Whether you're into Lolita or Gyaru Fashion, you probably have noticed just how much BIG HAIR the models in magazines have. Of course a lot wear wigs, but not all! I looked at their hair tutorials in magazines and wondered what I was doing wrong- why did my hair never get even close to being as big not matter how much I curled and teased it?
Well, the first point is that I have very thin, fine, Caucasian hair, which I can't do anything about>_>;;;; But the second point is that many of the models in magazines have
hair extensions. It's WAY cheaper to get it done in Japan, and they use a better technique than in Western countries. Where I live, a full head of extensions will set you back at least $500, but usually around $1000. In Japan you can get it done from $100-200.
Here is what it looks like in photos in magazines:
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See those little braid things? Those are where the extensions are attached. They use a technique called "Pinch braiding" and it is basically just where the extension is braided in and kept there with a piece of elastic thread.
This is what it looked like in my hair when I got 50 put in:
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Sadly they only had black thread, so it really showed up>_>;;
The best thing about this kind of extension is that you can do both up-styles and down-styles because it follows the direction of your own hair. You can get them for both added volume and added length. Let's look at the difference it made to my thin hair:
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The difference in volume really surprised me!
So maybe you want to get Japanese-style extensions? First consider these points:
PROS:* Cheap to get done in Japan.
* Human hair blends into your own hair well.
* You can do up-styles and down-styles.
* You can curl and tease them like your own hair.
* Instant added length and volume.
* You can easily take them out yourself- just cut the thread and unbraid them.
CONS:* Very painful the first couple of days (I couldn't sleep on them the first night).
* Hard to wash and take forever to dry.
* Can possibly cause permanent bald-spots (though not as much as other techniques).
* Can be itchy sometimes, but you can't scratch or you'll risk tearing your hair out!
* Uncomfortable to sleep on in general.
* Impossible to hide when doing upstyles.
* Not sure if you can get them done outside of Japan.
Hahaha, reading the cons, you'd think no-one would want them, but that's the price millions of women are prepared to pay for beauty, myself not exceptedX_x;;