Question for a newbie on Shrinkies and the like!!

Hi all! After spending an information-filled few hours browsing this forum, I've decided DIY is not for me because I know I'd screw it up, but I've got a question regarding possibly having my stylist do one of these methods.

I got So.Cap Extensions done with her a month or so ago and they are terrible - the installation was fine, it looks natural and everything - but the quality of the hair is ABYSMAL. It's not my stylist's fault at all, and I fully understand that the company sent sub-par, dry, damaged hair that has been falling out all over the place.

Considering I paid over $1000 for this and I'm a college student, I've been looking for ways to maintain the long hair look I love for a LOT cheaper. Heh, funny story about me and long hair - I had naturally long hair for a few years until this summer when I decided I was bored, put my hair in a ponytail, and chopped it off. Now I'm paying dearly... literally... Anyway, that's besides the point.

My question is, if I bought Thermofiber hair and the adhesive shrinkies and a heated fusion clamp thing, would it be out of line for me to ask my stylist if she'd be willing to privately do my hair? I know that she doesn't get nearly as much commission from the So.Cap thing as they charge, and it's out of a national salon for whom So.Cap is not their main (or a widely available) specialty. I think the methods are pretty much the same, as they are both strand-by-strand, use keratin, and would be bonded with that heated fusion tool. If she knows how to do So.Cap, she would most likely feel comfortable with doing Shrinkies too, right?

Here's some background on the stylist: she's only a year older than me, we went to the same high school and she's really nice. Would that hopefully affect her decision to do this?

And also, if you think she would be willing to go for it, how much would be reasonable to be charged per hour? I'd supply the hair and all the supplies, I'd just need her experience in strand placement.

Thanks in advance for any advice!!!!


Edited by meg72 - November 25 2007 at 2:29pm

Hi Ms.Honey,

The salon charged $100/hr for the install but I know for a fact that she gets less than half of that, if even close to half (it's a national chain salon commonly found in malls so I know they aren't giving that much $$ to their stylists). The salon paid for her training and paid for all the tools used so I feel that by allowing her to use her training outside of the salon, which she wouldn't be able to do otherwise, with tools I purchase should be a good compromise if my goal is to keep the overall cost low - right?

As for the keratin install, she'd probably feel more comfortable but are there places where I can get pretipped keratin hair? I see lots of links for pre-tipped hair but are these keratin bonds? About the thermofiber hair, yes, I was looking into that because the So.Cap hair was soooo bad and because it's stronger and cheaper than real hair but maintains the look and feel. Are there better recommendations you would make?

Thanks for all your help!

Every vendor can occasionally have a bad batch or hair.  Will Socap replace the hair?  It's worth asking about.