Did you know that you can actually grow your hair with hair extensions?
One of the common concerns we hear from women at our New York Salons is that hair extensions will damage or destroy their natural hair. We get it. We’ve seen the damage from hair extensions first-hand, and it’s actually one of the reasons that we’re so passionate about i-tip hair extensions.
We’ve recently compared i-tip extensions to both wefts and tape-ins. You can find those comparison-style posts linked before, and now today we’re going to talk more about i-tips and specifically how you can use our hair extensions to grow your natural hair.
What Are I-Tip Hair Extensions?
First things first, let’s talk about i-tips. What they are, how we install them, and finally, how they work to protect your natural hair–ensuring that it continues growing underneath.
I-Tips are a specific type of hair extension method where we take small bundles of hair extensions and attach them to your natural hair using beads. This is the only long-term extension method that doesn’t use heat, glue, or harsh chemicals.
If you’d like to see what the installation method looks like, we’ve shared a couple of videos on Instagram, which you can find here and here.
What We Love About I-Tips
There are so many reasons that we love i-tips, and we don’t think these extensions get the attention they deserve. Here are just a few of the ways that this method stands out:
- Extremely lightweight
I-tips are extremely lightweight, and most of our clients report that they can’t even feel them once they’re installed. Because we’re able to control the size and placement of each bundle, we can add hair where you need it most, and we can promise you that the bundles will never be so heavy that they pull unnaturally on your hair underneath, causing damage or stress to your natural hair.
- Completely customizable
I-tips are also completely customizable; again, we can place the hair bundles where you need them most. If you have very thin hair, we might avoid putting too many rows on the front or sides and instead add an extra row at the back. This ensures you can always style your hair as usual, wearing slick backs and updos without worrying that your extensions will show.
At Olivia Christensen Salon, we also have a specific color-blending customization method created by our founder, Christina. She truly understands women’s hair, including the fact that it’s rarely just one solid color. Each bundle is custom-blended with up to 3-4 different colored strands of hair to give your extensions the natural dimension that your hair already has.
- Easy to style
With i-tips, you can style and treat your hair like normal. If you wear a lot of updos, braids, or half-up hairstyles, i-tips will stay hidden. Our extensions are truly seamless, so no one will ever know you have them.
We recently asked one of our girls if anyone has ever called her out for wearing hair extensions, and she said the opposite: most people don’t believe her when she tells them her hair is fake.
- Safe for all hair types
Finally, this method is safe for all hair types. Because it doesn’t require the use of any harsh chemicals, and because we can customize the size and placement of your bundles, this is truly the only hair extension method that works for women with all hair types–from thin to thick and curly hair.
How I-Tips Help Your Natural Hair Grow
Now that you know why we love i-tips, let’s talk about the ways that they can actually help protect your natural hair and promote natural hair growth while you’re wearing them.
I-Tips Add a Layer of Protection
Your hair extensions add a layer of protection between your styling tools and your natural hair. When you style your hair, of course, those hot tools are still going to affect your natural hair, but they’re also going to be shielded more by your extensions.
The extensions manage to take some of the pressure off your natural hair when styling. Just make sure that you always use a heat protectant, especially because your extensions don’t produce the oils that your natural hair does to protect itself against the elements.
I-Tips Hold Your Style Longer
Not only do i-tips act as a shield, but they also help your hair hold its style for longer. If you have very thin or fine hair, you might have noticed that your curls or styles ‘drop’ only hours after you’ve finished doing them. Extensions (especially high-quality, full-cuticle extensions) help hold your styles longer, so you don’t have to use hot tools as often.
Our clients often tell us that their hair looks good for two or three days after styling, which means less heat in general, and less heat is better for your hair in the long run. This knock-on effect is one of the ways that i-tip extensions help your natural hair grow.
They Require More Frequent Visits to the Salon
With i-tips, you need to come to the salon every 6-8 weeks (depending on how fast your natural hair grows) so we can remove the extensions, comb out any hair fall, and reinstall them.
And yes, this is actually a positive thing, especially if one of your goals is hair growth.
All too often, when women are trying to grow their hair, they avoid going to the hair salon altogether, simply because they don’t want a haircut.
Here’s the thing that most women don’t realize: having your hair cut, styled, and treated at the salon is actually one of the best ways to protect your hair and keep it growing naturally.
Haircuts actually promote hair growth. There’s no magic way to undo split ends; instead, cutting them helps your hair to keep growing and stops the splits from traveling further up your hair. All in all, haircuts keep your hair softer, silkier, and healthier.
While you’re at the salon for maintenance, you can also ask for a hydrating treatment or gloss. This style of treatment is better than anything you can do at home, especially since you need to avoid hair masks while wearing hair extensions (they can cause slippage).
Can you grow your hair with hair extensions?
At the end of the day, when you have i-tips, you’re investing in your hair, which means you’re spending more time and money looking after your hair, which will lead to hair growth. This is one of the most underrated aspects of our hair extensions.
Because i-tip extensions are already so safe for your natural hair, we can confidently say that your hair will not only be protected by our extensions, but it will also grow while you’re wearing them.
There’s a reason so many women keep getting our extensions for years and years.
Come find out what makes the Olivia Christensen method so special. Book a consultation with our founder to learn more about i-tips and get a customized plan for your hair.
Want to learn more about i-tips? Explore our blog for helpful guides, products we love and styling tips.