Mermaid Hair

My amazing hairdresser just also happens to be my best friend of 25 years. Kim is now a teacher, but much like myself, cannot give up the creative outlet of her hairdressing business. She is truly a natural, with deep hairdressing roots. Her mother has been a hair dresser for around 40 years, and at the age of 67, seems to have more energy than we do! Needless to say, I trust this Kim with my life, and my hair. I have always been blonde, but have been dying to go red. Kim says she thinks this will be high-maintenance and damaging to my already fine hair, so between my student’s budget the past decade and her advice, I have held off. Many times she has enthusiastically asked, “So when are you going to let me put in extensions?! You would LOVE them!” This time when she asked, considering my new “big girl job” income, I said YES, and I could not be happier!

The hair extensions she put in are microlink hair extensions. They are attached to your natural hair hair through a bead, much like the photo below, causing no damage. They will grow out gradually and need to be “moved up” the hair shaft in about two and a half months; they should then last another two and a half months. They are real human hair, guaranteed from the same head! Kim chose extensions in 4 different shades of blonde for the most natural look possible. (Side note: blonde extensions are more expensive than brunette.) If I was going to commit to extensions, I figured might as well go the extra mile and get extensions a little longer than my natural hair would grow, so we chose 18” extensions. Be a little “extra”, haha. In total, the hair and supplies alone were $355. The process to apply the extensions themselves was about 2.5 hours, so be prepared to sit. I’m sure I’m not explaining all the details that people may have questions on, so it’s best to ask your hairdresser or do some Googling about any further details.

microlink extensions

So how do I feel? LIKE A MILLION BUCKS! After all said and done, I took a look in the mirror and felt like a mermaid-goddess-Beach Barbie all rolled into one! I could not help but “whip my hair back and forth”. It’s the hair I’ve always wanted! Kim was right – how have I waited so long to do this?! It is truly the most rewarding non-invasive beauty intervention I have ever tried. She did an amazing job of blending the color. Friends of 20 years that I visited last weekend could not even tell they were extensions, they just thought my hair had grown since the last time I saw them. My hair has been historically low maintenance – it’s naturally straight, so minimal styling required, and I only highlight it about every 6 months – so there have been a few adjustments to make. I need to sleep with it on top of my head to avoid excessive tangling at the base of the extensions. I needed to buy a special brush to make sure I don’t rip the extensions out at the bead, and overall just need to be more careful with brushing and styling. But is it worth it? 100%! Thank you, Kim, for finally convincing me to this!