I am thinking about taking Mark Barrington's Class.  Metalgirl do you still use do this?  How does his shrinkies differ from everything we see here? I am thinking about going very soon!

I talked with him today.  He seems like a VERY nice person. VERY Polite!  We had a lengthy conversation and very informative! I have seen where he used extension-plus hair, but I can't find their website.

I just need to know is it worth the money? How good is the hair? How is their Shrinkies? How is the Class.

Eager to learn about this system from someone who has used it.

Hi,

Yes I still do use the shrink links and in my not so humble opinion, it's one of the best out there.

There is a slight difference in the shrink link tubes vs. the shrinkies.  The shrink link tubes are thinner than the shrinkies, and therefore shrink down very quickly (in just a few seconds, but I hold the heat on it for 10 seconds to be on the safe side).  Shrink links in the hair are just slightly flatter  and less chunky than shrinkies because of the above mentioned shinking property.  To me, a shrinkies bond feels much 'harder' in the hair than the shrink links.

The real great thing about MB is the hair, their 'perma plugs'.  The  hair has a flat, plastic tip on the end.  That tip does not break down with heat and doesn't shed at all.  It is very durable, thus making the hair easy to use over and over again without having to re-roll the tip as you do in shrinkies or microring applications.

Mark is super nice and a  great business man.  They always have gotten my orders to me on time.  They are a pleasure to do business with.

Yes they do use http://www.extensions-plus.com - www.extensions-plus.com hair.  However, you can send them any hair you want to use and they will make that into their perma plugs.  I have on occasion sent them Bohyme wefts for the perma plugs.

The class is great too.  Mark is/was a hairstylist himself, so he understands our  needs. 

Now, I am not saying that I don't like AMM's shrinkies, those are pretty darn good too, but with MB the real advantage is the perma plugs.  They can do any color, any length.  I have many times sent in samples of my clients hair and they match it exactly, no matter how many colors in the sample.  They offfer the Extensions Plus European hair, Italian hair, and the Softwear hair, which is the hair AMM sells but calls it 'Elite'.

I have worn this system myself for several years in the past and loved it.  The one and only time I received a bad batch of hair from them, they replaced it at their cost, no questions asked.

For this class, it's money well spent!  If you decide to take it, tell them that Lisa Wallace referred you, because they have a referral program and I'll get some free goodies.  But that's not the reason I so highly recommend it though, seriously, it's a good product.

I'm not sure how much they charge now, but when I took the class several years ago, it was one full day class for $1000.  Unfortunately, that price is a standard price as far as extension classes go...

I think the shrink link class price may cost a little more these days, but don't know how much.

Thanks alot Metalgirl!  The class is now $1475.  I will be traveling from TN to CA for the class. 

There is an educator here in TN that teaches Extend USA.  His classes are $2200.  They charge so much here because there are not many stylist that do extensions.  I am the only one in a 50 mile radius that does extensions.

Thanks so much!

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience.  My experience was great, because I was taught by Mark himself at their Sacramento facilities.  I got a lot of 1 on 1 attention and wasn't rushed at all.  We spent the full 8 hours in class and Mark even took us out to lunch too.

I think the problem may have been their trainers, their people who they contracted to teach classes in the LA area.  An instructor can certainly make or break a class experience. 

I'm sure if Mark knew that his trainers weren't doing a good job, he would not tolerate it.  His extensions are so near and dear to his heart, he really wants anyone who takes his class to be successful. 

I do  agree with SAS, that now we have a great resource such as this board, 'official' training classes are not as critical as they once were.  That's the power of the Internet for ya...

However, with MB and many other extension systems, they won't let you buy their product without taking their class, so I have taken classes before just as a way to have access to products.

One more thing I wanted to add...

I took the MB class a long while before there were any other shrinkie type products on the market.  MB really was the inventor of the method, starting the company around 1992, I believe.  So at that time, this idea was revolutionary.  The only other strand application was fusion.

So, now that we had a wide array of shrinkie products available for anyone to buy, I'm not sure if I would actually pay to take that class over again, when there are some comparable products out their available to the masses. 

A less than satisfactory experience is unfortunate.

i have not taken the class, however i did have a former client who wore the mb and she brought me the hair to install with shrinkies and locs, the hair is awesome, the tips NEVER melted and beleive me i tried to melt them. If i were to take another class- MB would be one i  would highly consider.

S

the only hair that mark has made from EP is his own and NO one can get it without going thru class. the hair that EP WAS carrying is the softwear hair, its the same exact hair that Amm is carrying and by the way- EP is discontuining the line. the tips from MB are much different then the softwear line.

i know this because i not only spoke to EP i went down and personally met with them.

Got cha- yeah the perma plugs hair is from EP they are still going to supply that to MB. i really really like that hair too!

a client of mine brought me some, is georgous too.