QuoteReplyTopic: HairPolice & Pinch braid method Posted: April 08 2005 at 3:05am
Hi Everyone,
I love your forum, and have learned so much here. I have wanted extensions for awhile now, and hope to get them soon (hopefully before my Birthday in early May).
After reading so many horror stories about Great Lengths and Hairlocs, I've decided to stay clear. I do, however, get a very good impression of the pinch braiding method, and am looking into Hair Police - I would love to get an appointment on their next tour to San Francisco.
I guess I still have a couple of concerns & questions, though... and I was hoping someone here would be able to answer.
My first is, what type/quality of human hair do Hairpolice use? I have heard that 100% unprocessed european hair is best.. or is indian temple hair? Does Hairpolice use either of these? If not, what type, and do you think it is good quality?
Also, does anybody here have direct experience with Hairpolice, and have pics? I would love to hear anyones experience with them, and pinchbraiding in general. I would love to see, too!
Actually, I think I'll just start with these questions... I don't want to ramble here!
Thank you so much to anybody willing to respond! I really appreciate it!!!!!
Well, my stylist was trained by the Hairpolice, and he does the
HP/string method on me, and I love it! It's my favorite method, because
of ease of installation/removal, safety (nondamaging), cost, comfort,
etc. The only downside, imo, is that the connections can be a bit
bigger than other methods, which is good from a volume perspective but
it's not necessarily the most undetectable technique in thin, fine
hair. Even so, I prefer it to links, fusion, or shrinkies, and would
recommend it highly. It works well on either human or synthetic hair,
so either kind of hair is fine.
Now, my stylist is not part of the traveling HP group from Minneapolis,
so he uses a variety of human hair, including Bohyme, a few other
brands, and anything I bring him to use. I would imagine all the
affiliates and HP-trained people have their own hair that they prefer
to use. If you email the HP, though, I'd imagine they can tell you what
they use.
A word about 100% unprocessed European hair or is Indian temple hair: A
lot of people say they sell or install this type of hair, but it's very
rare to actually find it, and it's very, very expensive. I've tried
about 10 human-hair brands, and I don't think any of them were
unprocessed or European. I think GLs is Indian temple hair, which is
very good, but I don't think it's worth the money stylists usually
charge for it. Bohyme, Glamourhair, Extensions-Plus, and His and Her
Cuticle hair are all very good if you're supplying the hair, but I'm
sure the HP have their own overseas supplier. The most important thing
is that the hair is cuticle corrected so that it will last for a while
(at least three months) without becoming a tangly mess.
Here are some pics of me with my pinchbraids. The hair is synthetic, as
I recently made the switch to synth, which, to be honest, I prefer over
human. In the first two photos, the hair is more layered, but beyond that, it's basically the same deal in both.
I've had HP pinchbraids, and I liked them. They're virtually non-damaging and very natural. I have seen a lot of gals with their braids showing through, especially blondes with fine hair. No biggie, but if you want an entirely seamless look, keep that in mind.
(Jenny's hair looks absolutely seamless, so it obviously does work on many heads!)
I find the cost of pinchbraids prohibitive, so I've switched to DIY shrinkies. If I could afford Hair Police maintenance every few months, I'd probably do pinch braids.
hippyhair
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thank you both soooo much! Wow Jenny, you and your hair are beeeeaautiful!
So, do you think the pinchbraids will show a lot on brunette hair, that is fine in texture, but relatively thick? Also, I have natural curly hair, and I'm looking for the straight on the top, with some body and VERY loose (kind of stringy, shaggy) waves on the bottom. (I hope that doesn't sound weird). Do you think this will work on my hair then? And I am concerned about the visability thing... can you ask for "smaller" pinch braids?
Just one more thing... Jenny, where is your guy located?
Thank you so much again!!!! I REALLY appreciate your help!
Amy
P.S. I would post a pic of what I want my end result to be like... but I don't know how!
mochachip
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So, do you think the pinchbraids will show a lot on
brunette hair, that is fine in texture, but relatively thick?
No, you'll be fine! I have the thinnest, finest, straightest, lightest
hair imaginable, and it still works for me, so it shouldn't be any
problem for you at all.
hippyhair wrote:
Can you ask for "smaller" pinch braids?
Definitely. Typically stylists will make them smaller as they go up the
head, but if you're concerned, you should certainly mention it.
hippyhair wrote:
I have natural curly hair, and I'm looking for the
straight on the top, with some body and VERY loose (kind of stringy,
shaggy) waves on the bottom. (I hope that doesn't sound weird). Do you
think this will work on my hair then?
Here, I'm a little confused. If your hair is naturally curly, I really
wouldn't recommend installing straight hair. Your own hair will always
be visible on top (with ever strand method of extensions, except a full
weave perhaps), so you'd want to match that texture as closely as
possible. If you want to flatiron your hair and the extensions, you can
do that, but installing straight extensions on curly hair generally
isn't recommended. Keep in mind that with all extensions methods
(except again, with full weaves), the extensions only go a little above
the ears usually, so your real hair will be covering the braids, bonds,
locs, or whatever.
hippyhair wrote:
Jenny, where is your guy located?
My guy's in New York, and I believe you're in San Francisco, right? I'm
sure the HP have affiliates out there they can recommend.
To post a pic of what you want, just post a link to it here. Or you
can upload a photo to a site like photobucket.com (yo'll have to
register, but it's all free), and then post the image link into your
message here.
Good luck! :)
hippyhair
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You guys are awesome. thank you so much for all the advice. I am definitely going with pinchbraids... and actually just heard back from this girl in San Fran who is HairPolice certified, and is supposedly rockin! She sent me the sweetest and most helpful email... and all I have to do now is call her back to set up a consultation! OH MAN am I excited!!!!!!! I will post a pic of the kind of hair I'm after in a little while! (Thanks so much Jenny! I am computer illiterate... )
If you haven't already, call up Edo Salon and ask for Rachel. I dunno
if that's current info- I moved away from SF two years ago- but
hopefully she's still there. I've seen her work, and it is A+.
Also, I go back to the Motherland (SF) occaisionally, but I don't know when my next trip will be. Possibly in mid-June.
Oh yeah, and...I don't know what kind of human they use; affiliates
choose their own brands, I think. I know Jeffrey at Milio's here in
Chicago uses Bohyme. I know they use Trimco for synthetic, usually.
As for your hair- thick hair should be no problem, even with the
fineness. The thickness means you'll get sufficient coverage of the
bases of the braids.
For a texture, maybe I suggest Body Wave? It looks about like this, and you can have some layers put in at the bottom (to leave the ends free to wave up) and/or touch it up with a curling iron.
Sounds like a plan. All of Rae's recommendations are great, too.
I'm not trying to start drama at all, but I recently read a really bad
review of someone who was HP-trained in S.F. These kinds of reviews are
highly unusual, but it sounded like the stylist was a little
inexperienced and neglient. Chances are, it's not the person you've
been in touch with. Anyway, I'll PM you with the name/info. just as a
heads-up.
:)
hippyhair
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Thank you Rae and Jenny for your help. Jenny, I would love to know more about this review. Rae, I will look into Rachel @ Edo... Iv'e driven by that place many times, I believe.. It's on Haight, right? I'll try and look her up. Thanks girlies you're the best.
I wore pinchbraids at one time. I had them originally installed
at Hair Police in Minneapolis, but eventually ended up going to
a stylist in the Midwest who was trained by HP but did a way
better job. Let me tell you why. The HP can do a full head of
PB's in no time at all, but the downside to this is that their PB's
look a little knobby, almost less like a braid, and they are fairly
large. I have rotated from wearing a full head to a "12 pack"
with minimal, minimal damage (and I also bleached, colored,
hilighted, etc.) I always wore mine curly, usually twisted around
an iron. PB's can go at least 10-12 weeks without needing to
be tightened, though so people do it less often and shoot for
four months.
Edited by norskygrl21
mochachip
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They offer "six packs and 12 packs" which means exactly what it sounds like, six PB's or 12 PB's. This is done mostly for adding crazy colors with synthetic hair, but I always got a 12 in natural cuticle hair just to fill it out a little and add white blonde hilights without bleaching my hair out and ruining it.
I love pinchbraids too! My stylist is HP trained, but he's not with the
HP, so to speak--so I think it's the same deal as what you're
describing. Have you only used the HP Trimco hair? I've been using Dome
and PlastikHaar, and I'm really liking them. PlastikHaar is
outstanding--tons of different colors, textures, and superlong (like 48
inch) lengths, and it's only about $13 per bag. I highly recommend
trying it out.
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hippyhair wrote:
you're the best.
