Thursday, April 3, 2014

Hair Extensions and your Bridal Hairstyle

Over the last few years I've had more and more brides using clip-in hair extensions to supplement their natural hair on their wedding day.  I think clip-in extensions are a great tool for hairstyling and they aren't just used to create length, a lot of times they are necessary to create the volume and fullness you see in so many  hairstyles these days.

I find w/ almost every celebrity at some point sporting extensions on the red carpet and the invention of Pinterest hair extensions and have become more and more a necessity and often reality for many bridal styles.  The truth is almost EVERY amazing pic you see on Pinterest where the hair is styled down or half up and is so full, curly and gorgeous has some sort of "fake" hair worked into it whether it be clip-in extensions, bonded extensions etc.  A lot of the updos do too!

Plus, a lot of brides don't realize how long your hair ACTUALLY has to be to create those long, loose curl styles...curl after all shortens the hair so the hair needs to be long to create most of these down styles.

I, myself often use extensions for when I have special events or night's out.  Definitely not for length as my hair is well past my breasts but it's for the thickness.  Even when I'm wearing my hair straight the difference it makes is remarkable!  Sometimes it makes me wish my hair was actually like that but man would it be heavy and hot if it was!!!

The problem comes sometimes when trying to explain to clients how it is not possible to achieve these styles w/out the use of extensions.  I get not every bride wants to invest in extensions which she may or may not ever use again but unfortunately most people's natural hair can't create these styles.  So a bride either needs to adjust her expectations or invest!  And in reality if it's going to make your wedding pictures that much better (which are after all your memories) you might as well spend the couple hundred on extensions.  Just think how much you're spending on the dress, photography, makeup and hair...it would be a shame to regret it afterward in my opinion.

Also, talk to your hairstylist about what type, length, style of extensions to get for your desired style.  If your hair is just at your shoulders you probably don't want 18 inch extensions as it will jut be really hard to blend into your style.  If you're doing an updo longer isn't necessary better either...sometimes 14 inch extensions are more than enough for a style.

When I make them I personally make a set of 8-10 pieces.  I like having a variety of sizes and clips so that I can put the extensions where necessary.  Sometimes I've had brides come to me w/ just 3 very long pieces and depending on your style that may or may not work!  Also, I double up on the weft - thicker hair w/ less clips creates a more comfortable and less bulky style w/ less clips to worry about hiding!

With all that said I thought I'd share some of the styles I've created for brides the past few years using extensions....if don't right you shouldn't even know they're there ;)

This was actually for a wedding photographer workshop and was a mock wedding shoot.  I used a ton of extensions on this model's hair and a really tight barrel curling iron....tons of brides love this pic but they don't really realize how tight the curls are in reality lol!  Having highlighted extensions also helps to make them look more real as it creates great dimension and highlighting in the hair!
Photographer Taylor Jackson

One of the few times I had a bride that opted for a straight style w/ her extensions.  I think it was a good choice and really worked well w/ the 60s vibe.  
Photographer Nicole Duplantis @ Eclipse Photography

You can't tell in this pic but Suzanne actually has strawberry blonde hair so which was a bit tricky to match for the extensions...but I did it and they looked gorgeous! It was also nerve wracking b/c I hadn't met Suzanne until the trial and I had to choose the colour based simply on a small snippet of hair she had mailed me b/c she lived in Montreal!

You can see the colour a bit better in this one.

Kristen is tiny so she was a perfect example of someone that had to pick the right extension length for them!  If she would have gone w/ ones that were too long they would have overwhelmed her tiny frame!  I love the braid I incorporated in the front for this style!
Photographer Erin @ Renaissance Studios


Elissa was actually a bridesmaid for her sister last year.  The year before she was the bride and I made extensions for her wedding.  We used them again for her sister's wedding.  They look so natural! Perfect colour match!
Photographer Tobin Grimshaw


 Rashani's hair was actually a pretty blunt bob and she has very coarse hair which makes it a little harder to blend in the extensions so I was happy she opted for a side pony style which really helped to blend it all together and make it look all natural!

Simone actually had a combination of bonded extensions and clip-in extensions on her wedding day.  I was glad she opted to have the clip-in ones too b/c you're not suppose to tease bonded extensions which therefore makes it impossible to create the volume necessary for some styles!
 Photographer Tally @ Phototerra


Svetlana was not only a beautiful bride but she also happens to be my oldest friend (way back since we were 14!).  She has long hair naturally but needed more fullness.  That's where the extensions came in.  She said I created her "dream hair" :)
Photographer Toan Lam

Thought I'd finish off w/ a bridal updo that has extensions worked into it.  What a great looking couple and you'd never know that wasn't all her hair!  See it's not just half updos or down styles that sometimes need the help of extensions...an updo can also be greatly enhanced by extensions!




4 comments:

The Bridal Hair Workshop said...

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Hair Extensions said...

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Unknown said...

wow, your pictures are wonderful ,
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Hairstylesco said...

What a collection.Really so cute and beautiful hairstyles for wedding time.