The Trials and Tribulations of a DIYer
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Extension Topics
Forum Name: Hair Extensions
Forum Description: Hair Extensions can be the quick fix for short hair.
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=37971
Printed Date: February 08 2026 at 6:51am
Topic: The Trials and Tribulations of a DIYer
Posted By: monsterita
Subject: The Trials and Tribulations of a DIYer
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 11:01am
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My Lush hair and shrinkies arrived on Saturday and I spent the better part of the weekend installing them. I ordered the #2 color hair, which, as it turns out, is an amazingly perfect match to my hair color. Not only that, but the texture and shine is an exact match. Talk about luck. But, I suck at putting in shrinkies. I started off by using way too much of my own hair and had to re-do a bunch of shrinkies once I realized what I was doing wrong. In the end, I still ended up using only about 120 strands. I've got 80 left over. It doesn't make for very thick and full long hair, so I ended up trimming the hair to just below shoulder length. It looks full now, but it is still a bit piecey. I didn't get anywhere near the neat, straight rows of extensions that the pros do. It's just sort of a random install in the back. And, I've got the occasional strand from one piece glued into another piece. Doh! Finally, my own hair is very very fine and thin, so I ended the rows about 2 inches away from my top part line. But, you can still occasionally see the shrinkie peaking out from underneath my hair. Oh, and I burnt the hell out of my finger tips. LOL! I did get better and faster with practice. There is just a pretty steep learning curve. And, the shrinkies are very firm and secure. I can't imagine anything slipping out from those bonds. I'm guessing it takes awhile to get used to having all these hard little bumps hanging off your head. It definitely feels strange. I don't even want to think about the work it's gonna take to take these out!
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Replies:
Posted By: amm
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 11:08am
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Awww I'm sorry it seemed hard. It can definitely get easier. Do you have a practice head to play with and install on? They really are worth it.
Drop me an email with your name and address and I'll send you some free shrinkies to make up for the ones you had to redo. Keep practicing...us DIY all started at the beginning.  ------------- http://shrinkies.net - Extension Supplies & Virgin Brazilian Hair |
Posted By: monsterita
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 1:39pm
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It is hard - I didn't have a practice head. The problem is that I couldn't see the back of my head. I tried to hook up my camcorder to my computer, but I didn't have enough light for it to work, so I just did it blind. I got much better at feeling around for the hair after awhile. I've got plenty of shrinkies left - probably enough for a whole extra head. I just wish my hair looked as pretty as yours. |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 3:11pm
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You know what works almost as well as a practice head? A cheap wig and
a foam head for it. It doesn't matter that it's not quite like a real
head- you just have to get the feel of everything down first. Plus,
cheap wig hair is usually very crappy synthetic, so you can tell if
you're getting too much heat on the hair outside of the shrinkie
because it'll melt the wig hair. :) Once you've got it down, you can
turn the head around and practice doing it sightless, too. -Rae ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: metalgirl
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 10:59pm
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Can you have a friend help you with the back of your head? ------------- http://www.Godiva-Hair.com - http://www.Godiva-Hair.com http://www.MetamorphosisHairDesign.com - http://www.MetamorphosisHairDesign.com |
Posted By: Naked Eye
Date Posted: December 12 2005 at 11:47pm
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Amen! I did my first shrinkies about a week ago, and everything was very
much the same!! I still don't really like how it looks (I didn't use lush hair  so the tips
didn't have enough hair, so later I had to take some out and melt 2 tips together) but I am still working on it before I post pics! But you really do get a hang of it after awhile. I positioned a few mirrors to help me see the back, but you are still trying to figure out how to work with the reflection, and yeah, MANY BURNS!!! And yeah, you get used to the bumps. At first I thought I would never sleep! Now, meh. Congrats though, post pics!!! 
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Posted By: Kalika
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 12:42am
| It gets easier I promise you! I just started using shrinkies a few months ago, and now I can put them in by myself while lying upside down on the couch watching tv, with no mirror. Just takes practice. |
Posted By: Amanda8Beechwoo
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 3:30am
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That's so funny Kalika lol x ------------- [URL=http://www.hairextensionsbyamanda.co.uk]www.hairextensionsbyamanda.co.uk[/URL] |
Posted By: monsterita
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 8:29am
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I did get much better at it, and after putting in about 50 shrinkies, I really was starting to get the hang of it. There's actually a lot of coordination involved, and you also have to make sure you don't overheat the shrinkie. I completely melted a few of them. I just started listening for the little crackling noise, then took off the heat clamp right away - about 7 seconds. I think I'm going to keep these in for a few weeks, then take it all out and re-do it so it's right and not cut so much length off. Here's some pics - I don't have a before picture - but my hair was just a little longer than chin length and very thin.
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Posted By: Naked Eye
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 8:44am
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That is beautiful! Good work!
Yeah, like the microlinks, I started to get a hang of it and could even do that back of my head with just one mirror and while i was engrossed my TV shows, haha. And yes, I think I melted more than a few! 
Goodjob, they look wonderful! |
Posted By: Monet001
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 8:51am
| Extensions: I would like to DoItMyself (DIY) Can anyone reccommend where I can get a starter kit from? Not alot of hair but all the products fusion tools,etc? I would like to try it on my practice head and then order HH hair and do my own. |
Posted By: shel221
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 12:18pm
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Monet001 - heres 2 different ebay sellers who offer a good variety and you can choose which suits you best (budget, method etc)
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Not-Just-Wigs - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Not-Just-Wigs http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Fusion-Human-Wavy-Remy-Hair-Extensions-Tool-Kit_W0QQitemZ6829770402QQcategoryZ60188QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Fusion-Human-Wavy-Remy-Hair-Exte nsions-Tool-Kit_W0QQitemZ6829770402QQcategoryZ60188QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Lengthy-Locks-4-U-Hair-Extensions_W0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQtZkm - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Lengthy-Locks-4-U-Hair-Extensions_W 0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQtZkm http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Micro-Links-Hair-Extensions-Kit-100-Strands-St8-Hair_W0QQitemZ6829778105QQcategoryZ60188QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem - ------------- |
Posted By: monsterita
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 12:50pm
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I got my starter kit from Amm along with the Lush hair. I just went into work today and no one could believe that I did it myself. They all said that it looks great and very natural and that they couldn't tell that it wasn't my hair. One of my co-worker's daughter has lupus and has had a problem with her hair falling out. She started to cry when she realized that extensions might help her daugher with her hair loss. Some of my co-workers were really trying hard to figure out how my hair could grow six inches in a weekend! |
Posted By: shel221
Date Posted: December 13 2005 at 1:05pm
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Just had a look at Amm's site their, its changed so much since i last visited, Kristens too. They are so good plus packed with lots of new products. My pc will be getting fixed tomorrow so ill finally be able to update my website (as this laptop has none of my pics or material) i will deffo back up all my data this time. Anyway to any newbies here's their sites too.... http://www.shrinkies.net - www.shrinkies.net http://www.yourhairshop.com - www.yourhairshop.com
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Posted By: Monet001
Date Posted: December 14 2005 at 8:47am
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Thanks |
