Lots of people rave about the benefits of hair extensions but you don't very often hear about the disadvantages. If you are thinking about having hair extensions, it is important that you know both sides of the story before going ahead so here are a few of the disadvantages to be aware of.
Firstly, hair extensions are not for everyone so you need to seriously think about whether they will fit in to your lifestyle or not. The biggest disadvantage of hair extensions is the potential damage that they can do to your natural hair and scalp. Of course all hair extension companies claim that their methods and products do not damage the hair and in most cases this is true. However, all it takes is an inexperienced or careless stylist during the application or removal process to cause serious damage. Some professionals even claim that any application of adhesive or glue type products will cause damage to the hair.
You need to know that hair extensions don't come cheap. If you decide to save money on the quality of the hair or the method used, you will eventually get what you pay for; your extensions will look cheap. However, at the same time spending a lot of money on high quality human hair will not always guarantee quality extensions even though it does tend to last longer. Extension hair does tens to matte and tangle after a few washes and the main problem is the quality of the hair.
You may think that hair extensions will make your life easier with regards to styling time, but this is not true. Most hair extension companies will advise you that you can treat your extensions just like your own hair and whilst this is true, you need to remember that long hair takes a lot more work! You will need to condition the ends on a regular basis to stop it drying out and you may need to use more hair products than you usually would. You need to consider that your new longer style will take longer to dry, longer to style and longer to brush or comb out the tangles. This is all part and parcel of living with long hair. If you were thinking you could just get up and go in the morning, think again! Longer hair requires extra work so you need to make sure you are prepared to maintain the hair if you are going to get extensions put in.
You need to be aware that your natural hair may fall out. This happens very rarely but if your hair is weak or damaged in any way then it may not be able to support the weight of the human hair. Your stylist should check this in your consultation and no good stylist should recommend extensions to someone with weak or damaged hair.
In some cases you may get neck strain or headaches. This is because you won't be used to the extra weight of the human hair. This is more common if you have opted for braided sewn-extensions as these cause extra tension to the scalp if the braids are done too tightly.
Be aware that your extensions may fall out. Some shedding is normal but if your extensions start falling out after a few weeks there are several things that could be causing this situation. If the residue on the natural hair is not removed prior to applying the extensions then the residue can weaken the attachment site and cause the extensions to fall out. It also may be that too many extension hairs were attached to the natural hair and the natural hair couldn't take the extra weight. Excessive loss of extensions may also be due to the type of products you are using on your hair. You need to ensure that you are using the recommended products. Each method of attachment, whether bonding, glue, wax or keratin based bonds, can be compromised by hair care products that break down the bonds.
Whilst hair extensions will open you up to a range of different hair extensions, you need to be aware that certain hair extension methods may impose limitations on styling your hair. For example, if the bonds are applied too close to the hair line, then they may be very visible when pulling your hair back in a pony tail. Also, some extensions may look great when the hair is lying flat but if a gust of wind blows it the thinner hair underneath will be exposed.
There is a great danger that you can become addicted to hair extensions. If you have worn them for several months you may feel quite flat once you've had them removed and may even think that your natural hair has thinned. In actual fact you have just grown accustomed to seeing yourself with thicker hair, that is all. Prolonged use of hair extensions may cause damage to the scalp and natural hair.
For more information on hair extensions visit the Inanch website.
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