This article is about the best clip in hair extension brands in 2023.
I love hair.
I do, I love that we can have it in a posh pony one day, short the next, up, down, wavy, curled, straight, beachy-chic, or in a million different styles of braids.
Hair extensions, and specifically clip in extensions, support your choice of hairstyle and versatile tastes. But which brands can you trust, and who the hell am I to be dishing out advice anyway?
Well, I’m Bianca, and I’ve been wearing, installing, researching, styling, and enjoying extensions for the best part of two decades. Let me say that again – TWO DECADES.
Where does the time go?
From my many hours of research and testing, I have come up with GooGoo Hair as the best clip in hair extension brand on the market. Actually, it wins my first prize in a myriad of categories – customer service, hair quality, customer satisfaction, durability, color offerings, and comfort.
With GooGoo, you really can’t go wrong. However, if you need thinner wefts, thicker hair, more blonde choices, more balayage choices, or you just like to have options – I got you!
Read on, and let’s discover the best clip in extension brands on the market and how they stack up against each other.
Quick Summary
- GooGoo Hair (Best Overall)
- Sunny Hair (Best for Color Variety)
- Wennalife (Best for Hair Quality)
3 Best Clip In Hair Extension Brands – Our Top Picks
In this section, I will go over my top picks for the best clip in hair extension brands and a detailed review for each option.
GooGoo Hair
- Key features: 4.4 / 5 stars with over 8’287 Global Ratings
- Extensions offered: regular and seamless clip ins
- Extension length: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Best for: Overall
Ok, ok, ok – I’m going to level with you. I have a long-standing love affair with GooGoo hair. I mean, how can you not?
First, let me talk about the quality of hair (I’ll keep it brief, but if you want to see me deep dive into their Remy Hair, check this article here).
GooGoo uses Remy hair. Remy hair is long-lasting and has all the cuticles facing the same way to minimize shedding, breakage and keep the hair shaft smooth – which means no tangling either.
GooGoo procures high-quality Virgin hair and has a gentle processing system to uniformly color the hair, which leaves most of the cuticles intact.
Next, customer service is next level. From helping you color match your natural hair before you buy to after-sales service – GooGoo customer service team is responsive, reactive, and very much available.
If you have any issues with your delivery, the customer service team has proven that they will do whatever it takes to ensure you get what you expect – and more.
Then, let’s talk about the two options of clip ins available: Seamless & regular.
The regular clip in extension wefts are made like… well, regular wefts. They come in 7 pieces, hair is 120 grams (16 inches and over), with regular clips.
The seamless extensions are 50% thinner at the top, sealed with a slip-resistant silicone layer, and much thicker. So if you have thinner or finer hair, this is an option worth considering (make sure to braid a track for the clips to sit on to support your scalp and prevent breakage.)
Finally, the construction of the extensions is phenomenal. The overall quality, and the clips used are second to none – making the whole range very hardy and long-lasting.
The only “negative” I have to say about the company is that like most extension brands, when you go over 20 inches, the ends may be a little thinner, so you’ll have to give them a trim to get that “full to the ends” look if you wear your hair straight a lot. Mine is usually curled, braided, or up, so it doesn’t affect me as much.
Sunny Hair
- Key features: 4.3 / 5 stars with over 5’258 Global Ratings
- Extension length: 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Best for: Color Variety
Sunny hair offers 30 different options for color.
It bears repeating.
THIRTY DIFFERENT COLOR OPTIONS.
And of those, 17 are aimed at blondes, which is remarkable. Those who have dabbled in the blondes know that tone matches blonde hair, knocking out the brass (but not too much because you don’t want to go gray), while making sure to keep it conditioned, soft, and as shiny as possible – is, quite frankly, a challenge.
Bleaching your hair makes it finer, thinner, and more prone to breakage. Long, blonde hair means you are either genetically gifted or you have deep pockets – facts.
Sunny hair having so many options in the blonde department is something to be celebrated.
The quality of the extensions is overall extremely high. The clips, wefts, and construction of the extensions are almost globally acknowledged to be consistently brilliant, and, should you get a slightly defective set, you will have your hair replaced quickly and easily by Sunny hair.
The condition of the hair, even the platinum blondes, is phenomenal and usually has 4-5 months of continuous wear, more if you take great care of the extensions and keep up with intensive conditioning treatments.
Sunny hair as a brand also has phenomenal customer service and offers custom extensions. So if you have a length, color combo, or thickness that’s not on the website – email them, and they will be delighted to create a custom set of extensions just for you.
Ok, so with all the ups, is there anything negative to say..?
Well, yes, one thing.
Since I’ve been banging on about the color range, I feel it only fair to point out the shortfall in the color department too.
If you have red hair, there is nothing here for you. So my auburn-haired beauties will have to keep reading to find your hair brand of choice.
Wennalife
- Key features: 4.4 / 5 stars with over 1’708 Global Ratings
- Three types of clip in extensions offered: regular, regular extra-thick, and seamless clip ins
- Extension length: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Best for: Color Variety
Wennalife have amazing hair. Whether you get one of the regular clip ins, the extra thick clip ins or the seamless variety – the hair is all astounding quality and processed by Wennalife from Virgin hair to the Remy hair you receive.
Wennalife, as a brand, seeks to ensure that the quality hair you receive is as close to Virgin as possible, with about 80% of the cuticles intact. That means a longer life span, shinier hair, and a tangle-free product.
Wennalife has a reactive customer service team, which receives feedback requests and sends them to the heads of the company. Hence, increasing their clip in extension range to include a much thicker set of regular extensions.
This thicker set of regular clip in extensions fills many consumers’ complaints when buying extensions – that they usually require two sets to get the look they want. This thicker set offers 30 grams more hair, without the extra bulk of more clips.
The entire extension range is well-made. The clips do not slip, the wefts hold the hair in place for months on end and do not fray.
The seamless extensions take a little getting used, but with a bit of heat to help them mold to your head shape. They do make a big difference in how flat you can get your hair to lay, especially on the sides.
With 28 shades, you won’t be short of color options – especially your brunettes. Brunettes are well catered for here.
The one thing that Wennalife is a little notorious for is their hair being slightly shorter than advertised. So if you want a 20-inch length, consider the 22-inch length.
It’s not so annoying when you’re at the extra-long lengths, but at 14 or 16-inch lengths, it’s key to go longer than you think and trim the extensions.
What to Consider?
Here are a few things to consider when looking at different brands of clip in hair extensions.
Construction
Clip in extensions has a few contributing factors to consider, such as hair quality, construction, and colors (amongst others).
When deciding on a brand, pay special attention to the clips and note if they are silicone coated or not.
Silicone is your hair’s friend. When the clips are coated with silicone, it stops the clips from damaging your hair, prevents slipping, and makes them more comfortable to wear.
When you see a brand with silicone on its clips, it tells you two things.
Firstly, they aren’t cutting corners on getting the cheapest clips.
Secondly, if they are getting decent clips that cost more, the likelihood is that the wefts will also be well constructed.
It’s not always the case, but it’s one of the first things I look at when exploring a new brand of extension.
The Hair
Hair quality is critical when considering a brand of hair extension. But how can you gauge through a computer screen?
Well, you can’t.
But you can understand what the terminology means that the brand uses and make some educated guesses.
In a nutshell, the hair used in hair extensions comes in three grades – Virgin, Remy, and Human.
Virgin is the best, most expensive, and completely unprocessed. That means you can bleach it, dye it, curl it, cut it, and (if you take excellent care of it), wear it for up to 2 years.
Remy hair is processed hair. So once you color Virgin hair, it is effectively “damaged” and becomes Remy hair. Most extensions under $200 fall in this category.
Human hair is the stuff women collect out of combs in their bruises, store for years and then sell when they have enough. It is ungraded, usually processed to hell and back, and is not much better than synthetic hair.
So, what are you looking for?
- Brands with Virgin hair options frequently process their own Remy hair and therefore take better care of it.
- Brands that have some sort of explanation on the Remy process and quality of their hair on their sales page.
- Brands that have longer estimations for the length of time the hair should last – Remy hair should last at least six months, even the platinum colors. When I see “Real Human Hair Extensions, can last up to 2 months,” my alarm bells go off.
If you want to hear me bang on about Remy hair vs. Virgin hair, I’ve written a whole in-depth article dissecting the intricacies and nuances surrounding it (I properly geek out here), if you fancy reading it – look here.
And what about the 9A, 10A, 8A grading you sometimes see?
That’s how thick the hair is to the ends. 10A is very thick at the ends, 8A is quite thin to the ends.
But, all brands grade their hair differently, and the industry standard isn’t set in stone… so I see this as a secondary factor to figuring out how processed the hair is.
My Verdict
Ok, so I warned you – I’m a GooGoo Hair fanatic!
If you look at a brand that you have always received fantastic quality and service from, and then you go online and see that 8’000 other people have ALSO received amazing quality and service, well… then you need to give credit where it’s due.
Great hair, great color options, phenomenal construction, and a very friendly customer service team all make up a solid offering for GooGoo.
If you are looking for clip in hair extensions that are affordable, thick, healthy, and durable – then look no further than GooGoo Hair extensions.
Is there a brand you think I’ve missed? Outraged at something I’ve included? Let me know in the comments below – I love to talk about all things hair!