Pain is Beauty

I love having long hair that feels full of volume and looks beautiful.  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only who feels that way.  I'm lucky enough to have long hair that is easy to work with and can do almost anything.  Some short styles aren't so easy to handle. 

 The solution can sometimes be to get hair extensions.  Hair extensions have become the must-have accessory with celebrities and starlets, it's no wonder why ordinary women are going to their closest hair stylist and asking for longer and fuller hair.  Hair extensions attach to a person's scalp and you can either weave, glue, or clip it on. But, there can sometimes be side effects. I was reading some stories about hair extensions on http://www.yahoo.com/, and these stories changed my thoughts about the innocence of this must-have accessory. 

Maya Romas, 22, started using clip-on hair extensions to make her hair fuller and longer.  After three months, she noticed that her hair was falling out near the extensions, and pieces of hair fell out randomly.  Romas decided to go to a hair loss expert.  The specialist diagnosed Maya with traction alopecia, a form of gradual hair loss caused primarily by a pulling force being applied to the hair.  The specialist told her to leave the extensions alone and the hair should grow back. After one year of giving up hair extensions, Maya Romas hair was back.  

Unfortunately, sometimes there isn't a solution. Chioma Odimegwu, 25, is considering getting a hair transplant due to the extensions she once had.  Odimegwu first started with hair extensions when she was only 19.  After six years of hair extensions, it resulted in permanent hair loss.  When Chioma first started with extensions, her real hair was very thin and she was balding.  She decided to go back to get more extensions so that it would cover any bald spots.  But, the second time around, it only worsened the problem.  When she took out the new extensions, her  hair was very, very sparse.  Like Maya, Chioma decided to go to a hair loss specialist and see whether she had any options to keep her real hair.  She tried many different doctor-recommended products, such as female Rogaine, which tries to grow back hair. Nothing worked for Chioma, and now she has many bald spots and thinning hair.

Before I read this stories, I didn't think anything bad of hair extensions.  I thought that extensions were great for anyone who wants to have a few more inches of hair.  Now, knowing all this, would you still get hair extensions? Me personally, I wouldn't.  I love my hair too much to risk the chance of going bald. Plus, getting extensions professionally done can cost anywhere from $100 to $1,000 or more! 

If I had a thousand dollars to spend, I would spend it on something that wouldn't thin my hair or cause me to go bald.  Everyone woman out there who is thinking of getting hair extensions should do some research first and try and find the safest way to get the beautiful hair they want!