Breaking Point
If you’ve ever suffered breakage with your hair you know just how devastating it is to suddenly lose both the volume and length that you once had. There’s a good news though, and with the right type of hair extension, you can conceal the breakage while you grow back healthy thick hair.
What causes breakage?
Breakage can be caused through a number of ways including chemical treatments, delicate hair, medical treatments that may impact your hair quality, and even something as simple as wearing a ponytail too tight. Some women even experience not being able to grow the hair past a certain point. This too, is due to the hair breaking off after a certain point of growth.
Chemical Damage on hair
Chemical straightening, perming, and bleaching can take its toll on hair and lead to severe breakage. Particularly in finer hair around the temple, you might notice that your hair is shorter. During the chemical process, bleach not only strips the cuticle but it also sensitises the cortex deep within the hair. This means that the hair has no outer shield and that the strength of the actual shaft of hair has been compromised. While there are bond products that can temporarily fix the disulphide bonds within the hair shaft, once breakage occurs it is impossible to fix.
Hair extensions to conceal hair breakage
There are hundreds of different types of hair extensions on the market each with its own set of pros and cons. The major thing to look for it when contemplating hair extensions to conceal breakage is how the extension hair is attached and the weight of the product that is being put on your own hair. With your hair in such a delicate fragile state, any undue stress will make the scenario worse.
Clip in hair extensions are good in that they can come in and out and it is not constant pressure on the hair. However, it is important to note that the weight of a clip in hair extension maybe too much for your own hair to support. Clip in attachments can be heavy and even temporary pressure on fine hair can be too much. Wefts, weaves, and microbead extensions can be disastrous for hair that has undergone breakage. In these scenarios, the hair is often bent, braided or cinched into an unnatural shape forcing the hair to kink, when it is already brittle and fragile. These type of attachments can compound the problem of breakage and cause even more damage. Even alternative methods with keratin bonds do not ensure that the hair will not be compromised. Keratin bonds which are not hydrolysed mean that the bond itself will not expand and contract with water, while the hair encapsulated in the attachment will expand and contract with water. If the bond surrounding the hair will not make room for a swollen hair shaft with in it, it will pinch the hair and may lead to breakage.
Amazing before and after transformations by @hairbymaiken and @salonvoguehair using Great Lengths Hair Extensions
Great Lengths Hair Extensions
The amount of breakage you suffer, and the severity of the damage on your hair, will lead your stylist to make the decision as to whether or not Great Lengths are right for you. At the point of consultation it is absolutely important to be honest with your stylist about the history of your hair and the chemical treatments on it.
For example if you have gone platinum blonde, suffered breakage, and then dyed your hair over it with a brunette colour and you do not disclose this to your stylist, they may inadvertently miss the fact that your hair has been bleached at some point. In other scenarios, your stylist may ask you to grow your hair for two or three more months before you get extensions so that the placement of the bond will be on the new stronger hairs that are coming from the root. As professional stylist who have been trained in Great Lengths it is our stylist first duty to look after the quality of your own hair.
@naomipanizza_thestudio applying the Great Lengths Keratin pre-bonded hair extensions on her client.
If your stylist feels that you are a good candidate for Great Lengths hair extensions they may also modify the application so that it takes into account areas of breakage. For example, in places where the hair is fine or delicate, like your temples, your stylist may cut the bond in half so that the weight of the bond is much less than a standard bond. This ensures that your hair will be able to sustain the weight and grow out healthy and strong while hair extensions are in. In addition, your stylist will create a specific plan in placement to help conceal areas of breakage.
Great Lengths uses natural hydrolysed keratin and is gentle on your hair.
Great Lengths bonds themselves should cause no damage to your own hair. Our bonds are created a completely natural keratin which is hydrolysed. When your hair is damp and the hair shaft is swollen, the bond that encapsulates it will also swell so that no pinching will occur. As your hair dries naturally or with heat tools, the bonds will shrink back to their normal size so that no slipping occurs.
Road to Recovery
Great Lengths is a fantastic way to help you recover from hair breakage. Like all aspects of health which need nurturing to get back to a healthy state, it is extremely important to look after your extensions with the utmost of care. Gentle brushing, tying your hair up at night,
and using the right retail care will look after your own hair while you grow it out. In addition, maintenance blow dries with your Great Lengths stylist will give them the opportunity to see how your extensions are growing out and how your new hair is coming in.
To find a Great Lengths salon and book in your free consultation click here.
