Faking It
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Earth to STUFF: can you hear us? Hair extensions have been
around for years! We get it … they’re certainly not a new concept, but they are definitely
one that’s still intimidating to many women. But why? Too expensive? Too
damaging for fragile hair? Not really. New techniques have been introduced over
the years, some more advanced and sophisticated than their predecessors,
providing more options from both a technique and a cost perspective.
Yet while getting extensions seems to be an ever-growing
trend nationally, the service has had some difficulty gaining momentum locally.
Although the local fan base has grown slowly but surely (recent limitations of
the crappy economy be damned), the extensions biz in Boston still hardly
compares to the absolute racket that exists in Los Angeles. Why the disconnect?
Blame it on the celeb factor, so many of our industry contacts affirmed over
and over again. LA, city of celebrities and, on a much grander scale, die-hard
wannabes, is rife with fake nails, fake boobs, and Botox — faux locks just
follow naturally, and there’s no stigma attached to (a) wearing them and (b)
shelling out a pretty penny to do so. In traditionalist Boston, however,
they’re a harder sell. Extensions are still viewed by many as an extravagance,
and those who do indulge aren’t always willing to admit it, sending the whole
network of clients a bit underground — or, as “underground” as a widely offered
beauty service can be, we suppose.
Most stylists we chatted with identified an uptick in
interested parties over the past couple of years, however. And with the advent
of better-quality hair and much subtler methods of application, those who may
not want others to know they’re faking it can rest assured that their secret
won’t leave their stylist’s chair, as even some of the pros we talked to
admitted that they can’t always tell the real from the fake.
