My Experience with Tape-In Hair Extensions

I've always been a sucker for long hair. Maybe it was the unfortunate mushroom cut that I, along with most other 80s kids, sported growing up that traumatized me into never cutting my hair. Whatever the case may be, I'm that girl who has always kept her hair long no matter what the trend may be. In my mind, you can never have too much of a good thing, so even though I naturally have a lot of length to my hair, it could always be longer. Enter tape-in extensions. I was first turned onto tape-in hair extensions when admiring a friend's long, lush hair and she let me into her little secret. As soon as I found out her hair had help from extensions, I was sold. I promptly sought out some tape-in hair extensions at Bombay Hair, booked myself an appointment with Kimberly at Toni and Guy Queen Street and before I knew it, I was walking out with a head full of super-long, super-thick hair.

I've since taken my hair extensions out after wearing them for a month. In that month, I experienced lots of different weather conditions thanks to our strange Toronto summer and took two small trips. So with all that in mind, here are my honest thoughts about my experience with tape-in hair extensions, and if I will ever put them in again.

Reference: I used the Bombay Hair 22'' Golden Blonde Tape-In Extensions

PRO

• I would 100% recommend going to a professional to apply your tape-in hair extensions. My girl Kimberly at Toni & Guy Queen Street has a lot of experience with extensions, so putting them into my hair was a breeze. I had no idea what to expect in terms of the process, so when I sat down in the chair I was pleasantly surprised to find that putting in tape-in hair extensions was pretty quick (about 30 minutes) and 100% painless. I also recommend getting the extensions cut to your hair after application, because this will help to blend the extensions into your real hair to appear more natural. In the end, I expected to be in the salon for at least 4 hours and waltzed out in an hour and a half with long, full hair. 

CON

• While the process of applying tape-in hair extensions is pain-free, the aftermath is anything but. Kimberly warned me that I should take an Advil or two before bed because the extra weight of the extensions on your scalp could cause headaches. I didn't listen to her and wish that I did. Oh. Em. Gee. The extra weight on your scalp from all of this new hair is no joke and while my headache was the worst on the first night, I felt like it never fully went away all month. Maybe I just have a sensitive head, but the dull ache that I felt the entire time that I had my extensions in was hard to ignore and definitely put a damper on the whole experience.

PRO

• While styling tape-in extensions does take longer than usual, just because of the amount of hair, the style lasts so much longer! I typically wear my hair curled, and found that the curl would last in my extensions until I had to wash them. Amazing, and because of this, I felt like I was using a lot less heat styling throughout the month.

CON

• While styling your hair becomes a breeze with tape-in hair extensions, washing it is a whole other animal. You guys, I literally dreaded washing my hair with extensions in! Now only do you need to be more delicate to avoid the sandwiches of tape on your scalp, but it literally takes forever to detangle and dry. Forever. Oh man. Such a hassle. As a result, dry shampoo and hats became my best friend for the entire month, just to avoid having to wash my hair.

Dress - H&M

In the end, as much as I enjoyed my tape-in hair extensions experience, I don't think that it's for me. Would I recommend them to anyone who's looking to add some extra length of volume to their hair? Absolutely. For me though, I already had long hair and the hassle just wasn't worth it. That being said, if these extensions sound like they're for you I 100% recommend purchasing your from Bombay hair and having Kim at Toni & Guy Queen Street apply them.

What do you guys think? Have you ever tried extensions? What was your experience? Let me know!

xo Joëlle

Thank you Bombay Hair and Toni & Guy Queen Street for the experience. I am not being compensated for this post, and all opinions are 100% my own.
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