QuoteReplyTopic: Question for Kristin or Jenny - your help please ladies.... Posted: January 12 2005 at 12:06pm
Kristin and/or Jenny
I note that you have tons of post and give great advice, so I was hoping you could help me.
I currently have my hair braided and human hair woven in (had it for about six months). Jenny, I see that you posted earlier that many people prefer synthetic hair and I have some questions.
1. what is a really good brand of synth and does it last as long/longer than human? also, where can I get it? I'm in San Fran but can buy it off the web 2. if there are no good brands for weaving, can you suggest a really good human brand? I've heard Bohyme right now but currently use hollywood by royal imex. 3. can you curl synth and do everything to it that you can human? Thank you so so much and I really appreciate any advice you can give me! I'm getting married in may and wanted my hair to beautiful and perfect. Thanks again....
Hi there, Jenny or Amm will be better at answering your questions about synthetic hair because I have not tried it yet. I have been using Bohyme hair for years now and I am in love with the quality of it. All of my clients get the Bohyme hair and you are more than welcome to check out some of the before and after photos on my website.
Hi Kristin Thanks so much! Your work is amazing and I'm so glad you like the bohyme....I have found an inexpensive supply (ebonyline.com). How long does the bohyme hair usually last? Thanks again so much... Kim
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Oh...also Kristin - one more question - do you use the hand tied or machine tied Bohyme. The supplier told me, except for weft size, there is no difference to quality and tangling etc. Thanks again! Kim
Gosh, Bohyme seems to last forever. I actually have never had to throw it away because it never seems to get to that point. What usually ends up happening is that I get board of a color or I cut it short... That's why I end up buying more. I actually have a box of braided Bohyme hair from the past just incase I need those colors or lengths again.
Ebonyline is a good supplier. Who knows maybe if I get my wholesale license someday I'll sell it off my site... LOL....
As for the machine weft vs. handtied, If you are pretipping your hair and making it into individual strands, get the machine tied. If you are getting tracks sewn in, get the handtied
Congratulations on your wedding. When you say your hair is woven, do you mean that you have wefts or pinchbraids, or another weaving method? You can use synth or human for pinchbraids; for wefts, you'd need to use PlastikHaar for synth (that's the only high-quality synth that comes in wefts, to my knowledge); many human brands are available in wefts.
I still need a little more information on what you currently have (technique-wise), what your natural hair is like, and what look you want to achieve. But for now, let me try to answer the questions you listed above first.
1. Really good synth brands include Dome, ProStyles, PlastikHaar, and Trimco. Whether it lasts longer than human would really depend on the specific hair you're using and your routine (styling, blow-drying, etc.). You can get Dome and PlastikHaar through their websites. You can get Trimco (but keep in mind Trimco only comes in straight) from the Hairpolice website. And Prostyles only sells to licensed hairdressers (which I found out today when I called...grrrrrr), so you would have to get Prostyles from someone who's licensed; in England, however, it's available to the public. 2. I'm not familiar with the brand you have now, but in my opinion, Bohyme is good human hair and a good value for the price. I don't think it's great hair (it doesn't compare, imo, to the quality of some of the more expensive brands I've used, like His and Her Cuticle hair or even the Great Lengths hair--but those brands were much more expensive). So yes, if you want human, Bohyme is a good choice. 3. No. You can't treat synth hair in the same way you treat human hair, which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. You cannot use a flatiron or curling iron on the synth hair brands I mentioned above; but you can curl it with hot rollers or steam. Theoretically, you wouldn't need to curl the hair as much, because it has more "memory" than human hair, but yes, the care is a bit different.
Again, if you provide more specifics (best of all, pictures--if not of you, then links to what your hair's like and what you want it to look like), I could give you my opinion.
Also, what method--wefts, pinchbraids, fusion, links, shrinks--are you looking for?
Again, congratulations on your wedding, and good luck!
Wow – thanks so so much for all your advice. You are so wonderful!
To answer your questions – I’ll try my best with descriptions because I don’t have any pics of me right now…sorry!
My hair is braided and I have wefts sewn in on tracks. I have never tried those other methods you mentioned because I’ve never found anyone in San Francisco Bay Area who would do them for me. I found a salon in SF who did the links strand by strand method (where they crimp the little attachment to your hair with pliers) but they were charging $2000 and that (in my humble opinion) is daylight robbery.
As far as my own hair goes, it’s blonde naturally but I dye it dark brown (probably seems insane to people who dye their hair blonde!) and it’s fine, but there is a lot of it. It’s pretty healthy (shiny etc) but it is fine and it gets a bit thin at the ends if I try to grow it beyond a certain length (like past my shoulders). The main reason I started having extensions, was to let it grow underneath, and it seems to be doing very well under there!
I would absolutely consider another method but am not sure what the pinchbraids, fusion, shrinks are, but I wouldn’t want anything that gets glued to my hair. I know it would break off or something, being fine as it is and I don’t want to risk that. I was told by someone (salon person) that if you have fine hair you can’t use the dr locks method because it falls out – have no idea if that’s true but surely people who have fine hair use this method? I also love the idea of having strands attached to my own hair because the braiding is – well – it’s braiding and I’d like to be able to feel my scalp again! As far as what I want it to look like….I know you are familiar with Kristin’s site "haircandy" and I love the hair on her little sister (first pic) – that would be my ideal!
As far as habits, I’m a curler and a flat ironer, but that’s only because my human extensions require it. My own hair is actually pretty wavy, so if I want the sleek look I have to ceramic iron it. I would love love love the idea of hair that stayed when you style it because the human just drops the curl after a while and its annoying. I would obviously change my habits if I did the synth hair and start using hot rollers.
My biggest issue with human has been cost. I spent a fortune before I found a brand that lasted more than 3 weeks (my current brand lasts about two months) and I can’t curl it (the human that you purchase wavy, drops its curl after a few washes). Now that I have found a fairly ok brand, it costs me about $250 every time (that’s NOT including what I pay to have it braided and sewn). I’m just tired of spending the money…
Phew!! That was a lot!!! Thank you so so much for your advice. I will check out the Plastikhair web site.
So you have wefts sewn in on tracks? If you want to stay with that method but switch to synth, you could get synth wefts from PlastikHaar. Sara, who owns the shop, will custom-blend any colors/textures you want. But I get the impression that you want to switch methods, too, which means you have a few options.
FYI: I agree with you about the $2000 link application--it's way too much to spend for any method, and if you want the links, you can get them much, much cheaper. If they were charging those prices, they were probably Hairlocs or Eurolocs, which haven't gotten good reviews here anyway.
Imo, your instincts are right: You should not get fusion (which basically means the hair is bonded/glued to your own), especially since your hair is fine and you're trying to grow it out. Fusion does have its advantages and works well for some people, but it's a big risk, so I wouldn't recommend it for you.
So, you're basically left with three strand-by-strand method options: pinchbraids (aka the hairpolice method); shrinkies; or extendtubes (aka microrings, microlinks). Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages. As far as being able to feel your scalp, you may be able to do that somewhat more with strand-by-stand techniques, but your scalp will still be covered with the links, shrinks, or pinchbraids. Also keep in mind that while strand-by-strand is generally less bulky than wefts and the hair "moves" somewhat more naturally, wefts do have an advantage, imo, in terms of the way the hair falls: Because strand-by-strand groups little bunches of hair together, it can look more piece-y than wefts, where the individual hairs are more separate-looking.
When someone told you that the "Dr Locks method" falls out, they were probably referring to Doc's microrings (Doc is a seller, so they have various methods, including rings, shrinks, fusion, etc.). Which brings me to the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
***Please note that this is just my opinion--anyone feel free to chime in if you think I'm mistaken here.
Shrinkies Advantages: Probably the most undectable method. Quite secure in the hair. Fairly easy to install and remove. Fairly inexpensive ($30 for the shrinkies, $100 for a fusion wand, plus the hair). Disadvantages: Will leave some glue residue (although it's easily removed with oil). You must pretip the hair or buy it pretipped. Not many extensionists are familiar with this technique yet, so you'll probably have to DIY.
Microrings Advantages: Fairly undectable. Probably the quickest and easiest method to install and remove. Very inexpensive ($30 for the rings, $10 for pliers, plus the hair). There are quite a few extensionist who can do this method, so you should be able to find someone. Disadvantages: Many people have problems with slippage (although I've heard it's not as bad with synth). You must pretip the hair or buy it pretipped. Some have reported a bit of damage with removal (nothing that compares to fusion, however).
Pinchbraids Advantages: Absolutely no chemicals--just braids and string. Perhaps the least damaging method. Extremely secure in the hair. Fairly easy to install and remove. Very inexpensive (just the hair and the string). Hair does not have to be pretipped. Disadvantages: Not as undetectable as Shrinks or microrings--somewhat bulkier. Can be a hard method to learn, so you'll probably have to practice for a long time or hire someone to do it for you. You will lose two inches from overall length (due to the fact that the hair's folded over), so you will need to order hair that's about two inches longer than you would with other methods.
All of these methods can be used with either synth or human--its really you preference. And as you can see from my post, they all have their advantages and disadvantages, so it depends on your priorities, really.
Anyway, read a bit more about these types of hair and methods, and you'll get a better idea of what's right for you. It sounds like synth might be a really good option, but read up on it more, and ask questions. A lot of us are trying it for the first time, so we'll be posting our observations constantly, I'm sure. As far as the method, you can switch that, too, but it's important that you don't switch to something that makes your hair worse. If I understand it correctly, your hair is growing nicely with your current method, so you really want to take all the factors into consideration.
cat it sounds like your hair texture and problem hair is just like mine! And people with fine or thin hair can use the microrings or the shrinkiess...they dont just fall out if the are done right! My stylist used to tell me stupid stuff all the time when I was asking about extensions, she told me stupid stuff because she didnt have a clue, just her opinion!
Since I have fine and thin hair I dont really care for the microrings because they tend to show more if you get them to close to partings. And you cant go as high on the crown without them showing. The shrinkies though, shrink down really small. They are awesome! I am putting shrinkies in with my next set of extensions in about a week or so. They are much less visible for those of us with fine or thin hair.
I hear you on the cost issue of human hair! Its crazy what we will spend!
By the way, do you agree with my observation about the way weft hair falls v. strand-by-strand? I feel like one of the challenges of the strand-by-strand techniques is that the hair sometimes falls in a piece-y way (not right after styling, but after awhile), not that I want to switch to wefts of anything--just an observation.
Just curious about what you thought (since you're the weft queen, Sher)!
Jenny yes I do agree with that to some extent. I do like the way my hair lays and styles with wefts. What I dont like is that it isnt as free flowing and there isnt the movement like natural hair or the strand methods. But with the strand method, if I go all day without brushing at some point since my morning hair do, it does seem to get more piece-y looking (if thats what you mean) compared to weft extensions. So I guess its a trade off for the more natural movement!
You know... I was planning on going back to wefts for my next set just to give my hair a break from the strand method. IMO, I really dont think the weft bonding puts as much stress on my hair as individual strand methods. But now I have this hair up my a$$ to do the shrinkies and synthtic. Hey at least I know I can get the synth. in wefts from plastikhaar!!
LOL dont quote me on that one...On my hair in particular I've notice that when I have a weft bonded in it is attached to a whole row of natural hair. I feel like it is more secure and stronger, and there really is no chance of actually yanking one out from the root. I notice less pulling with wefts than with strands. Especially when they start to grow out. If your not careful brushing etc... you could yank a strand out. And yes on occasion when ive had a loose bond and didnt take care of it I have pulled one out along with a few hairs! That dont happen with a bonded weft!
Oh, you're welcome. I hope Cat figures out something that works well for her. I am rather hesitant, though, to suggest that anyone switch from a method that's allowing their hair to grow well (most don't, imo). Anyway, I'm sure she'll figure it out. :)
OMG - Firstly, let me say THANK YOU to Jenny and Sheri.
This forum is sooo fantastic. I really wish I had found it six months ago!!!
All the info you posted, Jenny was wonderful. So informative and I have learned so much. The more I read the more I think I'm going to stick with my braiding and wefting. My hair is doing so well that I don't want to screw it up. It may take a few years of extensions, but I know that eventually I will have long hair of my own - the ultimate goal.
I will post how my new bohyme hair performs and I look forward to reading how everyone's synth performs.
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