Sunday, July 18, 2010

Japanese Hair Extensions 101

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:


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:

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:


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;;

9 comments:

  1. I've heard wearing a silk head scarf around your head and/or using a silk pillow case helps when you are going to sleep because silk doesn't pull like other fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I went to the hairdresser for it at Tokyo , around 12,000yen for 30 extensions, but my real hair is too weak ;_;
    It was painful few months after ^^

    But the result was very good.
    And I don't know for you but, curls on my hair don't resist a long time, so with extentions it was really better =D.

    thanks for this post !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sensible Obsessions: My problem wasn't with it pulling, but rather the braids poking into my skull^^;; I guess I have a sensitive skull, LOL

    Kamihana-shi: Yeah, it hurts but it's worth it! I wish they did hair extensions like that where I live!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Indeed! I was happy with mine XD
    Where I live there is not this sort of hair extentions too , only with "glue"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey :)
    Just found your blog in the link list of another weblog.
    you are so beautiful *-*
    sry for my bad english ^^''

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've had braided in extensions for the last 2 years or so... So here is a second opinion. While I agree with your pros, your cons are little scary sounding and while it could be that you have a sensitive scalp, I'd like to post a response to it just in case people are turned away off of it from it. This kind of extension is much better than any other that is affordable because it is gentler on your hair than the rest and esthetically more appealing than seeing pieces of tape or tracks on your head. Before this kind, I had keratin glue bonds and it literally cut my hair off on one side when it got them taken out. The glue malted and my hair matted into a big mess. It took forever to get the glue residue off. Anyways, here's a response / second opinion to your cons.

    CONS:
    * Very painful the first couple of days (I couldn't sleep on them the first night).<- Personally I didn't experience this at all. Only thing was it was significantly heavier and a bit itchy.
    * Hard to wash and take forever to dry. <- washing is the same as normal but of course with that much hair added it will take longer to dry.
    * Can possibly cause permanent bald-spots (though not as much as other techniques).<- This is untrue. While if you don't take care of them properly you might rip out your own hair with a bond, Your hair will grow back
    * Can be itchy sometimes, but you can't scratch or you'll risk tearing your hair out!<- You can scratch just scratch lightly. Unless you are clawing at your scalp a little bit of gentle scratching around the bond won't do any harm
    * Uncomfortable to sleep on in general. <- I personally haven't experienced this
    * Impossible to hide when doing upstyles.<- this is true
    * Not sure if you can get them done outside of Japan.<- I heard if you get them done by ethnic hair salons it is possible and relatively cheap too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Abhair.com has been one of the largest hair extension traders online for a couple of years now. The company buys human hair from customers spread worldwide and strives to manufacture an offer superior quality Hair Extensions products for its customers based out of the UK and beyond. The online retailer also offers micro loop extensions, pre-bonded extensions, tape-in extensions, hair wefts and difference wigs. The owners now hope to expand the existing customer base with the addition of clip in hair extensions to their product range.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not shure if you can get them outside of Japan?
    This is how Black Folks do there Hair for centuries.
    And its a lot like other Hairextensions.
    If you use Fusion Bonds ore Microrings you can hide them better.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello everyone! Please visit this link human hair lace wigs with bangs for more variety of hair extensions

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...