Never underestimate the power of a good hair day – and don’t dismiss using clip-in hair extensions to get one either!
I don’t think any of us needed lockdown to remind us how great a good hair day can make us feel (or how drab a bad one can make us feel) but lockdown and zoom has certainly hammered it home.
Hair clip-ins can be such a mood saviour – and should not be seen as an accessory for the younger generation. The quality, overall effect and, most importantly, ease-of-use of reasonably priced hair extensions has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, allowing us to add length and/or thickness to our hair.
I discovered the joys of clip-in hair extensions a few years ago after my usually full head of hair started falling out due to auto-immune disease. Besides the fear and pain of the actual illness, my hair falling out was soul destroying. I took the decision to cut my long hair much shorter and stopped wearing it down in an attempt to disguise how thin and brittle it had become. Then, by chance one day, I was out shopping with a friend when she mentioned she needed some new clip-ins. She bought them and clipped them in, right there in the shop – no brush, no mirror, no hairbands – no problem! Of course, I bought my own clip-ins immediately and over the next few months, I wore them to death – and it showed – until I learnt to take better care of them!
Clip-ins need to be washed and heat-protected just like the hair on our head, and some tend to weather quite quickly if you’re not careful. Now, my clip-in brand of choice is Routes hair; they are so soft and swishy, and they colour match really easily (the pictures on their website are very accurate but also the mixture of colour strands within each hairpiece allows it to blend in with your natural hair seamlessly).
Thankfully my auto-immune disease is under control now and my hair has grown back *whoop whoop!* but I do still love the Routes Power Pony for a thick Arianna-style high-pony (I could never otherwise achieve a ponytail like that – with or without auto-immune disease!!).
The way I look after my clip-in ponytail, and to keep it looking smooth and glossy, starts in the kitchen! After washing the hairpiece with regular shampoo, I smother it in Forhallé Extension Mask w/Seaberry (which smells like a soft, creamy fruit salad), place it in the Forhallé moisture lock bag and microwave for 60 seconds! Yes really. You need to leave it to cool for at least 20 minutes, or you can leave overnight for a really intense treatment too. After removing the extensions from the bag, rinse thoroughly ready for styling. I always use the Its’s a 10 Miracle Leave-in spray to nourish, detangle and heat-protect (on my own hair and on the extensions), it really is a miracle product! And then I blow-dry and style as normal.
I’d say that by taking care of extensions in this way – especially the microwave mask – you will double the life expectancy of your extensions. It takes very little effort (just plan ahead when we start going out again) but goes a long, thick and swishy way in managing to disguise your clip-in helpers!
www.routes-hair-extensions.com 28 inch Power Pony, £28
www.forhalle.com The Thirst Fix Duo (hair extension mask + 2 x moisture lock bags), £42
www.itsa10haircare.co.uk It’s a 10 Miracle Leave in 120ml £17.50