "cuticles in the same direction" point. If they're clip-ins you shouldn't have to wash them much, but you should be able to style them easily with hot tools.

Again, clip-ins aren't really my area, but I think most of them are secured with standard toupee clips, so I don't imagine you'll have much trouble with them. If you're getting a custom job, I would think they'd measure your head to figure out the weft lengths.

Even though you're not looking to add volume, if your hair's thick, you need to make sure the extensions hair is thick enough so it blends with your own. You'll obviously want to get the right color match, texture, and length as well.

Having said all of this, I wouldn't get human hair clip-ins unless I could wear them for an extended period of time. If you change the color of your hair so frequently that they may be obsolete in a few months, I really wouldn't bother with it. I'd get a decent set of synethic ones instead. If your base color stays the same, maybe you can get human hair extensions in that base color. Otherwise, I do think it's a waste of money.

Generally, I think you can probably get a better price that $250-$350 CAN for mass-produced human hair ones; it's sounds reasonable for a custom job, though. You should be able to get a decent set of synthetic ones for much less, though.

Good luck! (Hopefully someone else will chime in here...)

Hi Blondie,

I have been wearing clip-ins for a year and a half now. I have been getting mine off of Ebay. Right now I have Indian hair, 13 inches and it is a 8 ounce weft (including the 3 clips). Like you I have thick hair and only need it for the length so I wear my clip on the very bottom of my head. I really like how it gives the bottom of my hair fullness and I love the length. Now that my hair is getting longer I am looking into getting new longer extensions.

About the hair - It looks great when first washed and combed but it tangles very fast. It looks to me that the cuticles are not all running in the same direction so about twice a day I have to take it out and recomb it. It can be heavy on the back of your head but you do get used to it. Being that you have thick hair (and somone else wrote theis) your extension has to also be thick or it won't match. Your hair should also be cut in long layers so the layering of the clip-in will match. You can not have all one length hair and then a clip-in because it is very obvious (jmo). This time I am looking into getting raw/virgin hair and you can find the links for this under my post with this title. The lady from Hawaii is going to send me a sample and references for her hair. She is also excellent with emails and have answered all of my questions. It is very pricey but I want really good hair this time. She takes a freshly cut ponytail from Russia and makes it into a weft. Does this person you know make handmade wefts or machine? Handmade wefts are the best because they do not shed and can last 2-4 years with good care. I am also thinking this time to have a couple track braids put in on the bottom of my hair and have the weft sewn into it. If I do not like it I can always make my wefts into a clip-in.

I like the way the clip-in makes my hair look but I am getting tired of putting it in everyday. I also like the idea of the shrinkies method and might try that. I have seen cut ponytails on Ebay at good prices and the hair looks nice. I can always make my own bonded hair. This board is great though because it sure does give you a lot of info., the hard part is making a choice. Maybe I will just try one of everything - LOL

I have made my own clip ins and its super easy. You can get the wig clips in just about any hair supply store and buy the wefts of your choice. Measure how big you want the weft to be. On short ones I used 2 clips and on longer ones I used 3 clips. It took me about an hour or so to sew on the clips and only cost me about $50, and thats including the hair.

Em

We'd love to see pics!

And congratulations--I'm glad to hear you like them!

I had this cuticle hair in silky straight 28-inch from hisandher, and it was the bomb--the best hair I've ever had: http://hisandher.com/store/shop_product.asp?main=MAIN_001&sub=SUB_002&pro=8
Imo, it's far superior to Bohyeme, Hairlocs, Great Lengths, Sepia, etc., because it's so strong and shiny, with a wonderful texture, and it never tangled, matted, or got dry. It always looked great, and was still in terrific condition after many months.
The downside: It's expensive.
Good luck!

I just ordered it once--about 6 months ago--in black (I usually use blonde hair), and it was amazing! I don't know if the quality has changed or anything, though. I will say that I don't think their regular weaving hair and other types are nearly the quality of the cuticle hair, though. Did you use the cuticle hair, amm?

Really? Huh. I must've gotten really lucky then, because the hisandher batch I got was amazing--and lots thicker and shinier than the Bohyeme I've used. I wish human hair was more standardized--ugghhh....