The REAL reason Britney shaved her head

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   EXTENSIONS RUINED MY HAIR.
  If you are an expert in extensions, PLEASE help.  Here's my story:

My ('upscale') hair salon charged me a lot for extensions.  They told me I could help to improve the health of my hair by using blonde extensions, instead of bleaching my hair.  And I could get the length I wanted and thickness too.  And I could grow my own hair out (longer) while I was enjoying the extensions.  I was told however that I would like them so much I would never want to take them out.  They do the "Pure" method (microlinks I guess they are called, copper tubes).  They said this is the newest and safest method and does not damage your hair.  And they use the best human hair available (they said it does not come in anything but straight).  I was told the hair wouldn't need to be replaced for up to a year.

I have fine hair, it was a little longer than shoulder length.  Average thickness (not thick, but not super thin).  They said they put about 150 extensions in my hair (I'm thinking it might have been more like 125).  My scalp hurt and itched for a few days.  If I tried to sleep with my extensions without braiding them, I would get up with a tangled mess, and extensions are not easy to brush like natural hair.  

I had to go back to have them blend the extensions more to make them look less heavy and fake.  The stylist blended and blended and blended and blended (I'm pretty certain my natural hair was blended too) by running the side of I believe scissors down my hair (I never got a cut, which I needed instead of the over blending).  When I left it looked a bit less fake, but I felt like I had lost 50% of the thickness of the extensions (and some of the length), which I was not pleased about, I pointed out that the extensions looked a lot thinner, but I didn't complain.

When I went in for maintenance (to have the extensions 'pushed up'), the stylist said my extensions were in good shape and it appeared I was taking good care of them.  However I could tell she was using a comb to loosen up knots (it tugs and hurts), and was tossing hair that came out on the floor.  I was told that a person loses 100 hairs a day, and when you have extensions that hair gets trapped in the links, so it's not hair loss, it's just natural shedding.  I didn't completely buy that concept, but was hoping it was true.  I thought it was strange that the stylist could only fit just under 100 in my head, when I had 125-150 before, she said there was no more of my natural hair to attach them to (I thought maybe she just didn't put them in right, but I realize now it must have been because by that point there was less of my own hair left to work with).  After I left, my scalp hurt terribly and itched for approx. 3 weeks.  I figured it was due to the copper tubes being closer to the scalp, and after it grows out a bit the pain stops.  I didn't complain because I figured the only solution was for them to do the process all over again, which takes forever, and they would charge me a lot of money again, and have an attitude because they would think I was just 'bitching' about nothing. 

Between the initial cost, blending, pushing them up, adding more in, having extensions that fell out put back in (they originally told me that never happens or is very rare, NOT true), and other issues with improper color (which I won't go into at this time), etc., it had cost me a fortune.

It has been only six months.  I needed my extensions pushed up again (I was waiting due to the cost.  They charge by the hour for that service, so one person might do it in an hour, whereas another might take 4 hours.  I was going to tell her not to put them so close to my scalp this time as I can't tolerate the pain).  I have been curious as to the health of my natural hair, and wondering (excited) about how much it had grown.  I've been tired of having a head filled with metal (and concerned that the copper tubes were visible to others), and I could feel areas that felt like several extensions were knotted/tangled together where the tubes are attached to my natural hair.  Also, despite very much liking longer/thicker hair, each extension looks like a "rope", so it doesn't look smooth or style as well/easily as natural hair (I asked about the sew-in method, because I figured there would not be that "rope" effect, but was told it is terrible, that your natural hair is braided, takes forever to dry, and ends up getting moldy).  (I was basically told all other methods are bad).  

My friend and I decided to take them all out yesterday to see what was going on, to be able to give my natural hair a good washing and brushing, and hopefully to save time (thus money) when I go in to have them put in again.  It didn't seem like that big of a deal to do so, since to have the extensions pushed up, you are essentially taking each one out at a time anyway, plus in the beginning the stylist suggested I take them all out like maybe once every 3 months and have my natural hair colored (I didn't do that, it would have just cost me more money).  Some of the extensions were loose enough to slide off with gentle pressure.  For the others we used a tool to clamp open the tubes so the extensions would slide out (essentially the same thing the stylist does, not hard to do).

BOTTOM LINE:  My natural hair has never looked so bad in my life.  It is SHORTER than it was when I started, and much, much THINNER, it's terrible.  I had to trim the bottom a little to try to even it out and get some body, but it didn't do any good.  It's almost like a bad shag from the 70s.  The only way to repair it would be to cut it very short, and I would look terrible with short hair.  My theory is that they caused stress to my scalp, that the extensions/tubing might have been too much/too heavy for my hair type, and the knots/tangles cause hair loss, AND the stylist blended my own hair way too much (my hair grows really slow).  

I don't want to be seen in public with my hair like this (I'd put it in a ponytail, but my hair is so thin it looks ridiculous).  I feel I now HAVE to wear extensions.  I don't however want my hair to get further damaged.  I need to see someone in the L.A. area who has a lot of experience with a variety of application methods, who can help me, and do it for a reasonable price, but I have no idea where to go.  I feel like an idiot for spending so much money (more than I could afford), just to have my hair ruined.

I'm very sad, and would very much appreciate your help/advice.  Thank you 

PS  Forgot to mention that while we were taking the extensions out, and trying to gently untangle the knots, we were seeing tons of loose hair coming out, I was hoping it was extension hair, but I'm sure it was mine  

Edited by HairHazard - May 02 2009 at 3:28am