Hair Extensions Forum

WARNING: Lots of annoying text!

Hi everyone! This is my first synthetic set. I had made one set before out of wool roving, so technically this is my second set.

Making this was daunting, frustrating, definitely painful but also fun at times. It took me 11 days to make them!!! Gawwwd. Some days I worked more than others, but still.

The original KK colors I bought were a medium/auburn brown, two lighter golden browns (one of those was the only pack of KK from a different company; it was different to work with) and two light blondes. I now kind of wish I had gotten two auburn browns and one light blonde (my hair is currently dark brown; I'd have to dye it anyway, but now I have to dye it lighter and it's fried :/), but ok. In any case, the shop didn't have many options. I initially had other colors in mind (more ashy and some of them darker), but I'm pretty happy with these.
What I was really surprised about was that I only had enough money for 5 packs and got 125 long (about 24 inch) dreads out of them! I was planning on getting more (I thought I might need 10 or 12!) if it wasn't enough, but luckily it was! So, I'm happy about that. I thought they were going to turn out skinnier than they are, but I like this thickness too.
The loops are pretty bad, and I'm worried about how they will look installed.
I backcombed, lightly palm rolled, poured hot water on them and palm rolled again. After they dried, I braided them and dipped them in hot water, and left them to dry vertically. I initially started braiding 3 braids together, then 6, and finally 9 (I prefer how they turned out with 9 braids) which is why some of them are more tightly squiggled than others, but I don't mind.
I am a little worried about the ends. They're kind of like loose hairs, which is what I was going for, but I hope they don't unravel fast. Time will tell, I guess. Also, I should have put in the extra effort to braid them all the way down, but whatever :p
One of the dreads is wrapped in thick, purple thread and has a light grey/white, fluffy feather at the end, but I don't know if I'll end up wearing it. It's super stiff!
They all feel pretty rough. Wool roving is so much softer! But I do prefer this look. I just hope they're not insanely uncomfortable, but I'm expecting them to be.

Anywho, here are the dreads. I'm sorry about the sucky photo quality; I'm having issues with my camera and I basically just held my laptop over them to photograph them!
I also got jealous of all the beautiful ways you guys display them with ribbons and stuff, so I added a ribbon :p Not nearly as nice as your photos, but I tried xD


The colors look lighter than they actually are, but it's pretty close.




Sorry for the surrounding mess, btw. So yeah... those are the ends. They don't look so durable to me :/ Also not very consistent looking. I hope they don't fall apart!




I should have blended the colors more :/ I like some contrast, but I would have preferred it to be more subtle. I just got lazy :p I wonder how the install will look with a solid base color.


Here are the crappy loops! :/



So, that's my first synthetic set! All in all, I'm pretty satisfied, but I do have some issues and complaints with them :p

What do you think? Don't be afraid to be harsh; It really takes a lot for me to be offended :p I prefer harshness in criticism, always.
Do you have any tips or advice for improving my methods?

Also, I have a couple questions:

1) What color should I dye my hair? Most of the dreads are on the lighter side, but I don't want to go too light (too much upkeep - my natural color is dark, ashy brown - and my hair is destroyed from too much dyeing and heat).

2) If I dye my hair e.g. the medium shade in the set, how should I go about installing them? I would like the different shades to be dispersed throughout the install, but I'm worried that my crown will look untidy by some of them having more contrast with my base hair. Should I maybe install the darker dreads on top and the lighter throughout the rest of my head?

I'm really sorry about the massive post! Thank you for reading

Cheers!

I'm no expert with synthetic hair as I only make wool dreads, but I like them, they look nice

Oops! I was wrong about the time it took me. It actually took about 3 weeks! O_o Sorry. Again, sorry about the wall of text.

Thank you

I cannot wait to see those installed! Absolutely gorgeous!

I think they are aboslutely stunning for your first set <3

Thank you so much! I had them installed and loved them, but unfortunately took them out a week later. They got itchy because I didn't wash my scalp at all during that time. I had just moved to another country and didn't know where to look for tea-tree oil or tea-tree oil based shampoo (that seemed like the best option for me). I'm gonna look for some tomorrow; I really want to re-install them! I was especially excited about the length So yeah, due to the short amount of time I had them in I wasn't able to test their durability. Hopefully they won't fall apart too soon.
Thanks again guys

These are gorgeous. I like the wavy texture and the colors you chose.

Those are pretty! I really really like them! Update us on how they hold up once you put them back in

I've been experimenting with my first set of naturals as well, did you find that the dread looked less backcombed when you poured the boiling water on them to seal them? Or was that just my crappy dread? Lol.

Thank you ^_^

Near Fantastica, they did! I was actually pleased with that look. I am concerned about durability, though, but I'll have to get back to you on that

They look really nice, especially being your first set!! I have to admit i'm a bit jealous as those match my hair perfectly hahah.

Thank you! Well, you won't be jealous once I tell you that they don't seem to be holding up too well... :p Maybe not enough backcombing on some of them, though others seem to be ok. In any case I like their appearance but next time I'll be sure to make them more durable.