Here’s the thing. Not many people know, or think about hair extensions. And why would they? Hair extensions, especially on television, are so expertly concealed that nobody would even have a reason to doubt it’s not their real hair. We just look at the TV (or YouTube, whatever you watch these days) and think ‘wow, her hair is GOALS’. 

Well… if you had your own personal beauty expert team working on you every time before you leave your house, pretty sure that everything of yours would be ‘goals’ too, not just your hair. 

When I was in high school, truthfully, I didn’t even know what hair extensions WERE. When I saw celebrities with long, thick, luscious hair I would just think “Wow, lucky them! Wish I had hair like that!”.

Well… TURNS OUT

Does it ever turn out, that literally almost every celebrity wears or has worn hair extensions. 

Don’t just hear it from us. Mindy Kaling (who's also worn hair extensions), said this in her book ‘Why Not Me’:

"The real trick of having gorgeous hair is quantity. Piles of thick, cascading, my-little-pony style hair. To keep up with this trend, everyone uses hair extensions - and I mean everyone.”

What can we say, Mindy? You’ve seen the ins and outs of Hollywood. We believe you, girl. 

Before I started researching about hair extensions more in-depth, I heard all kinds of horror stories - that they damage your hair because they’re clamped, glued, or sewn into your hair and that you can’t even wash your roots out properly (about which, to be honest, I instantly thought - wouldn’t that start smelling bad after a while?? 0 knowledge about how that worked). 

So, when I learned about clip-in hair extensions, I was instantly interested. “So you mean like, I just clip these in myself whenever I want and get long, luscious hair instantly? And it won’t even damage my hair?” Yes, yes that’s exactly what it was. 

At the time of my prom, my hair was shoulder length and frustratingly, just wouldn’t grow past a certain point as a result of endless dyeing it for hair shows which I used to participate in (seriously, attaching a photo as proof… bleaching my hair and dyeing it funky colors in random spots for three years in a row? Let’s just say my hair was NOT happy with me.)

(eeek! let's never do THAT again! lol)

The prom hairstyle that I really wanted was long, cascading soft curls that would go perfectly with my strapless, royal blue prom dress. Not sure why, but I really didn’t feel like going with the generic updo that majority of girls opted for back in the day. I wanted natural, beautifully curled, long hair… and my natural hair just didn’t have the length.

So, when I tried clip-in hair extensions, I was absolutely thrilled with the results. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my shoulder length hair was instantly transformed into long, thick locks, while it hasn’t grown in MONTHS! It was the perfect solution for my prom hairstyle, because in my opinion, having such long and beautiful curls didn’t even require any further styling. Best part? No one even noticed I was wearing hair extensions. Check out some good ol’ pics:

I am wearing the 160g Chocolate Brown Luxy Hair shade in these photos. 

Fast forward to 4 years after that, I got my foot in the door with Luxy Hair. I worked as a customer service rep directly speaking with numerous customers on a daily basis, which has completely shifted my perception about hair extensions and made me realize a few things.

Here’s what I learned. 

In today’s society, a lot of the time hair extensions are seen in a negative light. It may be perceived as superficial to wear hair extensions, and sadly, a lot of girls are judged for it. But what’s important to realize, is that hair extensions are nothing but a tool to help women look and feel more confident. If you have naturally long, beautiful and thick hair - you’re a lucky girl. But some of us aren’t so lucky. Some women have really thin hair either as a result of genetics, stress or an illness, which makes them feel insecure on a daily basis. Or maybe, the hair just won’t grow past a certain point (just like mine used to), or has the length but not the volume. In those cases, we definitely need a little extra help from hair extensions to achieve the hair we’ve always dreamed of. And there is nothing wrong with that - just like we put on a little makeup to enhance our natural look, we can clip in a little hair to feel like a mermaid on our big day (or every day!).

This belief was truly reinforced after reading countless of touching emails and reviews I’ve received from Luxy Hair customers. Luxies helped restore confidence - which helped turn personal and professional lives around for the better. Luxies helped them fall in love with their hair all over again. They helped overcome their darkest moments due to illnesses and/or temporary hair loss. They helped women feel beautiful on the most memorable days of their lives, just like they deserve to. It’s emails like those that make me think - wow, this is truly something that makes a difference. And it’s so empowering.

And I get it, not everybody has a story like this - honestly, sometimes we just want to look a little extra glamorous - and again, there’s nothing wrong with that. I personally think that we need to shift the perception of hair extensions from being superficial, inaccessible, and fake - towards hair extensions being none other than an accessory that helps you look and feel beautiful, a tool that everybody can have access to, not just celebrities. Just like makeup. Just like the nice clothes. Just like those cute shoes. 

In conclusion...

You are beautiful the way you are. And there’s no doubt about that, not one bit. But if you want to rock extra voluminous and longer hair, and if it makes you feel more confident - girl, you do you. *cue Christina Aguilera - who btw, also wears hair extensions* 

Here’s the YouTube track in case you want to throw it back to Xtina days:

Disclaimer:

• This is my true story and all opinions are entirely my own. Clip-in hair extensions are my personal choice of hair extensions, because I’ve never wanted to commit to a more permanent method like tape-in extensions, have them sewn in or micro bonded. I am sure those methods work just as well, depending on your hair and what you’re looking for - I encourage you to learn more about the different types of hair extensions and decide what’s right for you. The reason why clip-in hair extensions appealed to me most, is because of the no commitment, their ease of use, the fact that I was able to clip them in and out whenever I wanted, and also the fact that I could reposition them on my head depending on which hairstyle I wanted to wear. 

• Although clip-in hair extensions are completely safe and cause absolutely no damage to your hair, if you are experiencing severe hair loss, I strongly recommend to consult a doctor in regards to whether wearing hair extensions is right for you. 

• If you are wondering if I still wear hair extensions - I don’t wear them on a daily basis, because I’ve been able to get my hair to a healthy state after all the dyeing and grew my hair out, so it now reaches to my mid-back. But I do love to wear my Luxy Hair extensions for special occasions when I want that extra oomph in my hairstyle. 

For anyone who has any questions at all, shoot me a DM on my Instagram @liliyakay or just ask in the comments below. I'd love to chat with you!

xoxo

Liliya