You don’t have to spend years patiently growing out your hair in order to get long, flowing locks. If you’re interested in lengthening or adding volume to your hair, extensions can be a great way to go. But how do you decide what kind of extensions to get when there are so many popular options?

Knowing how daunting it can be to choose hair extensions, Philip James has put together a guide to the five most popular types. They are:

• Fusion: a method that uses melted keratin protein bonds to attach extensions to strands of your natural hair
• Micro-link/Micro-cylinder: small beads are used to add hair strand by strand
• Braidless sew-in: a relatively new technique in which wefts of hair are attached to natural hair with thread
• Skin weft/Tape extensions: a method that uses thin polyurethane strips to attach wefts of extension hair
• Clip-in: extensions are attached with a small clip using this temporary technique

In order to decide which of those five types of extensions is best for your hair, you should first ask yourself a few questions.

What kind of hair do you have? Certain types of extensions just don’t work as well with certain types of hair. For example, extremely slick hair has trouble holding micro-link extensions in place and while fusion extensions work for most hair types, you should avoid this method if you have overly processed or damaged hair. If you’re unsure which method your hair is most suited for, talk to your hair stylist.

What kind of hair do you want to have? If you want to add length and volume to already thick hair, braidless sew-in extensions may be your best bet. However, if you want thinner hair to look fuller and slightly longer, skin weft extensions may better meet your needs. Continue reading Hair Extension Types 101 →