Redhairedgirl: 400 pounds is okay for a salon price, but I know of at least three non-salon (mobile stylists) people who probably charge less, and have great portfolios. They also don't use fusion. Fusion is okay to use with synthetic hair, but it's debatable as to whether or not it damages your real hair. In any case, these three girls I know use either heat-seals or pinchbraids, which are extension methods that are certain to not cause damage. Hopefully you're near one of them- there's Snarl Hair in the Midlands, Diversity Hair in Hertsfordshire (St Albans), and the Hairbunniez in London. Let me know if any of those are near you and I'll send you their info and websites.
As far as DIYing goes- it's worth a try! Many people here have been successful with doing their own shrinklink or microring extensions. (Pinchbraids and heatseals are great methods, but very hard to do on one's own head.) And since you're in the UK, you can buy ProStyles hair (the stuff you have in now) without a hairdressing license (us unlucky Americans can't). There's also Hairaisers fiber, which I've heard very good things about, and then of course Dome and Plastikhaar. Lots of options for synth!
She said that she used profibre extensions and that they were put in using the fusion method because this type of synth can take high temperatures (?).
Ditto what everyone else said: ProHair is high-quality synthetic, and there are lots of comparable options.
What's odd, though, is that she would say that ProHair can take high temperatures. It sorta can, in that you could blow it straight or use boiling water to curl it, but it's actually designed to melt with the heating clamp (this is how heat seals are done).
I know the salon was vague with you, but do you remember if the tool used to apply them was a heated wand (this would melt the synth onto itself), or was there glue being applied from a glue gun or hotpot?
It sorta can, in that you could blow it straight or use boiling water to curl it, but it's actually designed to melt with the heating clamp (this is how heat seals are done).
So it is actually designed to melt into the hair, like I said earlier, and they say in their ad???
Well, ideally no--it's designed to melt into itself, but not into anyone's real hair (although I'm sure it's possible if a mistake is made).
Unlike fusion, which bonds fake hair to your real hair (sometimes with heat), with heat-sealing (aka the Dome method), the real hair is braided with the fake hair in a box (or 4-way) braid, then a small part of the synthetic hair is wrapped around the braid and melted into itself with heat, forming a seal. If done correctly, there should be no damage to the real hair underneath. (There are a few variations on this, some people use a little spirit gum, some don't, but that's the basic jist.) It's different than fusion, though, where the objective is to glue (or melt glue) directly onto the real hair.
Hopefully that makes some sense. It's quite a difficult method to learn, and I've only heard of a few DIYers who do it actually, but it's the method that's recommended (I'm pretty certain) for Dome and ProHair, although you can use other methods to attach them. Boogiemama, for example, does her own version of the heat-sealing method.
I have pinchbraids with Dome/PH, Kalika had shrinks with PH, and lots of people use extendtubes for this kind of hair, too. Fusion certainly wouldn't be my choice, but again, I'm sure people do that too.
STS...Prostyles or Dome method of attachment is where they attach the synthetic hair with a braid. They leave a small amount of synthetic out at the top, then they braid the synthetic and real hair together for about an inch. then they wrap the loose synthetic piece that they left out around the braid. And then use the C2 clamp to yes melt it and form a seal. around the braid.
If synthetic is being used to do fusion, no the synthetic is not melting into your hair. The only thing that is melted into your hair is the glue.
Thanks again for the feedback everyone! I have calmed down a bit now (serious panic attack there!). Jenny - she used a hot glue gun to put them in. Rae - thank you so much for suggesting uk stylists! I do really fancy having a go at it myself though, my boyfriend says he will help although I am sure he doesn't know how long it will take. lol. A few more questions If I am buying mail order how do I get a colour match? I want to stick with synth and I have been reading the tutorials, which is the easiest method and type of hair for a beginner? I won't be trying it for at least a month, is it right that the solvents for getting extensions out won't harm my hair? I really want to go longer next time (like down to my bra strap) is that possible when my own hair is still short? Thanks again everyone I love this forum
The easiest methods for a beginner, imo, are extendtubes and shrinkies.
If you stick with synth, you can get hair from PlastikHaar or Dome; PH is very helpful with the colors. You may need to blend a few to get the perfect match, though. The colors as they appear on screen can be a bit off, so you'll want to ask around (on the boards) about a particular shade before you buy. Purchasing human hair is a whole 'nother story, but if you're interested in that, I would recommend Bohyme (from ebonyline.com), HisandHer, or Glamourhair.
You only really need solvent to remove extensions if you are dealing with a fusion/bond method. Extentubes use no glue, so there's no solvent required, and shrinkies use a tiny bit of glue, so you may need just a drop of acetone for some areas (not much, though); vegetable oil will remove most of the residue. I would not recommend doing fusion on yourself.
I think it would be possible to go longer, but without seeing your hair, it's hard to say. I would suggest looking at before and after photos in extensionists' galleries. When you find one where the real hair looks like yours and you like the result, show us the link, and we'll give you an idea as to how we think it was done.
Thanks Jenny (you are so knowledgeable!) and everyone else for your help. I will be having a go at doing my own extensions, but not until the ones I've got start to look tatty. And I WILL post some pics when I have done them, so you can all tell me what you think. I'll keep reading the threads in the meantime and carry on asking my dumb questions when I dont understand something. lol
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redhairedgirl wrote:
