Hey everyone, Miranda from Salon Society here to talk about growing long and healthy hair! I know that those long-hair goals can be tough to achieve - and you are definitely not alone if you are feeling confused or frustrated by a lack of progress. 

Does it feel like your hair grows the slowest in the whole world? Or maybe know it’s growing because those roots are getting noticeably longer… but your length is not changing?? 

There are some huge factors that tie into these issues and I am here to help with some top reasons why your hair might not be growing:
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​​Moisture is KEY, especially for my curly peeps. Without moisture our hair will not survive the long, dry prairie winters or the hot hot, dusty summers. Did you know dry hair is the number one cause of split ends, breakage, tangles, and dullness? 

A good way to avoid dryness and breakage is to use hydrating products that match your hair needs - to find these shoot me a DM or book a free consultation! Frequent treatments, hair masks, applying oils, and avoiding drying products (such as dry texture sprays and dry shampoos) are also good ways to up your hydration levels. 
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​​Just like our skin needs vitamins to be glowy and healthy, so does our hair. When we lack these things our hair can seem brittle and not hold onto the moisture it needs. I always recommend Collagen, Biotin and Vitamin E to all my clients when they feel like their hair is not growing. Research shows that deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can lead to early hair loss and thinning. Try adding a multivitamin and a hair serum containing vitamins to your morning and/or night routine!
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​Remember Reason #1? Water makes up almost 25% of the total weight of a single strand of hair. It is also the key ingredient in supporting vitamins, which contribute to hair growth. By drinking at least two litres of water a day, your hair will strengthen and grow (and it is super beneficial for your skin and overall health too!!). 
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​When we wash our hair every day we strip away all those beneficial healthy oils - and when we lack oil our scalp panics and starts overproducing sebum to make up for the loss. This is what makes your hair seem “greasy”.

​Washing your hair every day can cause your hair to dry out very fast and lead to breakage. Many people think by wetting your hair, you are giving it hydration, but that isn't the case. The Ph of our water tends to sit around a 7, our hair needs to be between 4.5-5.5 to stay healthy. Try leaving a few days in between your washes, I know it's hard but it will be worth it.

HOT TIP: Check out Nadine’s blog on Co-Washing here to learn how to go more days between washes! 
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​​Using quality salon products is super important. When you buy drugstore products unfortunately you are not getting a bottle of that luscious hair advertised on TV - you’re often harming your hair with harsh chemicals, alcohols, and sulphates that cause hair thinning, breakage, and discoloration.

By using the lines we sell in-salon like Kevin Murphy, Kérastase, and Oribe, you are getting products that have been developed for professionals that are clinically and SASO-tested. These salon products give your hair a better chance of healing, becoming healthy, and maintaining its health.  If you are having trouble finding the right products leave a comment, send me a DM, book a free consultation, or just swing by Salon Society and have a chat with one of us - we love sharing product knowledge! 
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​It is very important to protect our hair while we sleep, especially if you have curly hair or extensions. When we sleep we tend to create friction against our cotton pillows. This friction causes hair to matt, split, and break. A few ways to protect your hair while sleeping are to use silk or satin pillowcases, wear a silk bonnet, braid your hair, sleep with a night serum in - or even better all of the ABOVE! Trust me guys, I do ALL of these things and it has been a game changer!!
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Hot tools such as blow dryers, curling irons, and straighteners can seriously damage your hair. Using high heat on a day-to-day basis, especially without heat protection, can be a huge cause of dry broken hair. You can try cutting down the frequency with which you apply heat to your hair, and add in a really good heat protectant. Instead of heat styles, try heatless styling with braids, heatless curling techniques, claw clips, scarfs and hats to spice up your style routine!

​You're probably thinking, “Jeez, you sound like a broken record”. I'm here to tell you you're not wrong.! All of these things legitimately tie into one another. Think of it like the domino effect; when one thing is off, the rest can slowly spiral out of control as well. ​2023 is the year we say goodbye to dry, broken hair. Let's put ourselves first, start a good routine and make healthy habits!  

​Tape-In Extensions are attached to the hair using adhesive. They are applied by sandwiching your own hair in between two individual tapes. The number of tapes needed will depend on your desired length and/or thickness. The process is repeated with tapes needing to be removed and re-installed each time to move them up. This is repeated roughly every 5-6 weeks, depending on your hair growth rate.

Hand-Tied Weft Extensions are applied by sewing the track of hair into your own hair with a stitching method using beads, string, and a sewing needle. Your stylist will place a row of beads along your head and then sew the hair into place. A move-up can be done 1-3 times without taking the extensions out fully and repeating the whole process. These move-ups are highly recommended to be done every 5 weeks to avoid an overgrown weft.

*Depending on your stylist's skill level with each method, the application times can vary. Personally, it takes me roughly the same amount of time to install a fresh set of extensions of either type, although Express weft move-ups are fast and only take about 5-20 minutes! 

TAPE-IN EXTENSIONS
When the tapes are first installed, it's important to avoid excessive sweating, washing the hair, or using a sauna/steam room for the first 48 hours. It is also recommended to not wear your hair up in a tight bun or ponytail for the first week or so, as doing so can cause too much tension on your scalp. Tapes will need to be removed and reinstalled every 5-6 weeks. The removal is done by spraying the adhesive with a solution to dissolve the stickiness (by 6 weeks, they should be very loose anyways and come out easily), then removing and replacing the old tape adhesive with new, and repeating the process of applying the hair. 

HAND-TIED WEFT EXTENSIONS
Wefts are similar to tapes in the sense of not washing them or getting them wet for the first 48 hours, and not to wear them pulled tight in the first week-ish. With both types it's best to allow your hair to grow a bit so there is less scalp tension. A weft move-up should be done every 4-5 weeks to avoid excessive grow-out space that can cause matting or unwanted damage to the weft's track. If move-ups are pre-booked on schedule, then your stylist should be able to perform an express move-up, which can be done 1-3 times if proper care is taken. An express move-up involves just moving the beads to re-tighten the weft, with no need to remove and reinstall every single time.

*Salon quality products should be used for both tapes and wefts to ensure good hair health.

​Both types of extensions will let you naturally style your hair. 

Although tapes can give you more of an all-over placement due to their customizable nature, they can be much harder to conceal in certain hairstyles. Depending on how long and thick your natural hair is, it may be harder to hide all the tapes in a high ponytail or other updo. With wefts, it is easier to conceal since they have a single track. When it comes to volume, you are still able to achieve some with tapes, although it is easier to have lots of volume with hand-tied wefts.

And there you have the main differences between hand-tied wefts and tape-in extensions! If you’re unsure which type you’d like - book a free consultation!! I would love to help go over the options of which option will work best with your hair!