We all have seen the struggle. We all have sifted through hundreds of YouTube videos. Are some of these hair extensions brands worth it, or are these sponsored hair guru's faking it. One thing is for sure, I had to get to the bottom of it. Here is my brutally honest hair extension review. The best and worst hair extension brands.
While going through these video reviews I've seen, I can tell you almost every single one of these gurus review these extensions right when they take them out of the box. If you know me, time is key. You cannot review something like extensions after having then for just 1 day or even a week.
I sifted through to the unsponsored reviews, I sifted through some fake "honesty", and most of all - I sifted through those pesky affiliate codes. Now is time for my BRUTALLY honest review of multiple hair extension brands I've tried.
A little background on my hair extension history. I've been wearing hair extensions for almost 10 years now. I've been dying hair for longer than I've worn extensions.
I ALWAYS recommend checking SiteJabber and Complaints Board for honest reviews!
VPFASHION
Probably one of the most talked about brands of extensions especially through the colorful hair community. In mid 2016 I do have to admit I became an ambassador for this brand, but that will NOT affect my brutally honest review and experience with this company.
This brand has hundreds if not thousands of their affiliates and brand ambassadors promoting this hair line. As a used-to-be affiliate myself, I can tell you that every time one of our codes was used we were getting 10% of the sale. I feel like many influencers, although claim they aren't about the money, will petal push these extensions for the little pay.
To explain these extensions more. They usually come in a set of 7 pieces (one 4 clip weft, two 3 clip, two 2 clip, and two 1 clip pieces). I completely feel like for a full head of hair, you'd need 2 sets of these extensions because quite frankly there aren't enough clips. Also, I'm a biased despised person of one clip extension pieces - I think it's a complete waste. This hair tends to get thinner towards the end, and hair very little shedding which I don't feel a complaint about. Lastly for their physical first appearance, this brands consideration of blonde is almost a pale mustard yellow color.
These extensions do ship from China and upon looking into trademark I found that they're owned by the the Chinese company Nanjing Walland Technology. The same company owns RPGshow, MyFirstWig, and HerGivenHair. This means that VPfashion is NOT a United States based company so they claim to be, as well as that you can order from these other companies they own and get the same products across each website. View proof of these brands owned by a Chinese wholesale company HERE.
First out of package photo. 22" 220g VPfashion hair extensions.
I have tried both the mixdyeable and and human hair extensions from this brand. To be brutally honest, even being sponsored as an artist - these extensions are complete shit. I've had to e-mail this representitive multiple ties about the extensions being frizzy, looking fried, and even the clips getting rusted. Each time I did claim something was wrong, they would give me excuse after excuse on how I could "better care for my extensions".
After 1 wash with purple toning shampoo. A little frizzy, about half an inch of dead ends (which I did cut off), and overall extremely lighter)
I have to admit, the Mix Dyeable hair extensions would be good for the price if you are somebody who frequently dyes their hair. Since the price is about 50% cheaper than normal human hair extensions - a frequent dye hard fan would possibly love that these can take about 3 dye jobs before they fall to shit.
2nd dye with vegan hair color. At this point I've cut off about 2 inches of the hairs dead ends. The hair is still a little frizzy as expected. At this point, one of the hair extensions clips has broke but they ship their extensions with extra clips in case that happens - so all was alright for me.
I stopped wearing these hair extensions a little after this dye because after a few heat styling sessions the hair felt way too frizzy and unlike my real hair to continue wearing them. Etc.. My real hair texture and the extension texture just didn't mix.
MINIHOUSE8888
I'd have to say amongst the colorful hair community, Minihouse8888 comes close in competition for VPfashion. This brand doesn't have excessive popularity, which makes me question why because at least they're better than VPfashion.
Appearance explanation time! The best plus side to this brand I feel is that they offer sets up to 10 wefts unlike many others that offer 7 or 8 (The 10 piece set includes two 4 clip, two 3 clip, two 2 clip, and four one clip wefts). Upon unboxing - these extensions are extremely a fat colored yellow. They have little to medium shedding but stay thick from clip to tip.
These extensions as well are shipped from China although it's "owner" is based in claims it is based in Florida. I also have found out that shopping the Minihouse8888 Ebay page and 50% cheaper than buying on their actual website. I also find that LuxyHair ships their products in the same exact style box (just different color) and they seem to have the same hair extensions sets as Minihouse - so it's likely the same manufactured hair extensions just sold by different companies).
I have 2 sets of Minihouse8888 extensions. The top extensions have already been toned and dyed once to match my hair and the bottom is right out of the box.
These extensions seem to tone and dye extremely well. They have significant less frizz then VPfashion, and barely any of the ends had to be cut off.
I have noticed that these extensions will mat and tangle very easily throughout wear so they so need constant upkeep and brushing. When I store these back in its box I like to braid the extensions to keep them from tangling and getting any frizz.
My final thoughts and honest review for Minihouse8888 would be that these are an okay choice for anybody who likes to dye their hair and wear extensions not everyday - but frequently. I received these extensions before ever trying VPfashion and noticed the superior quality. These extensions are still alive and sitting in their box so they have lasted over a year (but I have not worn these extensions but probably 100 days total throughout my time having them).
MILK+BLUSH
Previously known as DirtyLooks, I feel Milk+Blush doesn't get the recognition it really deserves. This brand has a wide variety of color choices and collections. They as well carry DIY kits that include extensions and hair dye or extensions and bleach which is something pretty much NO other company does. Milk+Blush as well ships their extensions with a booklet that contains instructions and such on how and where to clip the extensions in, how to dye the extensions (and they even list safe dyes for their extensions), and the booklet even contains how to care for them such as styling, brushing, and heat guidelines.
Appearance wise, these extensions tend to be true to the color swatches on their website. These come in a classic sex with 10 pieces (one QUAD wefted 4 clip, two 3 clip pieces, four 2 clip pieces, and two 1 clip pieces) Through my lifetime so far I have tried 3 sets of theirs and continue to go back as well as recommend them for clients. The extensions stay thick and do not shed pretty much AT ALL.
Milk+Blush is shipped from the United Kingdom, which is a change from all these Chinese companies. They seem to have extremely unique sets and colors - so I've come to the conclusion that these extensions are pretty much one of a kind and not cheap. These extensions are perfect for anybody with a thick head of hair due to their amount of pieces and ability to spread out and blend.
Photo via Pinterest. As you can see these extensions look extremely healthy and beautiful. As I can't find photos on file of my sets - I can tell you they look exactly like this.
LIBERTY HAIR EXTENSIONS
(Expect a review coming for this set shortly)
My most recent find and hair extension set I've tried is from Liberty Hair Extensions. This brand is extremely new, if not JUST RELEASED. They carry a nice variety of colors, and up to 22" 250g extremely thick hair.
The looks of these extensions is true to color. These have been the ONLY set of extensions I've received that perfectly matched my blonde "almost white" hair. They come in a set of 8 pieces (two 4 clip pieces, two 3 clip pieces, and four 1 clip pieces). These extensions have has ZERO shedding, they are really true to color, silky smooth, and overall just beautiful.
This brand is based in the United Kingdom as well as shipped from the UK. With a wide variety color and the ability to actually match an extremely blonde color - these extensions will get the full 5 stars from me.
FINAL RANKING
1. Liberty Hair Extension | Milk+Blush
2. Minihouse8888
3. VPfashion
Please note I have not tried Bellami or any other brands than these extensions. This article is subject to update and add more brands as I try and personally experience them.
