In my twenties I had two sets of glue in hair extensions that totally ruined my hair. 

The first time I had them I’d had my hair cut a bit shorter and immediately regretted it.  I’d always had long waist length hair, but dreamt of short hair. 

Thing was, it just didn’t suit me back then. 

Only now in my thirties have I braved the chop and have shoulder length hair that I finally feel confident enough to wear since having rhinoplasty and a brace! 

It may sound ridiculous but I was so embarrassed of my face before as I had a dreadful nose and very wonky teeth so I used to use my long hair to hide behind! 

With short hair I felt like all my terrible features were more on show and somewhat exaggerated. 

So, having had a chop in my twenties I regretted it and wanted my long locks back.

Why I wouldn’t advise getting glue-in extensions

Back then, say over ten years ago, I don’t remember there being so many hair extension options available, I certainly never saw clip-in hair extensions in the UK. 

I only knew about the keratin bonded hair extensions and there were some local salons that advertised them.  They were pretty expensive at around £300, but I felt desperate and so went for it. 

These extensions took HOURS to put in my hair as they are quite thin strands which are bonded to thin sections of hair.  The keratin bond is melted to the roots of the hair and ‘bonded’.

They looked amazing when first in and I was so pleased, but I didn’t know what was yet to come. 

These hair extensions were SO difficult to manage! 

I was advised to sleep in a plait every night and to use a special shampoo that wouldn’t break down the bond (at a high cost of course). 

After around one week they started to look a bit worse for wear and feel matted at the roots.

After six weeks they were really matted at the back and what I can only describe as a dreadlock was beginning to form at my roots on the back of my head. 

I did occasionally not wear them to bed in a plait through pure laziness and going to bed too late, so I thought I might be to blame.

So, I got a second set. 

This time I followed instructions to the T, but still had the same problem.  I ended up with a messy dreadlock to the roots of my hair.  A big matted mess.  The extensions also began to look unruly after a couple of weeks.

Taking them out was awful too. 

I returned to the salon where it took hours again to remove them, along with large chunks of my own hair! 

My hair was so thin afterwards!

I certainly wouldn’t say it was a pleasant or pain-free experience to remove them.  At one point I had two hairdressers trying to yank the knots from my roots!

5 reasons why clip-in extensions are so much better

Luckily these are not the only way you can have hair extensions and there are now several different options. 

Clip-in extensions look so much better than bonded and I wish I’d known about this option in my twenties. 

Now I do know about them I have an option to make my hair longer again if I do get bored with my new short look.

Here are five reasons why clip-in extensions are so much better for you and your wallet:

1.      They are so much cheaper

I paid around £300 just over ten years ago for a full head of professionally applied bonded hair extensions.  This obviously isn’t very budget friendly. 

Clip-in extensions, on the other hand, are much more affordable with websites such as cliphair.co.uk selling a full head from only £49.99 for 15 inches. 

They also offer a free colour matching service, free colour exchange and free shipping so you’ll not be out of pocket trying to find the right colour match either.

2. They won’t ruin your hair

They’ll not ruin your hair as they are not permanently attached. 

They are removable and attached with plastic clips, no different to using hair ties or regular hair accessories. 

Your normal hair will look the same when they are taken out with no excessive hair loss or dreadlocked matted hair in sight. 

They are designed for temporary use, so are not left in all the time damaging your hair.

3. They are easy to use

These extensions are much easier to use.  They can be applied yourself and do not need professional assistance. 

The clips are simply standard hair clips which anyone can insert easily to their own hair.

4. You can change your style daily

Clip-in extensions are temporary and flexible.  You can take them in and out whenever you please so you are not tied to the same hairstyle. 

You can add them for a night-out or special event only if you wish.

5.  They last forever

OK, maybe not forever and ever, but much longer than bonded extensions which are thrown away once removed from your hair after 6-8 weeks. 

This makes them more cost effective again as they are not just for single use.