No Brigid did not do this by herself but yes Do It Yourself as represented by all the DIY shows on cable & related media can mean doing it with the help of a few friends.  Brigid does hope to eventually do installs completely by herself.  I think as we move forward she probably will be able to be 100% DIY.  For now, we are still learning.

 

The kit was from Academy Hair.  It included 100 pre-tipped Keratin Human Hair strands, a few templates, clips, brush, sectioning comb and a fusion tool.  The hair was 16" long and we weighed the strands before they were put into Brigid's hair.  They weighed .2 ounces for a total of 2 ounces for the 100 pieces.  The hair was Grade A hair...meaning all the lengths were the same and it was Remy or cuticle hair.  It was classified as "European hair" but really nice hair. 

 

Academy Hair Kit With Pretipped Hair, Clips, Comb, Brush & Fusion Tool

 

The install only took 3 1/2 hours BUT after the first day, it was agreed Brigid need more strands added to the original 80 for a total of 100.  It was also agreed a trim was needed along the ends which Billy trimmed into a U shape.  Blonde, multiple shades of brunette and a few red were added to match Brigid's current highlight pattern.

 

I have lots of photos so I hope they all show up.

 

Brigid Before Fusion Install - Front View

 

Brigid Before Fusion Install - Back View

 

 

Brigid With First Section 

 

Brigid After Sides And Several Back Strands Applied

 

Billy cut the strands in half and then mixed brunette with blonde or red to create real life highlights to match Brigid's current hair color scheme.

 

Brigid After 80 Strands Before Final Hair Cut

 

 

Brigid After 80 Strands Added Before Hair Cut - Back View

 

Notice how her there appeared to be blending issues along the bottom.  Adding 20 more strands to fill in and blend did the trick.

 

 

 

Brigid After 20 Additional Strands (100 Total) & Final Hair Trim

 

It was agreed by all that Brigid needed more blonde to even out the front highlights so Billy added mostly blonde for the 20 additional strands.

 

 

 

Brigid & Billy After 100 Total Strands Added & Final HairCut

 

Brigid is beyond thrilled.  Brigid helped Billy throughout the install. 

 

My role?  Taking lots of notes and photos as well as suggesting the additional 20 strands to add better blending.

 

Kudos to B&B for being willing to share their latest install.

GREAT job Billy and Brigid!!

 

Kudos to the notes/picture taker too!

I am so happy for Brigid - she seems happy too! 

Billy looks proud of his work - as he should be. 

Great job guys!

 

As usual I want to know how the bonds wear. . .this is always the "Holy Grail" for me with fusion. While I hate the expense of Great Lengths I've yet to find bonds that wear as well (i.e. don't swell then come out easily).

 

Keep us posted!!!

 

I too want to know where you got the hair!!

 

Hi FinaFina,

 

My friend Barbara Lhotan who is a hairstylist & salon manager at Elie Elie Salon in Winchester, Virginia and a Paul Mitchell educator arranged for us to acquire the kit.  The kit cost approximately $450 which included all the items in the kit, all the hair we used and training from Barbara.

 

I talked to the manufacturer of the kit on the phone late yesterday (he is in the New York area) and he told me that their "official" policy is to only sell the Academy Hair kits to either cosmo students (me) or stylists (Billy).

 

He did tell me when I asked where the hair was from that he got the hair for our kit from Donna Bella and it is from India.  Academy Hair does not use any Asian hair in their kits.  He did say that they are always searching for other hair suppliers because they want the highest quality but that the hair we had was definitely DB.  He spoke very highly of Donna Bella hair and said it has a very high consistency for being top quality.

 

I do have to say that the hair was gorgeous.  Really silky and soft and compared to Angie's Chinese hair, a much finer texture, which worked perfectly for Brigid's fine hair.  Of course Angie has thick and somewhat coarse hair so the Chinese was a good match for Angie.

 

He did confirm that the hair we received was 100% Remy HH classified as Type A hair with all the strands the same length.  We talked about the weight of the hair but I was confused because he was converting everything into grams.  I need to work on understanding all the different measurements (grams, ounces, bags...etc.,)

 

He also said that they normally require anyone using the Academy Hair kits take an official class first before they sell the kit.  Since Barbara came to Dallas and spent time teaching Billy and I how to use the fusion kit they decided to count that as the official class requirement. 

 

The kit manufacturer told me that they primarily market to cosmo students and hair stylists in the Northeast. 

 

Unfortunately at this time they do not currently sell directly to consumers although I think they are considering possible options for the future.  I did discuss what it might take to sell to consumers. 

 

The concern of all this kit manufactuers as well as the makers of other professional kits that I have talked to is that unlike the highly sophisticated DIYers who visit BHM, HB and 101, average consumers might have problems if they bought a kit and did not have proper support and education.

 

I have mixed opinions but understand their concerns.  My friend who is the hair broker in Dallas and I have had several conversations about his hair and kits and he has expressed major concerns about unhappy customers if he sold direct to consumers.

 

What do you guys think?

 

 

 

Hi Krimsa,

 

Thank you so much for your feedback.  It really is fine and silky.  Brigid has fine hair and is really happy with the results.  She said is feels very light.  She was going out of town to Houston for a big wedding this weekend and was so thrilled that she had "new hair" to wear with her new outfit she bought for the wedding. 

 

Hi Ms. Honey,

 

Glad you are back!  Thanks for the feedback.  It was very fast.  Billy keeps getting faster and faster.  I bet the next time he could do it even better.  The beauty of trial and error...you learn as you fall down. 

 

Hi Asinnamon,

 

Thank you so much.  Yes, the 20 tips made a huge difference.

 

When she came to work on Friday, the 2nd day after the install, she reported that she had lost 4 strands in the shower.  She of course brought the strands in for Billy and I to see.  We think we know what happened, Billy cut some of the strands in half so that he could match a blonde to a brunette strand to give that highlight effect.  In cutting the keratin at the top, it appears that maybe too much was cut off and the tips did not bond as well.

 

Brigid has learned to be very careful when washing her hair and was a little upset that a few strands popped out.  When she was wearing her previous install she lost a few strands but not in the shower.  She traveled to Australia while wearing her previous install and slept for over 12 hours on the plane both ways.  That is when the strands came out. 

 

With your expertise with keratin would you think that cutting too much off the pre-tip would cause the strands to drop?

 

Also, when I talked to the kit manufacturer he told me that recommend that people use shampoo and conditioners for colored treated hair.  He did not mention a specific brand.  He said it was because the hair is actually colored treated and color shampoo/conditioners are more gentle.

 

Brigid was careful not to get conditioner near her bonds, washed in lukewarm water and was careful when detangling.  She did use a blow dryer though so that might have had an impact?

 

The hair was Bella Donna from India.

 

Thanks again for your feedback and your help.

 

I have heard great things about the Donna Bella hair and bonds too!!  Let us know how they perform over time!!

 

Hi Asinnamon,

 

Thanks so much for the feedback.  I agree about cutting too much off the tip. 

 

So far so good on Donna Bella.  We will take pictures of Brigid after 7 days to show what is happening.  I am very interested to see how it holds up.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks so much for your feedback.  It is very much appreciated.

 

I will pass all the tips to Brigid so she can make sure she is caring for her extensions the best way possible.  She is so addicted now it is not even funny.  I think she will be wearing hair extensions for the rest of her life. 

 

So far so good on her hair remaining silky and pretty.  We are going to take photos this week and post them here.  Maybe tomorrow we will shoot both Angie (tape install) and Brigid (Donna Bella/fusion install) to show the way their add-on hair looks at this point in time.

 

Angie's hair was bleached almost white and it is Chinese so it is definitely not soft but it still looks pretty good even if it feels just like over bleached hair.

 

Thank you again for the tips.  I know Brigid will be very appreciative.