Clip-In Hair Extensions For Protective Sytling

For the past few weeks I have spent some time on Youtube looking at hair extensions, particularly clip-ins. I have never worn weave before (aside from kinky twists and braids) and thought it might be nice to try something different. Aside from the ability to switch up my looks I was intrigued by the idea of taking my protective styling to the next level without completely loosing access to my hair and scalp.

Three Options for Protective Styling with Clip-Ins

1. Braided Method: This method is similar to that of a sew-in in that I will braid about 3/4 of my hair and apply the clip ins to the braids leaving out a small section to hide the tracks.This will allow me to really hide my hair and give it a break for at least two-weeks at a time if not longer depending on how often I choose to re-braid. I would have zero manipulation on the hair other than the days I wash and re-braid. This method may be best used during the tail end of my relaxer stretch (around the 8 week mark) as this is when my hair becomes the most difficult due to the new growth.
2. Wrap Method: This method involves wrapping the back of my hair from the tips of my ears to the nape of my neck, covering it with a wig cap and clipping the hair onto the cap. The hair from the tips of my ears to my hairline will remain lose to cover the extensions. Since I do not know how to braid I am leaning towards this method both for convenience and for the fact that I will still have complete access to my free hair beneath the wig cap. I can easily moisturize and seal at night and re-wrap. However, with this method there will still be some manipulation since I will have to wrap and unwrap the hair each day.
3. Standard Method: This method is the normal application of clip-in extensions, leaving all of your hair free and simply blending it with the clip ins. You simply part your hair starting at the nape from ear to ear and apply the clip ins moving up the hair until you reach your desired fullness. This method will probably work best when my hair is freshly relaxed, so from zero to 8 weeks post I could wear the clip ins this way without worrying about using excessive heat to blend the style.

Styling Your Clip-Ins

Clip-in extensions not only offer the chance to reduce the level of manipulation and exposure of the hair, but they also offer infinite styling possibilities depending upon the length of hair you use to create the clip ins and your own hair length. These are a few of the many styling options I cannot wait to try:

• Side braids
• French braids
• Fishtail braids
• High buns
• Ballerina buns
• High ponytails
• Loose waves
• Wand Curls

From what I hear clip in hair extensions can be quite pricey and I am not interested in paying hundreds of dollars for hair, so I have decided to make my own. Before beginning the process I did some how-to research on Youtube and found the process LOOKED quite simple. Wrong. I spent all of Saturday measuring, cutting and sewing the wefts together and haven't even attempted to sew on the clips. The process is taking so long I am actually thinking of putting it off until the Winter and rocking flex rod sets for the next few months; but since I have already purchased everything I need I will press on.

Have you tried clip-in extensions?