Changing your outlook

> Extensions have become so much better

rather obvious and makeshift. How do I tell if I’m getting extensions of today’s higher quality? “Firstly, natural hair is ideal as it is most similar to our own hair structure,” explains Marcus Hertel, a specialist in hair extensions.

However, real human hair is not so easy to find. This is because the hair available is often not long enough, and also because hair for extensions must remain untreated.

“Therefore, the high-quality human hair often comes from India,” says Hertel.

The significant advances in recent years have been in the way hair extensions are invisibly joined to the strands of your natural hair.

“If done well, you won’t be able to tell where the real hair ends and the fake hair begins,” says Walz.

How are the extensions attached to the real hair? You can get tape-in extensions that are attached to the real hair. Laraia, Hertel and Walz use these in their salons. The advantages are that the tape is so flat and unobtrusive that you can’t see the join at all.

You can even take these extensions out after two or three months and reuse them at a later date – up to three or four times in fact.

“It’s important to use highquality tape,” stresses Laraia. “The glue shouldn’t weaken the structure of the hair.”

Another option is bonding, where the hair extensions are ultrasonically bonded with the real hair. This method has for the most part replaced heat connectors.

For something more temporary, and if you want to try out something new, you can go for clip-on extensions.

“If you’ve always had a mid or a side parting, clip-on extensions are great for seeing what bangs would look like,” says Laraia. – dpa

A woman wears extensions, demonstrating how they make the hair both longer and thicker.

A hairdresser uses a socalled tape to attach hair extensions to a woman customer’s natural hair next to the roots.