Monday, 15 March 2010
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Should I Allow My Teenage Daughter to Get Hair Extensions?
Yesterday my sixteen year old daughter L asked my permission to get hair extensions -as in, sew-in, semi-permanent hair extensions. I'm sort of torn on whether or not I should allow this.
On one hand, my daughter is going through her formative years, and I understand if she wants to experiment with her appearance a little (as long as she's not experimenting with other things). She's old enough to understand the consequences of what she'd be doing, and old enough to make her own decisions.On the other hand, I know a few things about hair extensions.I know that they're extremely expensive, not necessarily something I want to pay for. I know that they can lead to permanent bald spots, infection or irritation of the scalp, and damage to hair follicles, just to name a few. As much as I love L, I'm worried that she's not going to take care of her hair as well as she should.What's your opinion on this? Should teenagers be allowed to get permanent hair extensions?
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Comments (118)
If she understands the concequences of using them and pays for them, than yes. If her hair breaks a bit, big deal. Real hair does grow back.
I think there's no problem with extensions. She's 16, shes going to want to experiment with her appearance, the best way to do
that is with hair and makeup, it's not permanent on your body so it can always be changed.
If you don't want to pay the money, there are cheaper and better ways to go about getting extentions.
Clip in and glue in extensions are better for the hair than sewn in ones. I'm in school to be a cosmetologist, and most salons
currently do SO CAP USA extensions, or some other form of human hair extensions which are glued in.
Clip in extensions usually won't cost over 50 to 100 dollars, while gluing or sewing them in by a professional can be extremely costly.
Start with the clip in ones to see if she likes them, maybe if she saves some money she can help pay for the cost of glued in ones.
I think teenagers should be able to do whatever they jolly well please with their hair, provided that they pay for it. It is one area where if they screw up, the only consequence is they look ridiculous, rather than end up a homeless, 35-year-old drug addict someday or become parents before they're ready. I think people who are learning to be more independent and learning who they are need a few things they can experiment with that has possible unpleasant but not life-altering consequences if it goes wrong.
If she is the one paying for it, but you still are concerned about bald spots, etc, you can discuss those concerns with her in a calm, rational manner, but make it clear it's still her choice.
im 21 and my mom starts flipping out when i dye my hair, and ive done it twice in the past 3 years.
i would say no to permanant, just because ive heard so many bad stories that can effect her right now ans as well in the future and who knows after she gets it....she might not want it anymore then what????????
but i would say yes to clip ons!, i mean im not a parent, but i think permanant will damage her head, and clip ons the same thing except not permanant!
You should ask her if she would be interested in clip in ones. In all honesty, I do not think hair extensions are bad, but you are right... they are expensive. Maybe you should tell her that it is something she wants that is only for luxury, that she has to pay for it. Or maybe you could pay a certain portion of it, and leave the rest to her. That is what my parents do. If it's something not important, they will not pay for it.
Make her pay for them herself.
Make sure she realizes the consequences of getting hair extensions if she doesn't take care of them. Tell her that she can get them but only if she agrees to do certain chores or pay you back somehow for the expense.
@PeaceeLoveeMee@xanga - I agree. Go to Sally's Beauty Supply and get some from the Sassy collection. I got 10" extensions and they only cost $12, pretty inexpensive for real hair extensions.
what's the big deal they are not permanent.
I'd say first get clip in ones, you might love the way she looks with the extensions in. Or, you can get extensions yourself and sew in the clips. That's what my father did. You can find them cheap on certain sites. Fake hair is cheaper and it can look real if done right. You don't have to get it done professionally. Clip in extensions are much better for if she gets tired of the longer extensions and doesn't want them anymore, knowing how teens change their minds a lot about thier appearence. I know, within 4 months I changed my hair style about 10 times. I cut it way short (buzz cut in the back) and longer for bangs. Just tell her to try cheaper, clip in extensions to see if she likes them and if she's sure she wants to keep them. And mention to her that it's a pain to get them sewn in, that's why I decided to get clips to sew into my extensions that I had.
get her the clip ins instead of the permanent ones. theyre easier to maintain and a lot cheaper.
Hey I go to cosmetology school and honestly, get the clip in kind. Less expensive. No damage to her hair unless she rips at them. Comes with instructions on application & care-how simple can it get? You can straighten them /curl them/wash & color them too.
Good luck & I wish L & her hair the best:)
And to the Mom of L: don't stress too much, its not good for YOUR hair. :)
clip ins are better, make sure there made out of human hair though so she can straighten and curl them. my sisters have them and they are amazing there about 80$ though
I'd go with clip in ones for sure.
i'm a cosmetology student & i have NEVER heard any of the cons you have listed. especially the infections or bald spots. sew in extensions are very durable & if done right, you can hardly tell that they're in at all. however, if your daughter DOES have damaged hair from colouring it too much, it will cause the hair to break at the scalp. i would talk to an expert before you make assumptions about how they'll effect your daughter.Â
I agree with many of the others on here--compromise and go with clip-in extensions. They're much cheaper than the semi-permanent extensions and completely safe. Plus, the fact that they're clip-ins give much more versatility with how your daughter wants to wear her hair.
As somebody who has become a self-taught expert on hair extensions (with five years of experience), I'd HIGHLY recommend she get clip-ins. Sally Beauty Supply sells EuroNext clip-in extensions that are high quality and 100% human hair. These only cost about $70-90. They're easy to put in and she can wear them when she chooses. With sew-in extensions, it becomes difficult to style your hair different ways; even a simply ponytail may reveal the weave sewn onto her scalp.
Eh.. I would tell her no, but explain why extensions are bad. I'm sure she'll think "Well, it won't happen to me." but you need to help her understand that yes, it could happen to her. She'll thank you later.
Guess it's a culture thing but black girls get weaves as young as 3 or 4. A 16 year old would definitely be allowed to have weaves: full sew ins, glue ins, lace fronts and the like. Not all extensions are very expensive, and definitely not permanent at some point do you have to take them out. And most important that a lot of people don't realize, no matter their culture is that you still have to take care of your natural hair underneath with regular washing and moisturizing, in order for the weave to not be damaging to the hair or scalp. I wouldn't recommend glue in weaves though. Either clip ins or sews ins, are much more healthy for the hair.
It's very interesting to me to see other cultures views on weaves for their young daughters, and worrying that its as aspect of growing up too fast. I don't think you should be too worried, because if what she's wanting is longer or fuller hair, it's something that can also be achieved naturally and I'm sure you wouldn't consider her having naturally long or naturally thick hair her growing up too fast. It's not like make up or clothes that are specifically used to affect looks.
If she has to earn her own money in order to get them, that's cool too.
I got it on my 18th bdae, had it for 3 months only and I regretted it. The person did a bad job removing it ending up hurting my hair scalp and ever since I had a phobia of someone touching my hair! My mom did warn me, but as you can see I didnt listen and I suffered the consequences.
Wait what? They have permanent extensions now?
I was allowed to wear extensions at an early age, mostly in braids. I would say when I was around 7 but my mom did it most times.
I got my first sew for senior picture.
I wear a lot of weaves and half of the time I got it done at a shop. The most was around 220 for micros-braids.
I think perhaps she needs to start with something smaller.
Before going permanent have her get sew ins that aren't permanent. Go with her to the shop and ask questions and tell your daughter that if she doesn't keep up with it and take care of her hair she won't get any more extensions unless she pays for it herself.
and also, I can not stress this enough, Do not let her take them out herself. She must must must go to a shop to get them removed or it can lead to hair lost and damage.
However considering that I know nothing about permanent hair extensions, the word permanent scares me. Don't start with permanent yet.
Can someone send me a link to these permanent extensions? I'm curious now
why doesn't she want to grow out her hair the natural way? i have long hair and it's all mine. i used to have hair that was past my butt level. i cut it all off to shoulder length and it's at waist level. i never had someone else's hair stuck on my head.
You know, i get the glue ones all the time, and i spend no more then 20 dollars on them. I have a beauty store, that i guess would say is targeted a little more for african americans, (but i dont want to generalize) and there anywhere between 9.99 and like 20.00 or more expensive depending on length style, and if you get actual REAL human hair. and the glue is like 3 or 4 dollars a bottle and it lasts a LONG time, ive had the same 2 or 3 oz bottle for like 2 years, granted, i dont use them all the time, but it does last awhile.
Its really to apply it, just part the hair, i put the glue on the actual extension, some put it on the scalp, but doing it myself, i find my way much easier. The glue doesnt make a mess. You drop it on a sink, just rub it off, same with if it gets on your hands. The best thing to do, is after you get it in place, run a hair drier over it, it helps it to adhere better and faster. You can comb your hair and wash your hair, When you want to remove it, when you take a shower and use conditioner and lather the conditioner over it, it helps to losen it. And just pull it out, then take a fine tooth comb and get the rest out. Its simple. I have never had, or no anyone whos gotten any infections doing it. I guess, as long as you keep your hair clean and wash it, dirt and stuff wont get all over it.
Another thing you can do is get the clip on ones. I personally dont know what they go for in terms of price, BUT you can purchase the extensions at the store and ebay sells brand new clips in large quanitites. You will of corse have to sew them on yourself, but its really cheap, and you can use them forever, Unlike with the glue. Eventually you will have to get rid of them because the glue will build up.
Im not sure where you live but if you have a sallys beauty supply, i do NOT suggest buying from there unless you want to spend a over 50 bucks.
But being 16 i think thats an ok age to do it. I dont see a problem with it. Its fun and another way to express yourself and try new things, and being sixteen, its a lot of fun. She can do different styles for school dances and everything. I love them.
Personally, I wouldn't pay for my daughter to get hair extensions. If she really wanted them, she would need to get a job to pay for them. My husband is a barber & went to hair school (actually has a cosmotology license), so he would know more about the issue, and I would let them make the decision together. But my initial thought is... I'm not paying for something you can grow for free!
as a lot of others said, if she wants them she can pay for them. but she should definitely be educated on all sides and IMO talk to people who put them in (and if you can find some people who have had both good and bad experiences with them she should talk to them too).
If the money comes out of her own pocket she is more likely to take caring for them more seriously.
I started dying my hair at 15, and I had to pay for it myself. Hair dye, when done improperly, can damage your hair.. but 13 years later my hair is thicker and better then ever so everyone is different.