Choosing extensions is five decisions, not one. The line, the shade, the length, the weight and the quantity — and each follows from what the client is actually asking for, not from what sounds best. This page is the order in which to ask.
- 01
What is the brief: length, volume, or coverage over fine hair?
Length and volume are a brief for tape. Coverage and density in a specific area are a brief for weaving. Very fine, delicate hair, or a first job — gel tape. This decision settles all the others, which is why it comes first.
- 02
What condition is the natural hair in?
Fine hair, lightened hair, hair after a keratin treatment — each sets a limit. After a straightening treatment you generally do not fit immediately. Coloured hair decides the kind of shade (a lightened blend rather than a flat shade).
- 03
The shade — in daylight, at mid-length
Not under the salon lamp, and not at the root. If you are between two shades, take the darker. If the client is colouring in the same appointment, colour first and match after. Shade guide.
- 04
Length and weight together, never separately
Long length at low weight gives long, see-through hair, and that is the most common complaint after an application. When the length goes up, the weight goes up with it. What each number measures.
- 05
What the client is willing to do at home
The decision that most often breaks a good result. A gentle method needs gentle aftercare: salt-free shampoo, no conditioner at the root, no heat on the bond. A client who will not do that has not chosen well, however perfect the shade. What to tell her.
What actually goes wrong
Three recurring mistakes
Picking a shade from a screen
Lighting, screen calibration and texture all change what you see. A shade chosen on a screen is an expectation formed outside the salon, and the disappointment lands once the client is already in the chair.
Ordering length without weight
The longer the length, the thinner the same amount of hair looks spread over more centimetres. Length is what gets asked for; weight is what makes it look real.
Skipping the aftercare conversation
The instructions are not a sheet handed over on the way out. The first 48 hours, where the mask goes, which shampoo, and what to do after the sea — those are four things the client needs to hear, not read.
What would make this a real tool
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