If your hair is fine and limp or thinning, you can easily apply do-it-yourself, one-piece hair extensions that will immediately transform your hair from thin to full, thick and voluminous. By adding synthetic or natural hair to your own in a five-minute process, you can conceal fine or thinning hair or even hair loss. These single hair pieces are perfect for beginners and, blended with your own hair, they look realistic. While this brief guide is all about the fastest and easiest method of clip-in extensions, it will lead you through the hair choices, application, care and terminology you need to know to choose this glamorous method to conceal your fine or thinning hair issue.
Clip-In One-Piece Hair Extensions
Fastest and easiest are words I like to hear when researching for a simple approach to hide wispy, fine and thinning hair. The multiple websites for hair extensions and wigs offer many workable solutions, and there are so many products available that it is confusing. However, fastest and easiest are associated only with clip-in one-piece hair extensions. So narrow your scope to this type of hair extension that you can attach for yourself without assistance.
Most hair extensions are designed so that you must wear several different "wefts" (hair pieces) that vary in length. This makes it difficult and time consuming to clip in 4 to 12 pieces by yourself. Extensions designed as one piece will make application go faster. With one-piece extensions, you only need to part and clip up your own hair once. Apply the one-piece and then un-clip your natural hair to flow over the hair piece. You're ready to go! While it was quick to apply, it is even faster to remove!
Clip-in hair extensions, also known as clip-in wefts, can be integrated into your natural hair to hide thinning hair and add length and volume. These can be purchased in the range of $50 to $200, depending on the quality, and they can last for up to a year, depending on your use and care. You can choose to purchase one-piece extensions with the clips already attached or buy the clips separately and sew them in yourself.
The hair extensions come with a straight or contoured attachment band, and the extension can be cut into multiple pieces. But the easiest method is maintaining and clipping it in as one piece. Application takes a matter of minutes and it's so easy to do anyone can master the process. And because they are so easy and temporary, clip-in hair extensions allow you to clip them in and take them out whenever you want. With that kind of flexibility, they are also a way to temporarily add highlights to your hair without coloring it. They are also a perfect solution while growing your hair out from a short cut to add length immediately.
Another choice you might make for a one-piece hair extension is buying a clip-in set of bangs or a clip-in "fringe." The fringe is a bang with lengthier hair on the sides which creates a nice frame for the face. The attachment of a fringe may handle your fine or thinning hair issue in itself, or, add both the fringe and a one-piece hair extension for a complete new you. In fact, depending upon your style and needs, you can choose a one-piece hair piece that is called a 1/2 wig. If more coverage is what you are looking for then you may also want to check the 3/4 wig, also known as the head-band wig.
Some of the celebrity hair extensions brands which offer the one-piece types and bangs are by Ken Paves, Jessica Simpson, Raquel Welch, and Hair Do, among many others. To get your glamorous star look, a visit to a hair stylist for a trim and styling may assure you that the added hair creates a natural look and give you the best result.
Hair Choice and Care
Human hair is available for the one-piece hair extension in many different quality grades. It will be advertised by its ethnic origin, such as India, mainland China, and other Asian countries since they are currently the major suppliers for unprocessed hair. Human hair pieces can be treated like your own hair, that is, colored, curled, ironed, and shampooed, but it is best if it is air-dried rather than blow-dried.
The following are the major terms used to describe human hair extensions or wigs:
Remy refers to human hair plus all of the strands in one weft are strictly organized with the roots in one direction. Generally, it lasts much longer than non-remy hair and it tends to stay shiny and tangle free longer.
Virgin hair refers to hair that hasn't been colored or processed. Virgin hair is collected by tying off the hair to maintain the direction of the cuticle. After the hair is cut, it is collected and sewn on a weft and it can be pre-bonded or made into wigs or left in bulk form.
Double Drawn indicates that the collected hair of a certain length has been through a laborious process in which all of the shorter hairs in the bundle are manually removed twice, therefore, "double" drawn. The hair appears thicker, blunt cut and not wispy at the ends. It is more expensive.
Synthetic Hair extensions are made from synthetic fibers such as Toyokalon and Kanekalon. Many are hard to distinguish from human hair. The main advantage of synthetic hair is that it is far less expensive than human hair and it is available in a variety of colors and textures. The limitation of synthetic hair is most can't withstand hot temperatures so straightening or curling the hair will singe and damage it. The hair can be shampooed but it must be air-dried.
Choose Styles and Texture
Textures of hair extensions vary from very straight to kinky or extremely curly. The numbers of curl patterns with synthetic hair are greater than with human hair. The different brands will give the curl patterns a variety of specific names. Here are some examples of some common hair extension styles:
European - Straight European hair. It may have some wave as it is less straight than Asian hair.
Silky Straight - Straight and smooth, East Asian style hair.
Yaki - Straight with body, mimicking the texture of relaxed Afro-Caribbean hair.
Deep Wave - Not a true "wave" but can be made to look like spiral curls.
Loose Deep Wave or Romance Wave - A loose version of the deep wave with soft romantic curls.
Jheri Curl - Usually in very short lengths, it is used to recreate the "Afro."
FeatherLuxe - A current trend. Long feathers are attached to hair.
Wet and Wavy or Spanish Wave or Indian Wave - Usually human hair. Naturally curly or permanently waved to appear natural. Soft, natural-looking curls that revert back to a curly state when wet.
Choose Your Perfect Color
A standard numeric scale is used to classify the hair by color with the lower number identifying the darker color. For example, 1 usually denotes the darkest black. Colors vary greatly from one brand to another, and specialty hair suppliers will create their own signature patterns and colors. A very light blond will be the highest number, like 9.5 or 10. Feathers come in all colors and some have black stripes.
How to Attach Your Clip-In One-Piece Hair Extensions
Separate and clip up a portion of your own natural crown hair to make a horizontal part or a "track" to attach your one-piece weft or hair extension. Place the band of the weft along the part and begin to drive each clip into your hair below the part. The number of clips used depends on the choice of the hair extensions, whether it was contoured for the style and volume needed. Open the clips, face them to the scalp, then snap them shut attaching the extension to your natural hair as closely as possible to your scalp. Now you can remove the clip or hair pin holding your natural hair and spread it over the extensions to cover the clips.
You may check out an eHow video to walk you through your first attachment. There, Sylvia Russell, an experienced hairstylist, will guide you through "How to Attach Hair Extensions." The video is part of a series which also shows you how to remove your extensions, how to blend in the extensions with your own hair and how to care for your extensions.
The temporary, one-piece clip-in extensions are safer and healthier to attach than the more permanent extensions put in by a hair dresser. Those require other methods of attachment, such as the "track and sew" onto braids, the "invisible hair weave" which takes about an hour and lasts 8 weeks, and adhering with a special bonding glue directly to your natural hair. These methods damage both the hair and the scalp. They cause breakage and hair loss. Also, the attachment can be painfully tight for the first few weeks.
The fastest, gentlest and easiest type of hair extension is the clip-in one-piece hair extension. It is easy to apply, cost effective and low maintenance. Clip-in hair extensions have become the top choice for adding volume and length to your own hair. They attach using pressure sensitive clips and they don't require the damaging glue and application methods used on permanent type extensions. Stylists and home users alike prefer clip-in hair extensions. By adding synthetic or natural hair to your own in a simple five-minute process, you can transform your fine or thinning hair to a look of healthy glamor.