Your hair is your best accessory. You wear it every day. But for the biggest day, you want it looking incredible! Many brides consider getting hair extensions, but often don’t know where to start looking. There are so many different types out there and so many different ways of applying them that it does your head in just thinking about it. My hair is fairly long, but as it gets towards the ends it thins out a bit. Aside from taking my vitamins and hoping it would grow, I had decided there wasn’t much I could do about it. Then one of our regular hair stylists suggested I try extensions. I decided to take my camera along and record the process, like a good Beauty writer (and it turns out it was a good thing I did, because I absolutely love my new hair.)
Here’s what my hair looked like before the extensions:
Great Lengths Hair Extensions appealed to me because of their patented Keratin bond technology, which they created in 1992. They use a synthesised Keratin bond which is designed to mimic the molecular structure of human hair, meaning where other types of hair extensions may put strain on your hair (like when it’s wet, or hot, or cold) the Great Lengths Keratin bond reacts exactly like your hair does, meaning no strain and no breakage.
The other thing that really impressed me is that Great Lengths only use 100% human hair that has been ethically sourced from Indian temples and is in virgin condition (meaning it’s never been coloured, bleached, or chemically treated). So basically, it’s the best hair you could possibly have. They also only use Remy hair, which is hair that is bundled with all the roots at one end, to ensure the cuticles all face the same way, minimising tangling and frizziness once it’s on your head. Finally, the hair is “Double Drawn” which is a labour-intensive process designed to remove all of the short hairs from the extensions, so what you get is hair that’s all the one length.
I had my extensions done at Pivot Point Academy in Waterloo. My hairstylist, Paula Hibbard from The Art of Hair chose three different colours of extensions to match my existing dark brunette roots, blonder, slightly reddish balayaged ends and an even lighter blonde to help brighten the ends. Great Lengths now have what they call “Colour Blocked” hair extensions, which are darker at the top and lighter at the bottom, allowing them to match the trend towards ombré.
Paula started with a full row of dark brown extensions right underneath, and then scattered a mix of brown, reddish blonde and lighter ombré blonde throughout my hair, giving it a really soft, natural appearance. The bonds are quite obvious here, but when they’re all mixed up with your hair, they’re really hard to see.
And the results? Absolutely amazing! Not only do I have longer, thicker hair, but it actually feels like my hair. It’s the same texture, it’s light and soft and easy to brush. I can swish it and flip it and there are no ugly bonds peeking out anywhere. In fact, even when I tried to point out one of the bonds to a friend, she had to look really closely before she could even see it. Not only that, but no-one can tell where my hair ends and the extensions begin!
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever loved my hair this much. See how the colour is brighter? That’s all been done with extensions. So I just had to tell you all about it, because Great Lengths would be a perfect way to up the ante on your wedding hair. Longer, thicker, better hair? It just means more options for what you can do with it on the big day!
Have you ever had hair extensions? Are you considering them for the big day? Let us know! Leave a comment, stop by Facebook or tweet us @ModernWeddingOz.
And for more information on Great Lengths Hair Extensions check out www.greatlengths.com.au
Enjoy!
Rosemary xox
p.s. looking for loads more wedding hair inspiration? Check out our bridal hair inspiration gallery here.