Help with hair extensions!

[Abbi_123]

I just finished a hair extensions course a few months ago where I got taught using micro rings, shrink rings, fusion bonds and weaving.
Although I am not ready to start doing them professionally as I'm going back to college to train in hairdressing (Don't ask why I did it backwards lol) I've been practising on friends.

Well i'd done about 4 different people and it was going great until this one girl I did last night didn't turn out well. I got taught that if the hair was long enough to tie back into a small ponytail it was long enough for extensions. This girl had a graduated bob with the back coming to about the base of her neck and the front coming to just under her chin and the extenions just didnt seem to blend!!
The colour match was perfect but all you could see was an arch shape from where her graduated bob was, and then long extensions.

Her hair is quite thick and the bob was quite blunt, I added as many extensions as I could (safely) but it still wasn't helping.

Is a thick graduated blunt bob a massive no no for extensions?
I was using the shrink ring method if that makes a difference.

Please don't lecture me, like I said im only still learning and wouldn't dream of charging any money yet.
Practise makes perfect right?

 

[-sophisticutz-]

I think this will probably make more visual sense to you when you do your hairdressing course.

The hair needs to be at least bob length all the way round for lengthening to get the best possible visual result, it also need to be slightly layered.

A graduated/inverted bob, is extremely hard to lengthen and have a nice visual result. All the natural hair needs to be point cut and thinned towards the ends WITHOUT shortening, prior to application. This is a difficult technique but can be achieved once you have the basic understanding of cutting under your belt. Doing this will remove the 'shelf' look you sometimes get with the natural hair to extended hair blend.

Also, as a rule, you should not extend longer than the natural hair's visual length, which is hard to do with this type of bob, as invariably you do have to break that rule.

I always encourage my clients to grow the inversion out first to achieve a more natural result.

 

[Abbi_123]

Thankyou that was so much help!

I'm hoping I will also get more confidence in hair extensions once I complete a cutting course because after last night I really lost all mine.

Also I had a friend who dyes her hair red but it fades to a complete different colour within about a month, I told her that her hair wouldn't be suitable for extensions because after a while the extensions wouldn't match. I suggested she dyed her hair a more natural colour.

Would you agree with that advice?

I really appreciate your help

 

[lilgemgem]

once you have done your hairdressing course you will be able to cut the clients natural hair first, it needs thinning out at the bottom where its so blunt,
the longer the natural hair is the better and less extensions need to be added, i always try to do less around the front of the hair, everyone has there own ways of doing things and the more you practise the better you will get,
good luck x