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Image / Beauty

Review: Great Lengths Extensions


By IMAGE
20th Apr 2015
Review: Great Lengths Extensions

As typical as a Gemini can be, I’m almost always changing my mind and nothing ever stays the same. What’s more, I always want what I can’t have, but that’s human nature, right? When it’s summer I look forward to wrapping up in winter woollies and vice versa; when I’ve chopped my hair into a trendy lob, I crave the length of those around me. From Amal Clooney’s jumpsuit to Kim K’s contouring, I’m sooner influenced by a celebrity trend than I am by the Irish weather. Luckily for me, as someone who wants short locks one day and long locks the next, there exists a world of Great Lengths Extensions. If hair dreams can come true, this is it.

#before I get my @greatlengths_ireland extensions. Bye bye short hair!

A photo posted by Caroline Foran (@carolineforan) on Apr 14, 2015 at 9:16am PDT

#before I get my @greatlengths_ireland extensions. Bye bye short hair!

Addressing the topic of cost at the outset, there’s myriad reasons why a full head of Great Lengths extensions will take a considerable chunk out of your paycheck (however total cost always depends on length, amount of packets required etc.). Rest assured, if it’s long locks you’re after, it’ll be totally worth it. First of all, they’re 100% natural human hair and 100% ethical and traceable. Unlike other extensions where the ends may go in at the root, meaning that when you brush the hair you’re effectively back-combing it, GL extensions work just the same as your own hair, from root to tip. Making your new do a dream to maintain, GL extensions dry with a natural wave, a characteristic of most Irish barnetts. Their keratin bonds blend seamlessly into your own hair, they’re teeny tiny and best of all, they’re weightless. Of all the brands of hair extensions I’ve tried, GL are by far the lightest. Despite the fact that I’ve now got twice as much hair to play with, I don’t feel in any way weighed down, in fact I hardly notice them at all. It’s light, it’s bouncy and it could not feel more real. Were it not for the fact that I went from a bob to Rapunzel-length hair in a matter of hours, I doubt if anyone would guess they’re not mine.

One of the major concerns I had before having my GL extensions applied was how my own hair would blend in, given that it was pretty short to begin with. Would I be left with one random layer of hair at the nape of my neck, while the rest reached down to my butt? Would it be plain to see that I’d given myself a hair transplant? For fellow bob-headed dreamers, let me alleviate that worry; the GL virtuoso Jordan (you’ll find her at C.O.M Hairdressing in Temple Bar) made my bob disappear in under 2.5 hours. All those trained in the art of Great Lengths extensions are experts at cutting too, so you’ll always leave the salon with a perfectly blended do. I went for a mix of 30cm and 40cm lengths, which were all styled to suit my personal tastes but if you want hair so long you can sit on it, it’s there for the taking.

At this point I’ve washed my extensions and styled them myself twice. I expected it to be a nightmare (or a hair-mare, I should say) but they’re way easier to handle than most other brands. Come to think of it, the only real problem I can see with GL extensions, is how I might one day live without them.

If you’re toying with the idea of having them put in and you’ve been saving your pennies for a personal treat, just go for it. I’ve gotten more than length with my new set of extensions, I’ve gotten a confidence boost like no other and hair that dreams are made of. As one popular hair brand once said, ‘there’s more to life than hair, but it’s a good place to start.’

 

Ok I’ll stop posting photos of myself now. I promise. @greatlengths_ireland
A photo posted by Caroline Foran (@carolineforan) on Apr 14, 2015 at 12:08pm PDT

Ta-Dah!

@CarolineForan

Read more about Great Lengths Extensions http://www.greatlengthshair.co.uk/.?Follow them on instagram here and check out some of their before and after posts below for more inspiration! Follow them on Twitter @greatlengths_IRE.

Incredible transformation by @koztellos_hair_and_beauty #brunette #volume #longhair #thickhair #transformation

A photo posted by Great Lengths Ireland (@greatlengths_ireland) on Feb 24, 2015 at 4:13am PST

Incredible transformation by @koztellos_hair_and_beauty #brunette #volume #longhair #thickhair #transformation

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#gorgeous #GreatLengths makeover by @black_amber_ireland – great work guys! #hairextensions #longhair #wavyhair #longhair #pretty #bewlook
A photo posted by Great Lengths Ireland (@greatlengths_ireland) on Dec 16, 2014 at 9:06am PST

#gorgeous #GreatLengths makeover by @black_amber_ireland – great work guys! #hairextensions #longhair #wavyhair #longhair #pretty #bewlook

Beautiful ombr? curls created by the oh-so-talented @mariavaughan at @urbanangelshairextensions

A photo posted by Great Lengths Ireland (@greatlengths_ireland) on Dec 11, 2014 at 4:03am PST

Beautiful ombr? curls created by the oh-so-talented @mariavaughan at @urbanangelshairextensions