Since August 2015 I have had tape-in hair extensions. I used to want to hide that I had extensions, but honestly I love talking about them. No shame in getting extensions if it makes you feel confident. The pros outweigh the cons, but if you are seriously considering getting them there are a few things you should now.

Pros:

Beautiful Princess Hair and Insane Thickness

This is the most obvious "pro." Why else would you be reading this if you didn't want to get extensions in the first place? Adding 30-60 1-inch wefts will greatly increase the length and thickness of your hair.

With great thickness comes great responsibility. You definitely shouldn't be using the thin Goody hair ties that you have been using since high school. Upgrade your hair tie game to my favorite hair ties by L. Erickson. They don't leave creases in your beautiful locks and they are perfect for thick hair.

Cost

If you are interested in extensions, you already know that you're about to spend some cash. The price of tape-in extensions is three-fold. You spend money on the hair up front, the installation and maintenance.

This is an actual picture from my stylist. That's yours truly in the chair.

The hair: Tape-in extensions start at around $300 and range upwards to $800. It depends on the quality of hair. This all depends on your hairdresser and your budget. Some hair does last longer than others. What needs to "last" is the track where the tape sits. If they start getting torn up, then those are close to being toast.

The installation: The norm seems to be $10 per weft. If you have 30 wefts, you are looking at $300. This is normal pricing. Depending on your salon, you may also be charged to "blend" the extensions in. Prices will vary.

The maintenance: The maintenance is about the same at the installation: about $10 per weft. I prefer to let my extensions kinda fall out on their own before I go see my hairdresser so he has less work to do.

Wake up with beautiful Hair

Extensions tend to have a different texture than your own hair. Extensions will hold a curl so much better than my own hair. I recommend sleeping with your hair in a bun with tape-in hair extensions. When you take it out it will be beautiful and still curled. Amazing.

Cons:

Sticky Hot mess

When your tape-in extensions start to fall out, it can leave a residue in your hair that will make your hair feel greasy and sticky. Not only will the residue get stuck in your hair, but it will also make your hands sticky if you are pulling them out. Now this will only happen for a select amount of time, so it's not that big of a deal...but it's pretty annoying.

You can fix this! Buy some bond remover to get the tacky glue out of your hair.

Maintenance

Like any extension type, there is a lot of maintenance. With tape-ins you can treat them like regular hair. Sleep with them, shower with them, and even swim with them. If you do get chlorine or salt water in your hair, you should shower as soon as possible. Whenever you shower, you should always dry your hair (at least where the tracks are). It isn't good practice to let you hair air dry with extensions in.

Now, I wouldn't recommend putting a new set of tape-ins in by yourself. It is worth the money to have someone do it for you so they can blend them, and frankly this can be an exhausting process. Having said that...if you have a few extensions fall out in between you can replace them on your own. This is the tape my hairdresser uses and you can order it on Amazon Prime!

Overall

I love my tape-in hair extensions. They are really easy to take care of and they look super natural. They have never damaged my hair and they look great! Have you ever used hair extensions? Let me know in the comments!

Pros and Cons of Tape-in Hair Extensions