WARNING on GLE!!!!

[diamondlady]

Anyone heard of Great Length Extensions?? Well, I tried them and decided I'll warn all Black women. They are not for us. I worn them for 2 months. They looked Great

, Felt Great

, my hair could blow in the wind and no one could see the extensions

. You could touch my hair (really dig in, like some people have the nerve to do) and not feel the extensions.

I could go swimming and not worry about the extensions.

They promised no damage would be done, in fact, (they said) they protect your hair.

LIES, LIES, LIES. I loss so much hair when they came out

. So in the future, if you run across that ad. Just keep running.

 

[Ennyaa]

I couldn't agree with you more. I had them also. It's funny but I had been natural for 2 years before I decided to relax again and get these extensions. They looked GREAT but when they came out...

Let's just say my hair was broken off SOOO bad in SOO many places. There were patches in the back that were only like 1/2 inch long after that crap. And the video they show you makes it look like there would be no damage to the hair. (BIG LIE) There were many days when I wanted to cry afterward but I just kept doing the braid thing and it saw me through. Thank God for this board also. My hair in the back is past my shoulders now (a year later) and my hair is healthier than it's been in a long time.

 

[Crysdon]

So sorry to hear that

. With help from the board, you'll bounce back in no time.

 

[Ennyaa]

And Cry it's so messed up because when I tell you the hair was BEAUTIFUL I mean it. Everything she said about the swimming and blowing in the wind is true. I would walk down the street and people would just stare. Women and men and you could see some of the ladies getting frustrated because they couldn't see a weave.

If only the removal process had been the way they said it would I would really have had NO complaints and this procedure is NOT cheap. This is the process that some stars use to achieve the look of length quickly. But the price of losing my own hair is just too high.

 

[Crystal]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
diamondlady said:
Anyone heard of Great Length Extensions?? Well, I tried them and decided I'll warn all Black women. They are not for us. I worn them for 2 months. They looked Great

, Felt Great

, my hair could blow in the wind and no one could see the extensions

. You could touch my hair (really dig in, like some people have the nerve to do) and not feel the extensions.

I could go swimming and not worry about the extensions.

They promised no damage would be done, in fact, (they said) they protect your hair.

LIES, LIES, LIES. I loss so much hair when they came out

. So in the future, if you run across that ad. Just keep running.

[/ QUOTE ]


Sorry about you experience.

But what are Great Length Extenstions? Is it the fusion weave? Like how did they put it in and how did they take it out?

 

[Crysdon]

Ennyaa, is it skinny little microbraids? I'm wondering how it isn't detectable, even if you run your fingers through it.

 

[adrienne0914]

thanks for sharing your experience, so that others might be spared the frustration and damage!

adrienne

 

[Ennyaa]

I would say it's like fusion except it's clear. It's not a wax that you can see and the pieces connected to your hair are really small. I would say it's definitely detectable if you run your fingers through it but not if you were say running your hand over the hair. Actually I had fusion done a long time ago and it was similar but I didn't like the ugly black wax where the piece was connected to the hair. Maybe it's gotten better since I had it done by Gerard Dure like 9 years ago (can you tell I was a weave pioneer?

) but this process looked a hundred times better. It also damages your hair a hundred times worse. I had virtually NO damage when I had fusion done *shrug*. Live and learn.

 

[Crysdon]

Wow!

Well I'm glad you found this site and are now able to take good care of your hair.

 

[Ennyaa]

Giiirl you and me both. I think if I can get my hair to look the way it did when I had those friggin extensions I'll be in hair heaven....




And then of course I'll try to reach waist length. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Never satisfied.

 

[Guest]

Thanks much for the warning! I was always wondering about those.

 

[diamondlady]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Crystal said:

[/ QUOTE ]Sorry about you experience.

But what are Great Length Extenstions? Is it the fusion weave? Like how did they put it in and how did they take it out?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's pretty much what Ennyaa said. Like fusion (I guess, I've never done fusion) but worlds better. The hair is absolutely gorgeous and you can almost forget it's not yours. It takes about 8 hours to put in (I had two stylists and it took four hours) and the section are so small they are almost undetectable. It was glorious for 2 months and then came the removal.

The ladies didn't want to remove them, no one want to retouch with them in. My hair had grown and matted under the bonds. It was horrible. Taking them out took all day, the stylist keep saying, "your hair is beautiful under here"
LIES, LIES, LIES.

 

[Crystal]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
diamondlady said:
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Crystal said:

[/ QUOTE ]Sorry about you experience.

But what are Great Length Extenstions? Is it the fusion weave? Like how did they put it in and how did they take it out?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's pretty much what Ennyaa said. Like fusion (I guess, I've never done fusion) but worlds better. The hair is absolutely gorgeous and you can almost forget it's not yours. It takes about 8 hours to put in (I had two stylists and it took four hours) and the section are so small they are almost undetectable. It was glorious for 2 months and then came the removal.

The ladies didn't want to remove them, no one want to retouch with them in. My hair had grown and matted under the bonds. It was horrible. Taking them out took all day, the stylist keep saying, "your hair is beautiful under here"
LIES, LIES, LIES.

[/ QUOTE ]

Was it "how" they took them out that caused the damage? If you'd taken them out sooner would that have helped? I'm interested in knowing how this looks. Do you have a pic or a link to a website? And without being too nosey... how much did it cost? And did they charge you to take it out? When they were taking it out, they were just taking chunks of your hair with it?

I had the fusion done back in 99. Those little black globs were annoying. I didn't like the stress it put on my hair. So until my real hair gets the length I want, If I want length, I'll do sew in weaves. I may bond a few tracks in for my graduation but I'm only going to leave them in for a few days and then it's back to the ponytail.

So what happened after they took the extensions out? Was your hair just all uneven and now you have to cut it? Or is it just a few patches?

 

[Boadicea]

I'm so sorry to hear about how your hair broke off. My mom was interested in getting the process to but I advised against it. It just doesn't look safe to put on anyone's hair, not just ours, because the risk if damage to the hair is higher on these kinds of extensions. Especially the microdot processes.

www.greatlengths.net
www.doncosa.com

are two of the sites I'm talking about. Looks all right with the hair in, but when you take it out, the hair breaks.

 

[diamondlady]

Crystal,

If you do a search on Great Lengths Extensions, you can find a lot of information. I researched it heavily before I did it. They are suppose to have a patented bond solution that will not harm your hair. They claim they can stay in as long as 7 months in some cases. They ladies who put mine in said they rotated theirs and had some extensions in at all times for the last 2 years. Take out older ones and put in new. That's why they didn't want to take them out. $$$$ they wanted to keep me coming in for rotation.

They are expensive. The rotation is suppose to keep the cost down. The initial fee is costly.

Taking them out, big globs of hair was coming out, but she said it was the extension and not my hair. When I got home there was still bond in my hair. I called back she take some oil and gently work it out. More balls of hair came out.

It was a nightmare.

 

[ThursdayGirl]

How are they going to have a sister on the first page of the english site?!? &lt;hmph&gt;

 

[Kitkat]

Wow, sorry to hear about your hair loss with this product, guys. Has anyone reported them to the Better Business Bureau, or another consumer protection agency? They should be stopped from taking people's money and making false claims like that.

 

[diamondlady]

The ladies that did mine just love them and have had them in continually for 2 years. I saw their pictures and their hair has grown with them. They let me feel their real hair so I could see the difference.
I talk to one black stylist who had them and she said they COULD be done without much damage but you needed to rich to have them changed frequently. I don't believe that either.

Conclusion: They may work for Type 1 hair but not for Type 3 &amp; 4.

 

[Laginappe]

Alternative to Great Lengths and Fusion

If anyone is looking for an alternative extension method to fusion type extensions like Great Lengths I’d like to suggest Hairlocs. It’s a similar strand by strand method that uses no glues, no sewing and no braiding. Basically the extension hair is clipped onto your hair with these ultra-tiny clips.

I wore mine for just over a year and loved every minute of it. They’re great looking, very versatile (I wore it straight / flat-ironed, wet ‘n curly, updo’s and ponytails). I didn’t have to worry about it blowing in the wind and having my tracks show. And I liked being able to run my fingers through my hair and actually be able to touch my scalp.

I had a little bit of breakage from my ends when I took them out about two months ago. But I’m pretty sure that’s because I hadn’t had my ends trimmed in a long time. But it wasn’t anything major at all.

You can see photos of the technique etc at www.hairlocs.com. Not sure if they have any African American women on the site, but I do know there’s a few of us out here in LA who’re wearing them. The only problem is that most of the Hairlocs stylists are here in California. The company is based here in Hollywood and they’re in the process of training people across the country. But I definitely recommend it if you want great looking versatile extensions. I plan on putting mine back in probably later this year. I want to try braids for awhile this summer!

 

[diamondlady]

Re: Alternative to Great Lengths and Fusion

I was looking for something to wear while my hair was growing out. I wanted to have gorgeous hair while growing gorgeous hair. Right now, I not taking any more chances.
I'll grow my own.

 

[Ennyaa]

Re: Alternative to Great Lengths and Fusion

Being the weave pioneer that I am this looks REALLY tempting. Especially since the take down process doesn't look "hair traumatic"... But I'm so afraid after last experience that I wouldn't do it right now. I'm just gonna keep these braids in and be patient with my own hair.

BUT... I did see they're having a demonstration in Atlanta in August. I think I may have to check that out.

 

[angellazette]

Re: Alternative to Great Lengths and Fusion

Someone told me that the correct way to remove techniques like these is to cut it out right above the point it was put in. I've never had them (Fusion, Great Lengths or Hairlocs) but it seems to make sense. Cutting it immediately above the point it was put in allows you to retain whatever length you've achieved without the damage of the removal process.