Human Hair Extensions Create Beautiful Long Hair Styles Instantly

As you glance across virtually every print medium such as newspapers, magazines and catalogs, there seems to be one thing in common as far as hair cut styles is concerned. The long hair cut style is everywhere. So what are you supposed to do if you don't have long hair and you really want the long hair cut style? Well, let's see, human hair grows about ½" per
month, so if your hair is at ear level, that would be almost two years to wait for that 'hair cascading down your back' look. And of course by the time you grow your hair out, the short hair cut style will be in.
"Don't limit yourself to just adding length to your hair. Hair extensions offer a simple solution to fine hair and can add a little pizzazz to thick, curly or wavy hair in any color or style."
Rod Sickler
Owner
Images by Rod & Company
Rantoul, Illinois
In today's society, two-year waits are OUT and immediate results are IN. The beauty industry recognized the demand for instant long natural looking hair and thus today's hottest trend was born--Human Hair Extensions. Hair extensions are not only for lengthening your hair, according to Rod Sickler, owner of Images by Rod & Company and Sexy Hair Concepts Artistic Team Member.
"Any hair type can support hair extensions", says Sickler. Sickler makes hair extensions easy by creating cutting-edge hair styles for his clients. Some examples include sleek and straight hair, vivacious ringlets and striking color enhancements with the use of different highlighted and lowlighted hair extensions. He describes the hair extension process as very painstaking and challenging as it requires many hours and various techniques to complete. The rewards are many as he is able to re-invent hair, tweak techniques and fulfill his clients' needs.
One of Sicklers' hair extension clients, Holly Leach of Rantoul, Illinois, says she wanted to get hair extensions because she was ready for a change and wanted Sickler to re-invent her look by adding thickness and length to her thinning hair with European Hair Extensions. She was absolutely amazed at the results. "I came into the salon (Images by Rod & Company) looking one way, and came out looking totally different", says, Leach. Leach has had her hair extensions for about 5 months now, with absolutely no issues and no complaints. She maintains the hair extensions with non-soy based conditioning shampoo and moisturizers from Sexy Hair Concepts, and uses hair dryers and curling irons with no problems. Leach concludes,"Hair Extensions are worth the time and money, when you can get fabulous-looking long hair instantly".
"Hair extensions are a huge self-esteem booster because they give women the opportunity to get the long hair style look without the wait"
Guinevere Werr
Manager, The Spa East Bank Club, Chicago, Ill
Some women are concerned or have heard that hair extensions can cause damage to their natural hair, or even loss of hair. Guinevere Werr, Manager of The Spa at the East Bank Club in Chicago, Ill, says the fusion application method Sickler uses from So.Cap., an Italian company, does not create any damage to the natural hair since it is applied ¼" from the scalp and not directly on the scalp. Werr assisted Sickler with applying brown hair extensions with some highlight extensions to her sisters' hair. She adds that Sicklers hair extension clients have lost almost no hair extensions and have had very little maintenance issues.
So where do you start if you are thinking of getting hair extensions? You must research the different types of hair used for hair extensions, the different types of attachment methods, the hair stylists' education and training, any maintenance schedules and of course the cost.
There are a lot of different types of hair that are used for hair extensions. There is human hair and synthetic hair. Synthetic hair is used to add the high fashion colors, such as pinks and blues. Generally speaking, if you are going for the natural, it grew out of my head, look you should go with human hair. Human hair comes in many different textures and grades. The human hair must be strong and healthy to produce extensions that will last and wear without tangling or drying. European human hair is well- known as quality human hair used for extensions.
There are three basic techniques to attach the hair. They are fusion or strand by strand, weaving and bonding. There are many variations to these techniques and they are sometimes called by different names.
Fusion/strand by strand: This process is done strand by strand in small sections using heated adhesive sticks or glue specifically made for hair extensions. Extension hair is added directly to your own hair. Sickler uses the fusion method from the Italian company So.Cap. Hair is attached about ¼ "from your scalp and looks totally natural. Sickler comments, "No one can visually see that you have hair extensions. It's up to you if you want everyone to know".
Weaving is a process where a corn row or track is created around the head and close to the scalp. Extension hair is sewn on the tracks. Your own hair lies over the tracks for a natural look. Bonding is a process where bonding glue is applied onto the weft of the extension hair and then applied at the root of your hair. A weft is horizontal hair strands attached together at the top of vertically flowing hair strands. Wefts can be machine-made or handmade.
There are some disadvantages to each of these methods. Sometimes if the hair extension application method is not done properly, the hair extensions will simply fall out, or cause damage to your natural hair. Also, with additional pressure to your scalp from the weight of the heavy extensions, there could be some thinning of your natural hair and/or headaches as you adapt to the new weight. There have been some reports of allergies to the chemicals that are used. You should discuss the disadvantages of hair extensions thoroughly with your hair stylist so that there are no surprises.
The hair extension training and education your hair stylist has received is very important to the success of their work. Sickler received his hair extension training from renowned expert, Joseph Accola, and he keeps up-do-date on techniques by attending beauty shows across Europe where hair extensions are more popular than in the U.S. "Hair extension education and training are paramount to successful hair extensions for any hair stylist", says Sickler. If you are looking for a hair stylist to do hair extensions and they don't have the proper training, you could be very disappointed with the results.
After you have your hair extensions in place, you will need to schedule regular maintenance visits to check your extensions. How often you need to go back will depend on the type of hair and the method of attachment that was used. As your hair grows out, some of the hair extensions will need to be removed and replaced or touched up.
On a day-to-day basis you should treat your human hair extensions as you would long hair. Brush, shampoo, condition and moisturize on a regular basis. Some hair stylists will recommend specific high-quality hair care products to use with your extensions. You can also use hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons on most types of human hair extensions. Color treatments can be done on the hair extensions, but you should consult with your hair stylist before considering this. Monthly color touch-ups to your roots will not be a problem, as the hair extensions will not be touched.
1.After selecting a salon, schedule an initial consultation to discuss what you would like to have done and any concerns that you have.
2. Ask about what hair extension experience your hair stylist has and where they received their training.
3. Make sure the hair stylist listens and understands your needs and concerns. Does he/she communicate well with you?
4. The hair stylist should ask you about your lifestyle, health, hobbies and your normal hair routine
5. An analysis of your scalp and hair should be done at the initial consultation to make sure your hair is in a condition for successful hair extensions.
6. Ask to see before and after photos of hair extension clients
7. Ask for references and be sure to call them
8. Ask how often the average client needs to replace the hair. This is very important for anticipating future costs
9. Get a written estimate for your hair extensions with an itemized list of the services required to achieve your new look
10.Get a written maintenance plan. Plan should include recommendations for products, grooming tools, follow-up appointments and any special instructions.

How to Get a Perfect Hair Cut

The right hair cut can mean the difference between hours spent coercing every strand of your wayward hair into place or a style that falls perfectly into place with little prompting on your part. That is why it is so important to make sure that you have the perfect cut for your type and texture of hair.
For most people, finding the right hair cut is not possible by simply looking through a few hair cutting books and picking out their favorite styles. The truth is that hair cuts featured in the top style magazines and style books have been chosen specifically for each model that sports them. Each hair style has been formulated to compliment the model's bone structure, coloring and hair texture. That is why they look so great.
It would be foolish to think that a straight, textured cut would be possible to achieve on a client with naturally curly hair. And trying to put excessive layering on a client with thin and limp hair would result in a disastrous hair cutting experience. So, what can you do to make sure that you always get a great hair style?
The first step to great hair cuts is finding the right stylist. Once you find a stylist with a proven record and one with whom you are comfortable, take some time to talk about what you want out of your hair cut. Ask for cuts and styles that will compliment and work with your texture of hair, not go against it. For example: If your hair is wavy, you can not expect to achieve a sleek straight style in minutes. Nor can you expect to achieve a bouffant style on fine, limp hair in a matter of minutes.
Pay attention to how your stylist communicates with you. A good stylist will be honest with you and tell you if a cut that you really want is a bad idea. On the other hand, the same stylist can use their unique hair cutting skills to adapt popular styles to suit your individual hair characteristics and craft your locks into the best hair cut you've ever had.
Along with your stylist, browse through hair cutting and style books and discuss different hair cuts that caught your eye. Try to look for models with hair similar to yours. It is also very important to pay attention to face shape. So, choose models with bone structures similar to yours also.

What to do when a good hair cut goes bad
Sometimes, even people who have done all of their homework get bad hair cuts. Maybe they've chosen a stylist with an approach to hair cutting that is not ideal for their hair type. Or maybe they've insisted on a style that does nothing to flatter their features. Or worse yet, maybe they've gotten a botched cut from an inexperienced stylist. No matter what the reason a bad hair cut is not the end of the world. There are things that you can do to make the recovery from a bad hair cut less painful.
While it may seem strange, the first thing you need to do after receiving a bad hair cut is to go and get another one. Find a stylist who can smooth out the rough edges and carve your locks into a style that is more suited to you and more suited to the growing-out phase.
Do not stop at additional hair cutting, ask your stylist to help you find the right products to keep your tresses under control while they are recovering. Yes, it is frustrating, but in a few weeks you probably will not mind your new hairstyle. You may even grow to like it.

Hair Cutting Tips - How to Cut Your Own Hair

Are you tired of paying to much just to get an haircut, that is at best ok? Then perhaps now is the time to learn how to cut your own hair, so let's begin with a few very simply hair cutting tips. When you apply these simple techniques. You will very quickly begin to learn how to cut hair. I still recommend visiting your stylist if the cut becomes uneven or when it comes to coloring or hi-lighting.
The easiest way to cut hair is to first wet it. That way it is much easier to handle and cut, so start by shampooing and conditioned your hair.
Once the hair is shampooed and conditioned, brush or comb the hair straight down with your desired part. Working now in small sections will result in having an even cut. Always start from one side. Then cutting from that one side to the other. Be sure to always double check and making sure the cuts are even. Then just repeat, cutting small sections of hair at a time. For best control hold the hair in between your index and middle finger.
When dealing with curly hair, you will need to make sure that you start with dry hair before cutting. Reason being is if you cut curly hair while its wet. the hair will spring back much shorter. Which can result in having too short of a hair cut. Curly hair almost always spring back much shorter. This is because the more you cut off the less weight the hair has to pull the curl down. You will start to get a really good idea how much the hair will spring back once it dries.
Once you believe your finished with the cut. Go ahead and double check, making sure that the cut feels and looks even. This can easily be accomplished by taking the same sections of hair from the exact opposite sides, then bring then forward towards the front of your face either to the eyes, nose, chin or jaw. You will want the two lengths match up evenly.
As for cutting your bangs, This needs to be done with your hair dry. For best result don't try and cut a even or straight horizontal line with your scissor. Instead just point cut using the tips of your scissor. Always cut less the more. For layers just section the bangs and bring the hair up and point cut the ends. This will give you nice soft layers.
Remember to keep your styles simple at first when doing a hair cut at home. One of the most easiest and common cuts will be a one length hair cut. Just first decide on the length your going to cut. (I recommend no more then an inch at first) As I stated early, work in small sections by combing your hair straight down. Then hold each section between your middle and index fingers and slowly cutting off the desired length. Continuing from one point and working your way around the head. This method works equally well for both long, medium and short hair.

Want to Try on That New Hair Style Before You Get It?

Below are reviews of very popular hair style image programs, Hair Styles Cuts And Dos, Stellure and The Hair Style Editor. To see demonstrations of these programs visit the links located at the bottom of this article.

Hair imaging is a great way to try on a hair style before you get it cut. For example, if you are trying to find a wedding hair style or a prom hair style, you can try a style on to see if you like the way you look.

Hair Styles Cuts And Dos Review: Description: Hair Style Editor, Photo Uploading, Hair Style Gallery with 3,950 photos of short, medium, long, and updo photos for women.

Subscription Price: $9.99

Subscription Term: Annual

Payments Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Secure connection

Current Number of Members: 25,291

User-Friendly: Yes

Guarantees: Satisfaction guaranteed! If you don't like it, you get a refund! If for any reason within 30 days, you are not satisfied with your membership we will refund your money, no questions asked ! There's no risk involved, don't like it then just ask for your money back. It's that simple!

Strengths Extensive Hair Styles Galleries, Ebook on hair advice, 1 year membership, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Very quick- find a new hair style in 5 minutes

Introduction

Advertising and promotional material for this website focuses on uploading a photo and trying on various hair styles. When I first logged in to the members area, the first thing that got my attention was the incredible amounts of hair style photos for very short, short, medium, long and updo hair styles. An immediate sense of relaxation came over me. If I couldn't find a good hair style among the thousands, well then there there just wasn't any hope.

There is also an extra E-book included in the membership that is barely mentioned on the web site. This E-book is great! It is a list of hair care tips and advice from a top hair designer in England. It covers all sorts of topics, such as how to select a hair designer, how to select a new hair style, various styling tips and tricks and what to do when your home hair color didn't turn out so great. This E-book has valuable information that everyone can use. I read every page of it--almost 100 pages total.

Hair Style Galleries

I quickly browsed through all the galleries, looking at all the different hair styles with different hair colors, textures, volume and even highlights. There are no photos of men's hair styles, ethnic or african-american women hair styles. The photos are all optimized to load quickly, so there is no time wasted waiting for photos to load. If you find a photo that you like you can click on it to enlarge it and even print a copy to take to your hair stylist. Printing the updo photos are especially helpful if you are looking for prom, bridal or formal hair styles. There is also the option to save the hair style photos that you really like in your favorites so you can play a slide show of them later.

Hair Style Editor

After browsing all the hair style photos, I move on to the hair style editor part of the website where I am told I can upload a photo of myself and try on some hair styles. The instructions to upload are very straightforward and I upload a photo of myself within minutes (it might have even been seconds). The photo that you upload should be taken against a plain white background and you should probably pull back most of your hair so it doesn't hang in your face.

Once you have uploaded your photo, you enter the hair style editor where there are four tools at your disposal.

Color Palette - allows you to change the color of your chosen style

Mask Pad - allows you to mask the undesired details on your photo prior to trying on different hair styles. For example, you may want to remove long hair that appears in a photo or the background of the photo

Size Tool - allows you to modify the size and proportions of the hair style you select

Trash Tool - allows you to remove the modifications that you just made without having to start over

First, I masked my photo so that only my face shape was showing. By the way, this is a great way to figure out your face shape! The masking takes a little bit of expertise with the mouse. If you are switching categories, for example, going from medium hair styles to long hair styles, you must re-mask your face again. You can change the width of the mask tool to make it a little easier closer to the face. After masking, I went to the category selector which allows you to browse thru and try on hair styles in the five categories, very short, short, medium, long and updo hair styles.

Once you find a hair style you want to try on, you just click on it and drag it to your photo. It automatically loads. Then you can move it around a bit to make it fit right on your head. After you are done adjusting the size and color of the hair style, you can print it or save it as one of your favorites to view later. The photo that you get with the selected hair style is obviously computer-generated, but it does give you a glimpse of what the hair style would look like on you. For example, I have been wanting to add some bangs to my current hair style. When I tried on the hair style with bangs, it didn't look very good at all. I think I have decided to skip the full bangs for now and maybe go with just a few long whispy looking bangs.