Express Hair Extensions

I love long hair. I yearn for huge, wavy tresses that I can pile on top of my head in a messy hippie bun. I know I’ll never look like Shakira (my hair don’t lie), but I recently decided this was the year to grow out my chin-length bob. ¶ I had been relying on bobby pins and power vitamins to do the job when Amy Jo Hill at Twiggs Salon Spa in Wayzata told me she could add six inches to my hair in 40 minutes with “express hair extensions.” I had never considered this option, assuming extensions would look fake and knowing that I don’t have $3,000 and four hours—the typical investment—to spend on my hair. ¶ “If you see a woman with gorgeous long hair, odds are she’s wearing extensions,” one stylist at Twiggs informs me. Conventional extensions seamlessly bond thin strands of real human hair to your own. Express extensions cost considerably less because they use larger pieces of hair, are attached with adhesive strips, and are more detectable to the wearer. They also need to be reapplied every 8 to 10 weeks. ¶ At Twiggs, Hill worked quickly to meld the extensions to my hair with a hot flatiron. In less than an hour, my bob became a Rapunzel-like mane. A requisite haircut to blend in the extensions left me with a collarbone-length ’do that so perfectly matches my natural shade of blonde I would swear it was my own—if it were not so thick, full, and gorgeous. ¶ At home, I find that a “quick” messy bun takes effort to ensure that the adhesive strips are invisible. I don’t mind though—I’m not a hippie with this hair. I’m a rock star. At least for the next two months.
 

What: Express hair extensions
Where: Twiggs Salon Spa,
785 E. Lake St., Wayzata,
952-258-0200,
twiggssalonspa.com
Time: About an hour
Price: $500