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Hair Extensions: Truth & Facts
by
Cathy Ingoglia

Hair Extensions were worn by movie stars in the late 90’s and in the early 2000’s.  Sir Anthony Hopkins wore them in Hannibal, Mark Wahlberg, and Jennifer Aniston wore them in Rock Star as did the other cast members in the movie.  Hair Extensions were than worn by the rich and famous.
FACT: If you would have search for Hair Extension on the web back then, you would have found next to nothing.

Today you can Google hair extensions and be inundated with so much information that it could be mind boggling. Your web search would lead you to find: hair extension technicians and different application methods, hair extension manufactures, Celebrities who wear hair extensions, clip in hair extensions, a consumer guide to hair extensions and more. With the growing popularity of hair extensions also the number of people that offer them has been growing. The danger of a fast growing hair extension market is that it attracts people who offer the service without good training and experience. I couldn’t believe some of the people calling themselves experts and making hair extension videos on You Tube. I even found someone on the web who claimed to have “Government authenticated full cuticle virgin hair”. What is that? What Government? The Government couldn’t stop children’s toys painted with lead coming into this country! FACT: Just like in most other industries, not all that is advertised is true and facts!

The hair extensions Industry has come so far so fast, that the market has become saturated.  This saturation has produced many incompetent hair extension technicians with no certifications, and just as many unscrupulous hair suppliers.
Most hair extension stylists are certified and very capable of doing a good job but the ones that aren’t can cause the hair extension nightmares you hear about!
Before you decide to have hair extensions done, compare salons and stylists.
FACT: Beware of self proclaimed experts.

In the past few years in my Hair Enhancement business I have seen and heard nightmare stories.  To often I hear this very common hair extensions nightmare, you ended up going to a stylist that was not an experience hair extension technician; you find this out after the hair extensions were applied to the natural hair.  It was a bad application, and the hair was constantly slipping out, and tangling up.  You realize that your hair is becoming extremely damaged, and you start looking around for help to try and fix your hair.  It ends up costing you, what turned out to be thousands of dollars more than you ever expected, because you had to go to another stylist to fix the damage caused by the first stylist. 

An individual strand by strand application must be applied by an experience certified hair extensions technician.   It takes skill and experience to attach the extension hair properly.  The technician blends the right density of natural hair with extension hair, leaving you with a application that is not pulling or creation pressure on your natural hair at the attachment point.  Placement of the bonds is also very critical.  The placement of the bonds will determine if your attachment points are visible or not.
FACT:  Attaching and removing hair extensions really does require education, training, and most of all practice, practice, practice!

An inexperienced hair extensions technician with no certification can cause damage to your natural hair that could be permanent.  There are companies that just want to sell hair, not education. The more people they can get to do extensions, the more hair they can sell.  These companies will include a DVD with attachment instructions when you purchase hair.  They sell the hair at cheap prices, and carry a very poor quality of hair that constantly tangles and mats after being applied to the natural hair.  Talk about potential future Hair Extension nightmares!
 There are large reputable hair extension companies out there that will only sell hair to stylist, who has taken their certification class.  This hair is a high quality, and the company stands behind it.  Technician certified by these companies do not worry about poor quality hair.
There is no one size fits all hair extension; you must consider many factors when thinking about getting them.  Ask to see photos, ask for testimonials from their clients.  Ask what the application method entails.  How are the extensions applied and removed. This may help you make a decision.
I have been wearing hair extensions since the early 90’s, and there is not a day that goes by that someone doesn’t make a comment about and how great my hair looks!  I even get complements at the International Beauty Trade shows from stylists, and manufactures.  I truly have a passion and love for hair extensions and believe that they are a blessing, for me and many others.
Hair extensions were meant to be a dream come true, they can enhance and improve your natural hair, however, they can quickly turn into a nightmare that can damage your natural hair.
FACT: Your technician should be certified in hair extensions!

I feel there is so much out there that can confuse the consumer, and there are so many Truth & Facts you should know before making a decision about having hair extensions. 
Email me if you have a hair extension question, if you want hair extension advice, or better yet, tell me about your hair extensions experience, feel free to attach photos if you have.
CathyIngoglia@AOL.com

Cathy Ingoglia

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