The Truth about Human Hair Extensions

All your burning questions answered below! Scroll to the bottom for a discount on my favorite extensions for every hair type.

I chopped off my long tresses at 12 years old because I thought my older sisters were trés cute with their short hair. It didn’t take many hours to regret that impulsive act. Especially since my hair has never gotten to that length again without looking heat damaged. So when I first heard about hair extensions, I was awestruck!

With extensions, I could recreate the lost, long hair of my youth! I started researching extensions on the internet. Finding high quality hair extensions is a little bit tricky when there are so many companies.

There are fake hair companies, 100% remy human hair extensions companies, and more application styles than I can count (clip-in hair extensions, tape-in extensions, hand-tied extensions, curly hair extensions, and hair pieces for women and human hair wigs for women). It’s a bit overwhelming. Plus, note to self: Googling anything related to health and beauty can lead to terrifying answers. 

When I finally found my magic solution, Hairdreams, I researched why the company was one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. But, since I’ve already told you why I love Hairdreams in my review here, I wanted to take it a step further and unlock the mysteries behind what makes the best hair extensions in general. I asked expert-stylist and extensions specialist, Erin Hayden, to share her expertise. I can tell you first-hand, she’s one of the best. But, don’t take my word for it. Here’s my interview with her below.

 

Though I think my gorgeous Hairdreams application speaks for itself, what do you want people to know about your credentials?

I am the Creative Director for Hairdreams and have been with them for 12 years. I was trained in Europe where Hairdreams is headquartered.

I’ve been a hair stylist for 17 years and take clients at the HairdreamsPlus Center in Los Angeles where we do our Laserbeamer Nano automated hair extensions application system  and MicroLines for thickening hair.  

What’s your favorite thing to do with hair extensions? Add length? Help people struggling with hair loss? What’s your most rewarding experience?

You know, that’s hard to say because adding length is like that huge wow! And, and you give someone something that they could not imagine they could ever have. It’s hard to even imagine for them that their hair could look like that. So, that’s really fun. 

But, honestly, when my clients get older and their hair starts thinning, just from age, and adding a little bit, like sprinkling a tiny bit in to thicken their hair is my favorite, because they’re not overdoing it, they just want to look like themselves—very low maintenance, price point’s low—it’s easy. That’s my favorite.

Hairdreams, for example, offers a system called MicroLines, which is a thickening hair system for anyone suffering from thinning hair and baldness. A lot of salons out there that work with various extensions, i.e. fusion or hand tied or beaded rows or tapes, supplement  with this method. Nothing else out there can offer this type of integration like MicroLines – it’s not a wig, but becomes one with one’s own natural hair.

 

 

I went on Google and found a bunch of questions that people had. I’m sure most of them aren’t that strange for you…let’s start with a myth that people say:

 

Hair extensions damage hair: Fact or Fiction?

That’s so hard to answer. Because…with Hairdreams, fiction. With other brands, it depends on what kind you’re getting for your hair type. So, let’s say your hair is very weak and you get something very heavy like a clip-in or like a hand tied beaded row wefts, you could easily damage your hair.

What causes the damage?

It’s the heaviness. And, like styling and pulling on your own hair. It’s also how it’s applied. Your hair wants to just lay down to the ground. What we call natural fall. If you’re wearing an extension that is pulling your hair in some way, like let’s say some type of braid, or it’s pinching the roots together and going against what your hair naturally wants to do, that will cause breakage.

Does it pull out your natural hair?  

As long as you’re getting somebody who’s certified, who’s been trained, and knows how to apply the extensions safely, your hair will be completely fine and shouldn’t be pulled out. It’s also a little bit of your own responsibility to take care of it. It could be applied perfectly, but then, if you’re really rough on your hair, maybe wearing wet ponytails that are too tight, or if you’re styling really roughly, you could easily pull out your own hair with the extensions.

What about hair loss: Fact or Fiction?

Many types of hair extensions do cause hair loss. For example, clip-in extensions can cause hair loss because you’re clipping something really heavy on the same spot on your hair over and over and over. That can actually cause alopecia where you’re constantly putting something heavy on the same spot, so it’s just wear and tear. That can cause actual hair loss. Same as hand tied beaded row wefts —whether you’re tying it in, clamping it, braiding it in, those are really bad for your hair also.

Tape-ins, and micro-beads, and Hairdreams, those are different because…

All Systems EXCEPT tapes need to be certified professional.  Systems like tapes help to evenly distribute the weight of the extension hair evenly across your head, and not just in one spot, so it helps maintain the integrity of one’s own hair and not cause damage.

Very fine, thin hair can’t handle extensions: Fact or Fiction?

Yes it can. It’s actually ideal for those hair types. Because it can change your life. But, again, you have to have the right type to apply to your hair. For example, I keep talking about these heavy wefts and clip-ins, and things like that. Those are ideal for people who have very strong, thick hair. So, they can handle that kind of weight. 

Clip-ins aren’t ideal for a thin hair type. You’re clipping it in the same spot. That means that between one to four different points on your head, it’s pulling all the hair out.

I’m really excited about Hairdreams’ new line: SECRETS tape extensions that are so invisible they virtually disappear in the hair upon application.  SECRETS is great for fine hair and actually provide 3x the amount of hair than other tape-ins.

Hair extensions are expensive: Fact or Fiction?

Ha ha. It depends on what you want. I get this question all the time. The price of the extensions will depend on the quantity that you want and the length that you want. So if you want a lot of really long extensions, the price is going to be higher.

 

Having hair extensions means you always have to do your hair: Fact or Fiction?

Absolutely false—fiction. That’s kind of the best part about extensions. Once you have them on, you have the easiest hair to style, because you can just throw it all in a ponytail and it looks amazing, like the ponytail on Pinterest that you want. If you’re a fine-hair client and you’re in a rush in the morning and you put your hair in a ponytail, it would look nothing like this. So it can make your day easier by having more hair. But, if you want to do something extreme, a style with tons of waves, something like that, it will take longer. It just depends on what you want.

Okay. Hair extensions look fake: Fact or Fiction?

Hah, this is why you have to trust your stylist. Because they can look fake. What if your hair is really, really short and they give you extensions that are too long and they don’t really blend, then they can definitely look fake. 

But to be honest, that’s why my favorite clients are the thickening clients, because those are the clients who in your wildest dreams, you would never ever imagine them wearing extensions.

 

I can’t do normal activities, like working out or go swimming with hair extensions: Fact or Fiction?

Fiction.  Maybe people are trying to make excuses to not workout. Because there’s no reason. You want to be able to workout and you can with Hairdreams.

With any kind of extensions?

When you’re working out, you’re normally wearing a ponytail or a bun…something like that. And so I can see if you were wearing a clip-in, it would be really difficult to wear a bun and to hide it. But, with Hairdreams, the whole edge of your hair is kept natural, so that you don’t have any bonds that show, if you keep your hair up.

I can’t dry my hair naturally with hair extensions: Fact or Fiction

You know, that’s kind of the best part about Hairdreams hair extensions—the natural beach texture that it has. So you can let it air dry and you’ll get this natural, beachy waves.

 

Is that true for all real hair extensions?

No, especially for your kind of hair—you have a natural curl. And most extension companies straighten their hair before it comes to you. So it’s straight, like straight straight. If it were to dry, it would be straight and your hair would have its texture and not blend at all.

And most populations have curly hair. For the clients who don’t have curly hair who have naturally straight straight hair, this can actually add texture to their hair. So if they let it air dry, it would encourage their hair to have waves, so it looks really nice.

So, it would encourage their hair to have natural waves? Can you explain?

If you mix wavy hair with straight hair, it will encourage that hair to become wavy. So even on the other spectrum…

Is this science-based? 

Yes. If you mix wavy extensions with really curly hair, it becomes even curlier. So it all depends on how wavy your own hair is. And that will determine how wavy the extensions are.

Are you essentially saying that your hair takes on the texture of what your extensions are? Or does that only go one direction? Because I notice that my hair is becoming less curly and I thought it was the weight.

Yes, that’s true. The weight will hold it down so it’s less curly. But if you had no curl to your hair, and these have curl, it will add curl to your hair.

 

Last question. Heat styling and hot showers will wreck my hair extensions: Fact or Fiction?

Um, if you were working with all real human hair, and that’s 100% human hair, then you should be able to treat it just like you would your own. So with Hairdreams, it’s 100% human hair, and it’s very healthy.  To maintain the highest quality hair extensions, all of the cuticle needs to remain intact, so the hair goes in one direction producing the most natural shine as opposed to other hair extension processes where the hair is partially stripped of the cuticle compromising its quality and durability.

You can absolutely use the same heat and the same shower temperature. But with other brands, sometimes they say 100% human hair, but they could be referring to one hair in that package or a percentage of hair in that package. So some of the hair in that package is not human hair, so you can’t use heat on it or it would melt.

What about tape-ins with glue and stuff. Does it wreck the bond?

No. It should be the same. The tape ends are meant to be dried, blow dried and shampoo’d, so it all depends on what hair you’re working with. Hairdreams’ tape-ins also have the same quality of hair.

Thanks so much for talking with me about extensions! Is there an email address where people can email any additional questions?

Yes! Any of our stylists around the world are great resources, you can email us at: hairdreams@bht-usa.com or follow us on Instagram and DM us.

 

This post is part of a blog series I did with Hairdreams before the Coronavirus closed our local salons. Support them and your local hairdressers during the Coronavirus pandemic by buying now to use later. Get a discount with your purchase here.

Check out my complete Hairdreams review here and how I take care of my extensions here.