To Extend or Not to Extend?

This probably would not surprise anyone who actually knows me, but I used my recent wedding as a platform to try all of the little beauty luxuries that I usually could not justify monetarily on a normal basis. I mean I can already justify $30 lip gloss on a normal basis, but shoot.. that freakin’ shimmer - its just worth it. (Please note sarcasm. Not a lot, but a little). So there are two different additions that I tried to “umph!” up my look. One of them was a spectacularly amazing I do-not-know-how-I-can-live-with-out addition and the other was an eeeew-so-not-worth-it-take-them-out addition.

I’ll start with the con. I got hair extensions. My crazy hair dude talked me into them and we used them actually not to make my hair longer, but just fuller. I have the limpest, thinnest, finest hair imaginable and so I just need some more hair in there. So I got the nice expensive ones (no they were not the Jessica Simpson brand) that they glue onto individual pieces of your own hair and they last 3 – 6 months. Supposedly. Anyways, I will say that it has been nice having more hair. It is just fuller, it looks way better in a ponytail/bun because I actually have some hair in my rubber band and it does seem thicker. But, sigh, so not worth it. They are miserably painful to sleep in – I mean you are basically laying on lots of little hard pieces of plastic. It is hard to brush your hair and dry it from the roots because you have to brush around the hard pieces of plastic. Then as the extensions grow out they start to show through your hair, especially when you wear your hair up, which as a teacher I do most of the time. Next they are also very itchy. They just make your scalp more sensitive. Eeew. Lastly they are hard to take out. I am sure I have to go back to my hair dude and get them taken out by him because them babies aint budgin’. So I would personally not recommend hair extensions – I just do not think they are worth it. I mean I am sure if I had Ken Paves following me around fixing my hair every day, then they would look awesome. But, well, I don’t.

Now onto da goods. Good extensions. Eyelash extensions have been on the rise for the past three or four years now and I have been dying to find an excuse to bite the bullet and splurge for them. What they consist of is you have a single false eyelash glued to each one of your own eyelashes. It takes about two hours to apply (just laying down with your eyes closed) and a good eyelash extensionist will have all different types, color, lengths, and sizes of eyelashes to fit yours perfectly. In my belief, their only downsides are their price (eek!) and the fact that without getting a touch-up they only last about 3-4 weeks. But the upsides??? Endless. Where do I begin? I am in love with them and they were the best decision I made getting ready for my wedding. I certainly cannot afford to keep them up indefinitely but I do NOT know how I am going to let them go! They are amazing, you just wake up in the morning and – bam!- you look like you have fresh makeup on. Long, thick curled black lashes, at all times. You can add some extra mascara to the tips for a little extra punch but it’s so not even needed. So all I do is slap on a little black eyeshadow as eyeliner (you do not want to use any cream eyeliners or shadows with eyelash extensions because it could mess with the adhesive) and I am ready to go. They have been so much fun to have and so easy at the same time. And my husband loves them. Of course he mocked me at first for getting them, but he actually loves them. I am now a little nervous when he sees me first thing in the morning – he’s only seen me with gorgeous lashes. Haha.

The photo above was taken on my honeymoon right after I woke up without a stitch of make up on… on the balcony of our cabin of our cruise (the water in background is the Cayman Islands – drool away). Please excuse the dorky look on my adorable husbands face... but point is – look at my lashes?! Gasp. Amazing. Maybe its Maybelline? Nope its not. Those are extensions (Note: Please ignore my husbands natural eyelashes that, yes, are just as long and perfectly curled as my fake ones are. Vomit). So although they are a bit pricy and take a little while to get used to, I totally recommend them for anyone who has a special occasion they can justify a splurge for…. Or just a splurge for fun! One important point to make: it is very important to be careful where you go to have these applied. Eyelash extensions are a newer “technology” but are starting to pop up everywhere – a random cheap nail salon I went to last week was offering them for $70. Oh no ma’am not there. All of the research I did before I had them applied led me to believe it is VERY important to be careful where you have these done. They are not something you want to have done quick or cheap – you want a professional who is experienced because they could really screw up your eyelashes. I personally went to an upscale spa and decided to use a woman after I had a consultation with her, but in Houston alone there are actually two lash boutiques where all they do is eyelash extensions. So there are definitely good places to go, even in Houston.

So Ruthie’s final scores: Hair Extensions, C- ; Eyelash Extensions, A+ . Go get’em!