On a scale from one to Ariana Grande, my interest in hair extensions teeters between one and two. I have nothing against them; it's just that up until last week, I couldn't even envision myself with anything but a lob if you paid me (although I am very open to trying, if that's on the table for you). That's because growing up, my mom had her own idea of what styles were cool, thankyouverymuch, and they looked more like the ever-arresting bowl cut, a mullet, and the shag. Then, when I got older, I quickly realised that longer hair elongated my face in a way that left me looking like an afghan hound, if afghan hounds were actually humans with objectively less cute snouts.
Still, fighting temptation (or was it curiosity?) became increasingly difficult as the XL hair extensions trend continued to graze the butts of everyone from Grande to Beyoncé to Jennifer Lopez. All that extra length seemed impractical at best, and at worst, profusely exhausting. I wondered: what was behind the sudden spike in popularity? And, perhaps more importantly, can someone without a glam squad on speed dial pull off the look, too? In an effort to find out, I made my way to the Bellami Beauty Bar in NYC, armed with loads of apprehension and zero idea of what to expect.
What happened next? Well, let's just say it went a little better than it did with the mullet. (Just don't tell my mum that.)
As you — and I, as evidenced by this impossibly cheesy photo — can see, my lob hits just a few inches below my shoulders. This may be the longest my hair has been in the last year, even with the slight bend toward my ends. The second I walked into the salon, I immediately questioned whether my fine hair could handle the extra length.
During my consultation, after discussing the price (which ranges from $120 (£90) to $270 (£350), depending on the length and quality you're after) my stylist shade-matched my hair to the dark brown colour of Bellami's clip-in hair extensions. Seeing as how I'm fully committed to this extra-long hair trend, I opted for the 24-inch set — the real Roll's Royce of the bunch.
Once we landed on my colour, next up was clipping in the goods. My stylist separated my hair into 10 sections (one for each extension), and then back-combed my roots before securing the clip-in to each teased area. Then, to blend my natural hair with the extra length, she took sheers to the extensions and created a few face-framing layers. I was surprised at how quick the process was; it took a total of 20 to 25 minutes.
When she first spun me around in the salon chair, my first reaction was that the pin-straight hair looked more "Colours of the Wind" than "Thank U, Next." Then again, I've always liked Pocahontas more anyway.
The final step was to redivide my hair into 10 sections and create some waves with a one-inch curling iron. The process was just like what I'd do to curl my hair at home, but I couldn't help but notice how each section of hair wrapped around the barrel at least five times more than my natural hair would.
Seeing myself with long hair was weird — and it wasn't just me who thought it. The first thing my best friend said when she saw me — someone who has never experimented with any kind of dramatic hair transformation — came in a tone of surprise: "You don't really look like yourself, but you look great. Like someone with naturally long hair and enough time in the day to curl it."(OK fine, that was the second thing she said. The first was, "Holy sh*t!")
When I emerged from the salon, my head was noticeably heavier, but damn did I feel good. I expected I'd look so out of place — like I was trying to be a pop star, only without any of the qualifications to do so — but the extensions looked so real, nobody could tell where my natural hair ended and where the new hair began.
Let me say this: J. Lo and Ari, I finally understand the hype. I was like a new person that night when we went out dancing, where you can believe I whipped my hair back and forth with fervor.
Come bedtime, though, I couldn't wait to get them out — and felt a full five pounds lighter whenever I did — and vouched to save myself the headache by only wearing these on special occasions. Even though my lob has kept me satisfied for the long haul, turns out I can also appreciate a quickie.
