Hair Extensions
[ 18 January 2008 ]
Note: I am in the incredibly fortunate position of having Wildilocks as a sponsor, & do not pay directly for services received. Please read my disclaimer for more information!
I have always been the girl with short hair. Since I was about ten years old, it has never been longer than my shoulders. I had a bob for years, standard young gawth fare — blunt & blue-black with a ruler-straight fringe. As I got a bit older, I started to experiment with it more: I shaved back my hairline, bleached the hell out of it, coloured it blue green purple red pink white, shaved one side of my head, teased it into beehives, backcombed it into neon-coloured quiffs & hid it under scarves & hats when it was being intolerable. But it never grew longer than my shoulders. I was always too fickle, forever wanting a change — I never had the time (or patience) to grow it out.
Recently though, I’ve been lusting for long hair. I love the look of long hair under a headscarf or turban, & I often find that if my hair isn’t doing it for me & I’m wearing glasses, hiding my hair under a scarf just makes me look like I’m terminally ill. The idea of extensions had crossed my mind, but as far as I knew, most places that did extensions only stocked them in wavy curly blonde. I also thought that synthetic hair would start to look cheap really quickly, & I didn’t want that kind of nightmare on my hands.
My friend Joel stayed with me recently & while he was in town, he introduced me to a friend of his, a woman called Cass. Cass owns Wildilocks, a hairdressing company with salons in Perth (Base808) & Melbourne (The LockWorks). We visited her at her shop & I looked around excitedly. First of all — the front counter was stocked with every colour of Special Effects hair dye (my favourite brand EVER)! They had New Rock boots stacked in a corner! The girls behind the desk were busy spinning colourful hair into dreadlocks, & Peaches was playing on the stereo. I felt as if I had arrived. I felt as if I could practically taste the possibilities!
A couple of weeks later, I went in to see Cass & have a consultation. I had decided that I wanted long hair, for once & for all, & I wondered what they could do for me. While I did initially want a full head of hair, because the back of my hair was so short, Cass told me that if I got a full head done, I would have to comb down my hair all the time so that where the extensions were attached wouldn’t show. I’m not actually very high maintenance, & I decided I couldn’t be bothered doing that, so she suggested that we extend the front, sides & the two long pieces at the back & go from there. I said yes please & she booked me in.
I arrived at Wildilocks at 1pm, bearing my chocolate vegan cupcakes with lavender icing. It’s my patented ultra-smooth move, haha — & they were very well-received! I was shown to a chair & introduced to Kat, a woman with amazing multicoloured wool dreads. We talked about what we were going to do. I hadn’t thought about it before I arrived, but I had quite a lot of regrowth, so we decided that we should deal with that. I told her that normally, because my hair is so dark, it requires two applications of bleach & a toner to get it down to a point where it can be coloured. Usually one application of bleach leaves my hair horrendously orange. Anyway, Kat applied the bleach & didn’t use tinfoil like people normally do, instead she used little plastic insulating papers. They kept my head very toasty, much more effective than tinfoil! She also mixed a treatment into the bleach to stop it from hurting my scalp — & I didn’t feel a thing. After a while, she came over to check my progress. She rinsed off my hair — & gave me the most incredible scalp massage of my life — & when I looked in the mirror, my roots were SUPER blonde. Wow, wow, wow. Wow! I have never had bleach work that well & not even hurt me at all!
After they dried me off, they applied the Special Effects. We used some Wildflower, some Blue Velvet & a little bit of Fishbowl — Cass said that Fishbowl helps the blue fade to a better colour. As I sat there, soaking up the dye, Kat & Nicole got to working dyeing my extensions. The extensions are human hair, so they hold colour in exactly the same way as my hair, & when the colour starts to fade (which will take ages, but will happen eventually), it will all change at the same pace. 45 minutes later they rinsed me off, gave me another incredible scalp massage, dried my hair & started to attach my extensions.
Cass has a really amazing system of attaching extensions, the likes of which I’ve never seen before (or even heard of). She used a bead to attach the extension to my hair, then used pliers to flatten it so that the extension stayed put. Very cool! Cass started on the back of my head & moved around to one side, & enlisted Kat & Nicole to help out on the other side. I was surprised at how quickly they got it done — I’m pretty sure it took less than an hour. As my locks started to appear, I felt like Lady Godiva with hand-maidens working at her side. I kept eyeballing myself in the mirror, trying not to grin ear to ear the entire time! I did exclaim & squeal a lot though. Kat said, “I have the coolest job ever”, & if everyone responds like I do, I believe her!
Eventually I had enough hair, but it was very long, & so we decided to trim it off a bit. Nicole cut it in a very steep a-line, quite short at the back graduating to a lot of length at the front. I wriggled excitedly in my chair & eyeballed myself a whole lot more. Cass gave me a sheet of instructions for looking after my hair (put it in loose braids to sleep, how to wash it, etc.) & I swooshed off into the evening! I stared at myself in practically every window on the street, & when I got home my boyfriend’s mouth dropped open.
I slept with braids in last night & today the thrill of it all is still huge. I absolutely love them, they look fantastic, they are versatile & great quality & I’m totally over the moon.
Best of all — Wildilocks is offering a 15% discount off all services at The LockWorks to any iCiNG reader until the 8th of February! You just have to mention that you read my site. A little gift from me to you. Mwah!
Thank you SO much, Wildilocks! As long as I am in Melbourne, I will never stray! I pledge my undy(e)ing devotion!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
Tags: aesthetic,
beauty,
consumption,
gala Share this! + Email This + Del.icio.us
+ Facebook
+ Stumbleupon
+ Technorati
Comment
Read more tagged aesthetic...
New Hair! Tarina Tarantino Interview Fashion & Style Predictions: 2008 Fetish Wear Gibbous Things I Love Thursday Tomboy Boot Camp Bed Head
Read more tagged beauty...
Daylesford A Model Search Eye Make-Up Questions! Spray Tanning Put To The Test! Fashion Darling #003 The Power Of Eyebrows Gala's Top 5 Beauty Tips O Magazine & Ellen Barkin
Read more tagged consumption...
Athletic Aesthetics Daylesford Putting On The Ritz Tarina Tarantino Interview Fashion & Style Predictions: 2008 Fetish Wear Gibbous Fabulous New Year's Eve Outfits
Read more tagged gala...
New Hair! Things I Love Thursday How To Be A Writer Things I Love Thursday Daylesford 2008: The Year Of Healthy Eating Things I Love Thursday Cosmopolitan
Amazing! Thank you so much for writing this up; I was thinking about getting some jewel-coloured hair myself, but after reading this I may have to wait until I can go to Melbourne and visit Wildilocks! They sound fantastic.
Alice — Yeah, I think when you go in for major hair changes it makes sense to go to someone who knows what they’re doing. Wildilocks totally fit that criteria! I have never been so impressed by a hair salon in my life!
Wildilocks are awsome. I had had extensions from the Perth store serveral times, and they look great and last for ages :)
That blue colour looks beautiful on you.
you look so so so so pretty..your face is pure witchbaby-genie beautiful & your hair is all mermaid!
Wow, you look gorgeous! I love it. I used to bleach streaks in my hair, and colour it with purple fudge…but the results never last very long. Do Wildilocks do streak extensions?
Michelle — I’m sure they would! The problem is that you’re using Fudge… it never lasts! They have purple extensions pre-made there so they could probably put them in for you really quickly. Best to ask them about it though!
Thanks for replying :). Oh I know, but I love the purple Fudge colour. I tried another brand (cant remember its name), that said purple, and it came out blue :(. Maybe I will have to find something better than Fudge.
Oh my lord, you are a vision.
how pretty! It reminds me of a peacock or other exotic bird :)
I wish I lived close enough to get my hair done there, but sadly…
SO PRETTY!
I’m actually currently going to hair school and reallly want to specialize in extentions so your very informative description of your experience is so great!
I’m really jealous that such a hair salon exists!
I live in canada and we have nothing at all like the one you described here, I’m thinking I might just have to move….
&I’ve never heard of this bead method and will definitely be wiki’ing that up right after I post this, haha!
PS. your hair is GORGEOUS!! but you know that already.
YOUR extensions LOOK sooo frEEkin FANTASTIC! I’ve just been buying up sooooo many new cyberfalls and wigs and once off cyber outfits but alas my wigs go on and then they come off after a night of go go dancing and clubbing!! Sigh seeing your hair makes me miss my coloured neon curls so much! Blonde gets old fast.
i am waiting for my hair to grow out so i can get extensions all around (back and front) and its easy for me because i have blond hair and like you said, everyone stocks it! im still not completely sure i want hair extensions so will you be updating us with how your new hair goes and how it holds up? if you did that would be fantastic in every way. oh and your hair looks fabulous!
wow gala! great article! ive been wnting extesions for ages and ages. ive never heard of tat method for appying extensions! it sounds like they would last a lot longer than glued extensions, as the gue eventually breaks down and they fall out. did the girl tell you how long they ould stay in for?? it would be worth me travelling from adeaide to melbourne o get them done if it means that they will stay in my hair longer than 3 months!
Gala, I find most hair extensions look horrible on the majority of people, and while I absolutely adored your hair when it was short, the new do looks super cute and suits you amazingly!
They look great! I think I have been to Base808 in Perth…I’m pretty sure…I doubt there are many shops like that. Heh.
Wow. I totally want to get extensions now. I’ve been contemplating it…. now with a discount too. Gosh, it’s all very tempting!
Holy hair extensions Batman!! Pure gold, that looks mega ace!! I’ve seen alot of work from Wildilocks – on LJ perhaps? – what great work!
Dearest Gala – you look absolutely B-E-A-yootiful!
Would it be possible to have a snap of the back of your hair? Just because you’ve made me want extensions oh-so much, and I wanna perv on how they’ve morphed the back into a head that moonsailor would be proud of … X
hrm, might have to take a trip to Base808 – lucky I only live 45 minutes away – yee haw!
I got a quote for hair extensions a few months ago and it was $1,300 for a full head, and that was going to be very choppy layers to hide the extensions – not what I wanted!
I need long hair for a friends wedding and mine refuses to grow, so because I doubt very much that Tammy will appreciate me showing up with blue extensions (dammit) I’ll have to go check out what other options there is.
The thing is – how long will they last? and do they get re-done or can you only use these ones once?
You look 100% fantastic :D
gala!
your hair is so delious!
amazing
!
my gay work blocked your site on my work computer because apparently it’s “distracting me from work efficently”
:)
my full head cost me 2000, and i go back every 2 months to get them moved up, and (depends on the quality of the hair you get) can last nicely up to 18 months before you have to get new hair.
I’d like to share a horror story.
Last year I had dark brown hair with lots of thick white blonde streaks I had to get bleached many, many times until they were white enough.
One day I decided I wanted some, but not all, of the blonde streaks to be electric blue, so I got my hairdresser to use some fudge hairdye on selected pieces of hair.
Instead of it being successful, the selected pieces of hair turned electric blue and then leaked into the remaining blonde streaks, leaving them a really gross shade of blue/green.
To undo this I had to get my blonde/ blue/ icky couloured pieces stripped, and then the next morning, dyed over with dark brown dye. She managed to salvage some of my blonde, but all in all my hair was, in a word, screwed, because after all that bleach and dye it was in the worst possible condition.
After 8 months of growing the mess out, my hairdresser streaked my hair when I had asked her to bleach it all over. THEN she told me she refused to bleach it all over because she ‘just wouldn’t do it, as a personal preference’. My natural hair is mouse brown, so I don’t see the issue. I decided to change hairdressers.
2 months later, my hair is finally white blonde. It was a pity I had such a hard road getting here, haha.
You look gorgeous, Gala.
xx
Wow, you look amazing! (not that you didn’t look amazing before!) I’ve wanted to dye my hair blue for ages, and this is tempting me..;)
MJ — Cass says, “They usually are comfortable for anywhere from 2 – 3 months before they need tightening – which is about half the cost of the installation. They can be tightened a maximum of two times before the beads wear out, and their life span will vary depending on several factors based on lifestyle, amount of styling, how regularly the hair is washed, given treatments, and cared for. Straightening them very often will reduce their life span as will doing a lot of active sports, swimming etc.” Hope this helps!
Kirby — Sorry to hear your horror story! It can take a really long time to find a good hairdresser, & any stylist that says they won’t do something just because they don’t like the way it looks or whatever… well, that’s just bunk!
Haha I have a feeling it was more due to her (lack) of ability.
The woman who did bleach my hair did a good job, but afterward blew- dried my hair into a very peggy- sue like… Arrangement which I did not appreciate, partly because my scalp was really sensitive and the blow dry was painful, and partly because I looked embarrassingly dreadful. And she also cut it a touch too short.
I think I’ll try another salon when I go to get the re- growth bleached. I think it’s a good idea to look around for a bit.
xx
It looks great!!
I wish I could paint my hair blue… ;)
Ahhhhh! WILDILOCKS! I love Cass. I had the pleasure of attending the Wildilocks birthday party when Cass was back in Perth for a while. She’s done my hair a few times, baby-pink extensions, not to mention some amazing things to her own, and my other friends’ hair.
I’ve been thinking of going to Base808 to get some sky-blue put through (and whilst I know she wouldn’t leave the store in uncapable hands) – I just don’t know if it will be the same without Cass!
Gala, you seriously look AMAZING!
Once you find a good salon and stylist you definitely gotta stick with it for LIFE. I finally found one back home and I try to put off getting my hair done as long as I can until I can go back!
A good haircut can definitely make or break your confidence! I wish I could bust out some crazy hair colours, but unfortunately my work situation demands it stays pretty tame! But you’ve got me inspired, so I’ll just have to pump up the drama in another area!
And on a final note – I LOVE the feel of long hair on my back (I’ve been growing mine out for a fewy years). It’s so totally sexy!
Awesome! I love it… great recap too!
Wow, just wow. It looks fantastic.
Also, the style you have now..kind of like an inverse bob is the one I have.
C’est magnifique!
You look GREAT. I mean short hair looks awesome in you too, but long hair makes you look cuter! :D That salon sounds amazing too, I’m jealous! :)
I changed my hair too; Yesterday I cut it shorter than I’ve ever had (since I was…7?). The hairdresser actually cut it a little less than I wanted, but I’m pleased anyways…though I don’t look THAT different (because I had lots of layers before so in the front I look almost the same)...but having short hair is way comfortable, specially for summer so I’m happy :D!
aah, they’re called microrings and they do look rather good on you! it is a nice change to be able to run your fingers through your LONG hair, feel it brushing lightly off your forearms, or to flirt from beneath it… be prepared to unleash a whole new girly gala.
I’ve been using prostyles myself on and off for around 7 years but i do microrings or fusion on request (personally i would never use fusion on my own head, as you can be left with bald patches from traction hair loss, and also from the glue during removal~quelle suprise!).
You’l be alright with microrings just be careful of slippage. Guard the seals with your life… seriously no brushing too close to them or picking at with your nails! And absolutely no conditioner near your scalp.
I find that if you brush them from the ends up with a bristle brush, spraying with leave in conditioner in between brushes, then they don’t slip nearly so much.
And if you don’t like sleeping with a loose braid because it causes kinks, then snip the toes off a pair of stockings and use it like a headband, smoothing the length of it down your hair, this keeps the extensions straight and without frizzies.
good luck pet!
WoW! Your hair looks great! Can’t wait to see more pictures.
Much love!
wooooooow! they are so cool! I wear heaps and heaps of different extentions (I have add in colours in every colour of the rainbow, long black ones, a ponytail, black pieces to be added to the front) I’d love to have real ones but ah I wouldn’t be able to figure out what ones I would want because I change my hair everyday!
hmm! might just have to look into it then! i dont think i could pull off blue ones tho ;) it looks amazing on you!
AH! You look gorgeous! I’ve always been a fan of extensions (and am a member of several fake hair forums on Livejournal). I’m actually getting a set of dreadlock extensions in from my favorite Canada-based dreadmaker very soon!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Worldwar/Other/-1.jpg
I had black ones for a while also:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Worldwar/blackdredsfunnysmile.jpg
both sets courtesy of blackorchiddesigns.ca =)
I’m supa envious! I’ve had short for a year or so now and may have to follow in your footsteps. I wish there was an awesome salon of that sort where I live.
You look so sassy!
I’ve had longer-than-shoulder hair my entire life, and just this May cut it reaallyy short and i can’t imagine going back to all the fuss. BUT seeing how great you look with both styles makes me sort of miss my old hair, haha.
Wow! I love that look, especially with the electric blue color. Too cute!
Holy cow, it brings grins!
I gotta go to Melbourne just to go to Wildlocks…. :)
And you can get temporary streaks at Wildlocks! how good is that! might be good for moi who has toyed with the idea of adding very bright colour to the hair forever…
Those beads (or microrings as described by another commenter) sound like crimp beads that you use when making beaded jewellery, esp. if they look like beads to start and then are flattened by pliers.
Lucky you, Gala!!!
Awesome Gala, thanks for sharing & hopefully you have time in your busy schedule to update us!
I too, have had terrible hairdressers at times and i’ve found the ONLY way to find a great one is to ask people whose hair you LOVE where they go, even on the street! I finally found my hairdresser @ Cream in Melbourne and he’s an ARTISTE`! All my friends go there & I love that I can go in with not much idea of what I want & come out with the perfect haircut!
x
The extensions look amazing honey! My hair is so freaking long now but lately I’ve been pining for short hair of the Edie Sedgwick variety, & in fact a whole 60s aesthetic really (I should have been my age now in the 60s, it’s so unjust), so perhaps I’ll read this again in a few months if I have short hair & am pining for long, luxurious locks again which will no doubt be the case, haha!
Fantastic results! I’m glad I could put you both in touch while visiting… even if I did forget to properly introduce you both the first time (my bad!).
Savannah – I don’t know where you are in Canada – but you should open your own Canadian version ;] I need a place like that to be around here ….minus pretension, please !
G dawg (so gangsta today innit :p )
/before/ you were full of wide-eyed faux innocence with your cropped do..
/now/ you just look a saucy minx!
Go you it looks fantastic woohoo!
You look like a completely different person. In a good way, of course. But I’m glad to know you’re still the amazing Gala, with a witty writing style and so much care for her readers. Excuse me; “Nonpareils”. Stay gorgeous. <3
I think long hair suits you! It is very flattering and softens your facial features. And the color is fabulous!
You look gorgeous Gala. I absolutely love your blog.
I have been going to Wildilocks for nearly four years now; they are amazing. The new Melbourne store is just as awesome as the Perth one, if not more so.
you look lovely! i think if i ever want extensions i will make the trip to melbourne to go there :3 i did buy some special effects dye from her webstore just now though, it’s impossible to find here and i didn’t want to wait two weeks++ for it to ship from overseas on ebay. so yay! throws out crappy red fudge says hello to exciting new red special effects hehe.
your extensions look fabulous. =)
Wildilocks is great. I must head down to base808 soon for some more sfx I think….
I got my hair done there in December, they’re such lovely women, and had the best soundtrack ever while I was getting everything done!
Not to mention all their cool clothes they sell in there too!
You look RAD Gala!
Big hugs!
xoxo
that looks fantastic! and that length suits you so much. and the colour!!!
i’m majorly wanting long hair at the moment…
oh i am in LOVE. gala you look wonderful. coming from another short haired goddess… i loveeee your locks and i will think of it myself… hmmm :)
How random, my wife knows the lady in question. Not so random how she’s also relocated to Melb. Perth Powah!
Gala OMG!!
i have just (as in yesterday) had all of my shoulder length locks cut to a short pixiecut, which looks gorgeous but now seeing your hair i want extensions too!! i too have always had short hair, since i was about 12, and just vary the length from pixie short to ‘POB’ length. I live in Perth WA, and noticed that u mentioned that they have a salon here? How come we dont get the discount over here?
Loyal Reader
I made some human hair extensions for myself but instead of glueing them in I used wig clips so I can have short hair one day and long the next. I made enough for a full head of hair with mega volume. It’s awesome!
the last time i saw – which was like a month ago – was short hair then bang!!
i am missing you so much.
They look way cute.
Maybe it’s just the expression.
But the after shot is frkn awesome!