Hair Extensions Guide & Basics: Definition, Benefits and Types of Hair Extensions

Hair extensions have become the most popular solution for people who want to change their look and hairstyles due to their convenience and versatility. Human hair extensions can come in different types, styles, sizes, colors, and materials. In this hair extensions guide, we are going to focus on its definition, benefits and types. 

What are Hair Extensions?

Hair extensions, also known as hair weaves and artificial hair integrations, are used to add length and fullness to human hair. Hair extensions are usually clipped, glued, or sewn on natural hair to add additional human or synthetic hair. What are hair extensions made out of? Most human hair extensions come from live human beings, collected mostly in India, China, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Temple hair is one of the most important sources for the high-quality hair extensions available now. 

Benefits of Hair Extensions - Why Hair Extensions are Good?

1. Length. If you want to add length to your hair, extensions obviously are great for that. 

2. Volume. It can also give you volume if you don’t want your hair to look any longer but you have really wispy ends and you want to fill out that line, you can absolutely add hair extensions.

3. Color enhancement. If you want to add some kind of crazy color in the hair, it is a great way to add pops of extensions with that color, it is still going to blend with the color you already have, but not completely changing your color. 

4. Hairstyles. With numerous different hair extensions on the market to choose from, you can get various hairstyles without damaging your own hair. 

5. Ease of use. You can install hair extensions quickly by yourself at home, instead of spending much time in the salon. 

Types of Hair Extensions

Here we’ll look at the most common hair extension types, but there are also other styles or types based on different classification methods, such as the Indian virgin hair extensions. 

Clip-in Hair Extensions

Clip-in hair extensions are individual weft pieces sewn or sealed onto a clip that you can easily clip into your own hair. Clip-in hair extensions can help you get longer and thicker hair temporarily, they are easy to be installed and removed. To put these extensions, you just need a pin tail comb. You can apply and remove clip-ins yourself in less than 10 minutes, without chemicals, glues and heat treatment. You can wear them every day, but not sleep, swim or shower with them. 

Tape-in Hair Extensions

Tape-in hair extensions are pre-taped and then taped or glued together on either side of your hair. To apply the tape-in hair extensions, you need a professional stylist to help you adhere them to the root of your hair using medical-grade tape. Tape-in hair extensions are semi-permanent wigs. They don’t damage your hair and look more natural, also allows for easy removal. The installation time is depending on how many extensions you want, it can be as fast as 45 minutes to an hour. Usually, tape-in hair extensions last around 4-8 weeks. 

Sew-in Hair Extensions

Sew-in hair extensions, also known as weave hair extensions, are a type of permanent and seamless extensions, as they are usually sewn into your hair by a professional, and come in one piece, not several separate wefts. Sew-in hair extensions are more complicated to use than clip-ins and tape-ins. To apply a sew-in extension, a cornrow will be made on both sides of your head from behind the ear. The cornrow needs to be made horizontally towards the middle of the back of the head, until all the cornrows meet, then sew the hair extensions into the cornrows directly. Sew-in hair extensions last around 6-8 weeks. 

Pre-bonded Hair Extensions

Pre-bonded hair extensions, also known as Fusion hair extensions,  are attached to your hair using a heat gun to bond the extension. The term pre-bonded derives from the keratin bond at the end of the hair strand. The bond is made from keratin, which is a natural bonding agent that won’t cause any damage to your hair. But the application of fusion hair extensions can be damaging as the bonging agent needs heat to fuse. You can add a mix of colors with pre-bonded hair extensions and they can last several months. Pre-bonded hair extensions don’t require regular maintenance. Applying pre-bonded hair extensions usually need to take 3-4 hours by a hairdresser. 

Microlink Hair Extensions

Microlink hair extensions are the smallest and most undetectable hair extensions, they are secured to the hair strands by using tiny metal tubes or micro links (micro bead), which are usually made of aluminum or copper. The installation of microlink hair extensions is simple. Microlinks can last 10 to 12 weeks.