Kim Kardashian has tried a number of different colours in her hair over the years and photos show evidence of thinning. Photos / Getty Images
Five years ago wearing hair extensions would have been seen as déclassé. Certainly, you’d never catch a well-heeled woman over 45 dabbling with glued-in hair pieces. Going to such lengths (pardon the pun) was reserved for Love-Islanders or Paris Hilton, whose onscreen personas are designed to be exaggerated.
All that’s changed, thanks to a new breed of hair pieces. With incredibly natural results – made evident this week when the usually abundantly-locked Kim Kardashian, 42, shared a glimpse of her natural hair on social media, which was shockingly sparse without her usual extensions – bolstering thinning hair is now readily available to everyone.
Kardashian isn’t alone. According to the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerolody, one in 10 people suffered hair loss due to Covid. And in a recent report by luxury hair extension brand Beauty Works, one in four women experiences some form of hair thinning, with 84 per cent admitting that the state of their hair (good or bad) directly impacts how they feel about themselves.
The reasons for hair thinning are vast and complex. Depleting oestrogen and fluctuating testosterone can cause this, affecting women in the menopause transition. Yet stress, heat styling and highlighting (cue a bleached Kardashian at last year’s Met Gala in New York) have been shown to take their toll on hair health too, while poor gut health and the toxic ingredients found in some haircare products have also been linked to hair breakage.
A previously male-dominated market, the plight of female hair loss has finally caught the attention of the beauty industry. In the past three years, there’s been an influx of scalp tonics and hair growth supplements designed for long term improvements, but whether these often expensive products make a sizeable difference is questionable. One thing is for certain – the confidence-crushing stigma that comes with hair loss calls for instant relief.
“For a long time hair extensions were considered taboo, but thanks to social media platforms a much wider audience can see what a difference they can make to not only length, but thickness too,” says Color Wow ambassador and Kardashian’s hair stylist, Chris Appleton, who’s been behind every one of the reality star’s major hair changes in the past five years, including the Met Ball blonde.
There are two main options: salon extensions, which will look the most realistic and last up to three months, and inexpensive clip-ins that can be taken in and out as desired.
For long term hair fullness, and especially for more complex issues, such as women who have lost a lot of hair post-cancer, for instance, a skilled hairdresser who is specifically trained in extensions is the best and lasting option. Vicky Demetriou at Larry King’s South Kensington salon is skilled at volumising the trickiest of cases. “Women come to me to fix a problem, whether that’s to amplify the hair around the crown or to thicken a thinning hairline,” says Demetriou.
Without getting too technical, while there are multiple application methods from tapes to braided weaves that are most suitable for afro or coily, textured hair, Demetriou mainly uses cold fusion keratin bonds using Great Lengths human hair from ethical traceable sources (if untraceable, it can mean they’ve been obtained by unscrupulous means).
“Great Lengths uses Temple hair from consenting donors in India that would otherwise be discarded. The proceeds then go back into the community,” says Demetriou who says that Indian hair, as opposed to European, has a slight bend that gives necessary fluidity. Furthermore, the hair pieces, which come in over 100 shades are colour treated without peroxide using natural colours derived from cashmere, in a process that takes over 20 days to achieve to retain its quality and silkiness.
For targeted areas such as the hairline, which can become thin with age, post-pregnancy or following an illness, she applies tiny strands that hug the hairline and are fused with tiny dots of an invisible solution. “It allows me to manipulate the placement precisely on short, receding areas that wouldn’t be possible with other methods.”
Can you go to your local hairdresser for extensions? While it’s worth asking, bespoke extension work is a specific skill that traditional hairdressers are unlikely to provide, therefore seek out your nearest hair extension specialist for the best results.
However, if you simply want help inserting a few clip-ins or a faux ponytail for a party, it’s more than likely your local salon will be happy to apply them for you and style the end look for the price of a blow dry.
I thought after being completely bald thanks to chemotherapy a decade or so ago that I wouldn’t care at all about my hair – just having any is something to be grateful for. But in the last year or so what I assume is post-menopausal shedding has become quite noticeable. I wash my hair every day and there’s always a lot of strands in the brush.
So the idea of extensions is hugely appealing. But would I be able to carry it off without looking like an ageing reality star? The good news about modern extensions is that they can be purely for thickness, not for length. I fancy the idea of my long bob looking glossy and thick.
The cost of having added hair is not that much more than a posh haircut and now, nearly three months later, I am sure that it’s worth it. Vicky Demetriou from the London salon Larry King was the perfect mix of brisk and kind – attaching a cunningly blended mix of real hair pieces to my own strands quickly, using a hot “gun” to keep them perfectly in place. Once cut to length and blowdried, the transformation was extreme – to my eyes at least; to everyone else it just looked like I was having a good hair day.
Of course I couldn’t replicate the glossy look every day, but having a chunky ponytail felt amazing. I followed Vicky’s advice to comb with care, blast with a warm dryer each day and use a bit of dry shampoo spray for volume at the roots as it grows.
A few pieces have now come loose, so I’d have to go back to have them removed and replaced fairly soon. If you work out the cost per wear, hair extensions are worth every penny, at least to the straggly-haired.
Clip-ins are a relatively inexpensive option as they can be applied at home without glue or tape. A full set can be ordered from Amazon, for instance, for less than a sushi takeaway, but it’s worth noting that not all extensions are created equal. Some of the best come from Beauty Works, which uses Remy human hair (untreated, thus the most natural-looking) that can be heat treated, washed and styled as if it’s your own. Available in 40 shades including highlighted and multi-tonal shades, it’s ethically sourced and traceable.
Synthetic hair is an alternative, but will never pass for real hair.
Clip-ins come in a variety of widths with either two or four clips. If you’re using them to create a full head of hair, then the wider pieces go at the back and the smaller ones at the sides and front. However, Appleton suggests that one small piece either side of the face can be all you need to fill out the front of the hair line that typically thins with age.
Simply lift the top layer of hair, tease the hair beneath an inch or two below your part, then clip in the hair piece and, if you need it, mist some hairspray for extra hold, suggests Appleton. “It’s like scaffolding for hair, instantly filling out sparse areas. When I use hair pieces on my clients, their demeanour changes immediately – it’s an instant youth boost.”
Hair extensions aside, you can fake fullness with one or two clever products in your kit, such as a mist of dry shampoo at the roots, which will soak up oil and swell the hair slightly.
Alternatively, try Color Wow’s Root Lift, a coloured solid hair powder, which Appleton uses to give the illusion of a thicker hairline.
To prevent breakage, Demetriou recommends sleeping on a silk pillowcase, and if your hair is long, forgo traditional hair bands for a silk scrunchie, which will lessen the tug and pull that leads to breakages. Diet-wise, as hair is made up of keratin (protein) try switching to a protein-rich breakfast, which trichologist Anabel Kingsley says will feed the follicle with nutrients it needs to stay strong.
If you need a break from the slopes or don’t fancy a ski, there’s still a lot to do this.