by Mattison Brooks

Created on: April 16, 2008

Up until about three years ago, I had somewhat of an obsession with hair dye. It was not uncommon for me to dye my hair as many as three times in a week. My last coloring venture left me with pinkish purple mush on my head. My hair had been bleached and died so many times, it had literally melted. My hair at the time was already short-I had a "pixie cut." Lots of my hair broke off- leaving me with about one and a half inches of hair length on top, and a half inch or so in the back. I was devastated. I had no idea what I could do to save my hair. I borrowed some money from my sister, and headed straight for the salon. I decided to get hair extensions done by a professional. The woman braided my hair into cornrows, and sewed the human hair extensions in. The trouble was, my hair was too short to braid in the back, so she left it alone. The result reminded me of Davy Crockett's coon skin cap! It was horrible beyond measure. I tried to keep an open mind-I thought maybe it would grow on me. It didn't. My family's reaction confirmed my worst fears-I looked hideous. I learned an expensive lesson-over the course of one month, I ended up giving this hairdresser over three hundred dollars in "maintenance."

I do not give up easily. I was bound and determined not to walk around in public with pink mush for hair.I began to research extensions with a vengeance. I visited some local beauty supply stores, and came to the conclusion that I could do this myself. After all, I did take that one semester of cosmetology in high school! I purchased some human hair extensions from a beauty supply store,14 inches in length, in a lovely medium brown. I also bought a medium brown hair color for my own hair. I decided to use the glue in technique, because I knew that I could do that myself. After applying the hair color to my hair, I dried it, and began to put the extensions in. The hair comes in wefts- you cut the length you need, and glue it right in. (Never glue the hair directly to your scalp. This inhibits new hair growth and can be damaging.) Through trial and error, I discovered that you should not glue any extensions below the middle of your ears. This allows for the most natural look, allowing you to wear ponytails and updo's. Of course, your natural hair needs to be atleast 3-4 inches in order for this to work.

I had many mistakes and successes with my hair extensions. The first time I put them in, I wasn't very good. Over time, I grew better and better-until I could create

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