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How to Choose the Perfect Hair Extensions
15-01-2019Share
When people contact us at New Image Hair Extension Centre in Manchester, one of the first things they ask us is, “How much are hair extensions?” and it’s an understandable question. It’s reasonable to want to know how much your new look is going to cost you before you decide. However, that’s not a question we can answer easily.
The cost of your hair extensions will vary greatly according to the type of hair you choose, the length of the hair, how much hair you need, and how often you plan to maintain it. This is we offer free hair extension consultations in the Manchester salon; we want you to be clear on what is involved, what will work best for you and what it will cost you. That way you can make an informed decision about whether hair extensions are right for you.
Cost is certainly not the only factor, of course, and people naturally have several questions about hair extensions before they make an appointment. Below we’ve listed a few pointers to give you an idea of the factors you’ll need to consider in choosing your perfect hair extensions:
Your Hair Type
Your hair type will be one of the major factors to consider. For instance, if you have super-fine hair that won’t grow past your shoulders, you might want to thicken it up and add length. Your hair probably won’t hold more than 60 extensions without them being obvious.
If your hair is thick but you want to add some length to it, we will be able install lots of hair extensions – up to 200. However, you might not want or need anywhere near this many. It all depends on the final look you’re hoping for, which is something we can advise on at a consultation.
The Quality You Prefer
At New Image we only use the highest quality hair from whichever region we source it. There is a difference in the general quality of the hair from country to country, and it varies even dependent on where in the country it came from. So many factors affect the quality of the hair, from local diet to traditional care routines and genetics.
Russian Remy hair is known to be the finest quality hair in the world. You simply won’t find more beautiful hair anywhere, which is why it is now so popular for use in hair extensions. As you can imagine, it isn’t cheap! Yet if your primary concern is the look, you may want to go with the silkiest, shiniest hair on the market.
We also use European hair, which is easier to come by but also of good quality. You can consider it the more ‘standard’ hair, as it is so commonly used in hair extensions, along with Asian hair. Quality varies from salon to salon, but rest assured that we never install low quality extensions in our salon. If the primary concern is length, you can take your pick.
How Long Your Hair Will Be
The length of your hair is an important consideration. Obviously it’s going to be heavier and require more maintenance the longer it is. It will also cost more. It may or may not be possible for us to install the lengths you want, depending on the current style, length and density of your natural hair. Again, it’s something to decide at consultation.
To give you an example scenario, if you have a short blunt bob, we would have a harder time installing 18” or 22” extensions for you. Even if it can be done, it will cost more due to the time we have to spend installing and blending it to look seamless.
Your Ideal Maintenance Level
The amount of maintenance you’ll have to do depends on a couple of factors too.
For example, the lowest maintenance will be the Russian Remy hair extensions, as they are of such high quality that they last longer than other types. That means your hair won’t need to be renewed for a year or even two – provided that you look after it!
If you opt for lower quality extensions, they can still last you a long time – from 6 months to a year or more dependent on your care routine. If you don’t want to have to renew the hair often (which involves us preparing, blending and creating your custom extensions each time), it might be better to go for Russian extensions from the start.
Otherwise, you can install European hair extensions and keep using that hair until it’s tired. Regardless of the hair you choose, you will need to refit it every two to four months dependent on how fast your natural hair grows. This is best practice so your extensions don’t cause matting at the roots.
The Type of Hair Extension Installations You Prefer
At New Image we use micro rings or fusion bonds. Most people go for micro rings these days, as they’re so easy to install and won’t damage your hair. They are easy to put it and take out. Note that not all salons use the same rings – some low quality rings don’t have protective silicone inners (or poor quality ones) that prevent the metal ring from shearing your natural hair. It goes without saying that we do.
Fusion bonds are the older installation method, but are still popular. These are tiny plastic granules that that attach the extensions to your natural hair. They are cheaper than micro rings, but require more careful maintenance to prevent hair shedding or the bonds breaking down and falling out.
Your Budget
You may not have a budget in mind straight away, and that’s fine. Your extensions might cost anything between £180 and £800 depending on the below factors, but once you’ve decided on those, you’ll have a better idea of whether you’ll need to pay higher or lower prices to achieve your ideal look.
The least you’re likely to pay is £180 for 50 extensions of European hair. The most is £800 for a full head of Russian Remy hair extensions, which are the finest quality.
If you’re looking for hair extensions in Manchester or the surrounding areas, know that it’s our passion to make sure you achieve the look you really want. Get in touch with us and we’ll go over these points with you in detail to tailor-make your perfect hair extensions.
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