Hi, I have been thinking about getting hair extensions put in for the first time, but I want to know more information first.  I read that human hair is the best kind of weave, but is there a brand that's better than others?  How much should I get?  how much do hairdressers charge to put it in?  How long can I keep it in for?  When I do have to get it changed, do i have to buy new hair or do they just re-do my tracks and put the same hair in?

My hair is broken off in some areas where i did at home relaxers.  Will that be a problem?

Any advice or replies would be helpful.  My hair is horrible right now and I'm looking to do this asap.

I personally wouldn't advise getting a weave or extensions- if i had damage- i would try to repair the damage first. You may want to consider a trim first- to cut off some of the damage- then i would start on the fast track to adding moisture and protein and having a specific hair regimine. You need to get your hair in a healthy state before weaves and extensions- if not it will fall out and break off worse.

Make sure that you are shampooing and deep conditioning your hair weekly with a moisturizing shampoo(con the one with the green and white writing and yellow cap is a good one). Deep condition with cholesterol w/ a thin plastic cap and under a heated dryer for 45 mins to a an hour. Oil your scalp with natural oils- like coconut, sweet almond, apricot kernel and evening primrose.

You can also use castor oil as a pre-shampoo treatment prior to shampooing with a thin plastic cap and under a heated dryer for 10-15 mins. Hope this helps- i am not relaxed but some of the other ladies like honeydoo and sista slick can help you further with relaxed hair care.

For the breakage- i use Jherri Rhedding 100% natural protein conditioner-can be purchased at sally's or i use the dominican roostertail recipe that i listed: 4 tblssps. miss keys 10 en 1, 4 tblsps. rivas silicon mix, 4 tblsps toque agico emergencia tratmiento intensivo capilar.

For shedding i use queen helene garlic shampoo or nutrine garlic shampoo and nutric garlic conditioner.

i hope this helps you somewhat in getting back on the right track.

I totally agree w/Carameldiva, if you are having damaged or breakage then getting a weave or braids for that matter will make it worse. Repair and restore you hair back to health and trim and then you should be straight. You can keep it moisturized with what Carmeldiva suggested, clean and do deep conditioner treatments and protein treatments. Try to stay away from chemicals as much as possible and excessive heat usage. Huhmmm massaging your scalp and using T-tree oil with help promote an healthy scalp as well as growth.

Now once you are ready for a weave/sew-in you can call around, ask for prices and to see ones work..the usual price starts at $80 (at a salon) and up.

To be honest the best human hair is Indianhairs that everyone talks about as well as Remi, (BTW: if you cant afford IH, BSS carry Outre Velvet Remi and Sensationnel Goddess Remi).  I would say that two packs are the regular for a sew-in because you dont want it tooo think that its looking bulky.

If maintained and upkeep weaves can last for 2 months but no longer than 3 months and you can then take it out and redo it again, the hair is reusable (once again as long as you take care of it)  so all you need to do is wash the tracks and all and put it back in.  HTH

Thank you for the advice.  I'm going to try to improve my hair's condition a little by getting a shorter hair cut.  I haven't been to a salon in year though and I'm afraid they won't be able to give me the cut i want because of the breakage in the middle of my head.  Maybe they can find a way to cover it up without cutting all my hair to the length that the breakage is...which would not even be an inch!

I'm going to also look into buying that protein condition carameldiva mentioned.  how often should i use it?