Meet the It Girl of Extensions
If hair extensions are the goal, Gia is the woman for the job. Considered by many to be the number one hair extension stylist in the U.S, Gia’s services are sought out by Hollywood celebrities, models and fashionable women worldwide. Her career took off at the tender age of 19 and since then her work has appeared regularly on magazine covers, television, and film. The author of “The Perfect Hair Extension: A Technical Guide for the Application of Hair Extensions,†an industry bible, Gia’s expertise is sought out by hair extension companies for her remarkable guidance.Â
Today, Gia resides in Texas, where she is the owner of Gia & Co. salon in Dallas. She also works at Salon Lucien in Dallas as well as the Angus Mitchell Salon in Beverly Hills, when she is not travelling extensively for her clients in the U.S. and abroad.
What advice do you have for choosing a hair extension stylist?
Choosing the right stylist is the key to having a good hair extension experience. Have your extensions applied by a stylist who specializes in hair extensions and works with them on a DAILY basis. Don’t pick a stylist who works with extensions only on occasion. Stylists who have one or more certifications in different types or brands of hair extensions and have been in the industry longer tend to yield better results.
Speak with both hair extension manufacturers and a few stylists. Request to see before and after photos of each stylist’s work. Clients who are educated have more confidence than clients who choose the first extension salon they find.
How do you choose the type of hair extension to get?
Do your research. Look into a few different application methods appropriate to your hair type and texture. Research different brands that offer the application method you’ve chosen for your extensions.
Do not price shop for hair extensions. Hair extension hair AND hair extension stylists are not all created equal. Opting for the cheaper brand in many cases results in excessive hair shedding, hair loss or damage to the scalp, and much frustration for the client. Some stylists will even lower their prices to get more clients to purchase hair extensions, but they do so by lowering the quality of hair used for the appointment or using fewer extensions to complete the hairstyle.
What follow up is required with hair extensions?
Make a check-up appointment with your stylist. Thirty days after the application process, see your stylist to ensure the extensions are being maintained properly. Something as simple as blow drying or using other heated styling tools can damage the extensions at the attachment points causing them to loosen, melt or completely fall out. The longer you wait to resolve any issue like melted bonds or tangling, the worse the issues become over time.
What type of at-home maintenance is needed?
Hair extensions are a high-end luxury service that needs to be budgeted for. Most people do not account for the additional product and styling tools they need to purchase after extensions are applied. Remember that twice as much hair takes twice as much shampoo and styling product.
Remember to brush the hair extensions above the attachment points. This is the single most important thing to keep extensions untangled and wearable for a longer period of time. Don’t just brush the ends of the hair leaving out the root area where the extensions are attached, but start at the root area and work your way down the hair shaft all the way through the ends.
How long do hair extensions last?
Four to five months is the average wear time for individual strand extensions. Remove the hair extensions at the recommended time. Some brands can stay in longer than others due to the attachment method, but that does not mean that they SHOULD stay in longer than recommended. As the client’s natural hair grows, the hair extensions will grow with them, moving the attachment point further and further away from the scalp.
How should hair extensions be removed?
Don’t try to remove your individual strand extensions by yourself. You need to go back to the salon and stylist who applied the extensions to have them removed. Each professional hair extension brand has its own removal process and tools to take their hair extensions out of a client’s hair, and they rarely if ever sell these to anyone other than a stylist.
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