Well hello everyone! Can't believe it's taken me so long to find you all here. This is lthe perfect hair message board for me...hair geeks!!

Just a quick intro for people who don't know me...I have been hairdressing for 20yrs and doing extensions for over 15 now. I started off with human hair when I worked for Connect (salon in London who started before GL, the people from GL worked there when I started) many moons ago. After 5 yrs as top stylist there I branched out and started to do Prostyles (which I love and have in my hair atm), dreads and all other manner of extensions freelance. I have my website which I try to update when I can but I'm too busy doing hair!

My main method for human hair is fusion - using a hotbox and various makes of human hair. I have been doing this method for 15 yrs and the last year has been really stressful as for some reason every type of glue I try is rubbish! I have had clients who have been having extensions for years suddenly have all their hair shedding and the bonds going soft after 2 weeks. I bought some of the Prostyles new glue sticks and hair and the extensions all shed after a week! I don't think it's me as I have been doing them far too long to make mistakes so it can only be the glue or the hair. I have tried *so* many different glues that I'm close to giving up!! I always make sure the clients hair is washed with no conditioner or products and the hair I use is washed at the tops and fully dry too. I have also been using Additional Lengths pre-bonded nail tipped hair for about 8 months now and although they stay in fairly well the quality of the hair isn't great (a lot of clients complain that it's dry after 3 washes) and they are limited to 18" straight which I fins is only 16" as the ends are so tapered. Most of my clients like slight wave and longer hair too. I am about to try the shrinkies as I hated the micro rings (they slide out, are too heavy for the hair and show through even thick hair!) and am looking forward to it.

My main question(s) are do people find that pre-tipped hair done with keratin glue lasts as long as those made with LG? And do any of you have a glue they can reccommend that will stop all the shedding? It is costing me so much money as I have to keep topping up my clients for free

THANKS!!!

I use to use monkey barzz and it lasted better than the mega and some others I tryed. You may also want to look in to http://www.hairpiece.com - www.hairpiece.com  Pro tubes. Many of us like these . They are light and stay in very well. Mine have been in over 2 months now I only lost two and that was recent. the are very small I get med tubes they fit most pre tips. They also have a large you can put two tips in.

Welcome to are little family by the way

Welcome Angelemma!

I have been on your website many times admiring your work!

I also do Prostyles heat seals and love it a lot.  For human hair, I would say the I do mostly shrink links and seamless wefts. 

When you do dreads, do you do them the way that is taught in the Prostyles 'Avant Gard' video tape?  I would like to learn more about doing dreads.

Thanks Marie and metalgirl

I will check out the protubes and see what they are like. I think my main worry about using any sort of tube/link is that I still have to pre-bond the hair in advance and it could still slip depending on what glue is used. I used monkey barzz 10 yrs ago when I left the salon and wanted to use something new. Thank you!

Metalgirl - thank you! My dreads are all pre-mad before fitting by backcombing kanekalon jumbo braid in sections and then steaming tightly. It takes around 6-7 hours to make a full heads worth (and then 2 hrs to put them in). The Prostyles way is the same as Dome IIRC - you put a full head of extensions in and then backcomb sections on the head? That is something I never do because it backcombs the clients own hair and then it's hard to take them out and damages the hair. The way I use means that you can take them out and your hair is exactly as it was before

How do you attach the premade dreads? Do you leave a bit of it loose to incorporate into the braid and then heat seal?

In the Prostyles instructional video, it demonstrated putting in loose hair with the heat seals, and then back combing and using a blow dryer to melt the matts together to from the dread.  I'd much rather make the dreads in advance, so the service would go quicker for the client.