This article is about the best semi-permanent human hair extensions available in 2022.
Hair extensions are phenomenal, wonderful, amazing, brilliant creations that can take you from meh to marvelous quickly and easily. But with so many hair extension methods out there, which one is best for you?
Hello, hello, hello, I’m Bianca! I’m a bit of an obsessive extension hair-a-holic and in my journey of a thousand hairstyles, I have tried a myriad of methods when it comes to extensions. From clip-ins to tape-ins, from Brazilian knotting and sew-ins, I have tried them all and more!
After much deliberation, I have come up with GooGoo Hair Tape In Extensions as my Best Overall extensions. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, tape in extensions are easy to maintain, easy to put in, and (if you have the right tools and a little patience) are easy to remove and reinstall. They look natural, GooGoo’s hair is superior quality, and their customer service is unmatched.
Not as enthusiastic about tape in extensions as yours truly here? Don’t sweat it! I got you, girl!
I have I-Tips, Micro Loops, and Sew-Ins all in store for you! Wouldn’t be much of a review of the BEST semi-permanent extensions on the market if I only talked about at one type I’ve tried, would it?
Excited? Let’s take a deep dive into the glorious world of hair!
Quick Summary
- GooGoo Hair Tape In Extensions (Best Overall)
- Sunny Hair I-Tips (Best for I-Tips)
- LaaVoo Micro Loop Hair Extensions (Best for Micro Loops)
- Full Shine Sew-In Weaves (Best Sew-In)
The Semi-Permanent Hair Extensions Reviewed
In this section, I will go over my top picks for the best semi-permanent hair extensions, together with a detailed review for each option.
GooGoo Hair Tape In Extensions
- Key features: 100% Remy human hair, 20 pieces per pack
- Extension length: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Volume: 50 grams per pack, 3-4 packs for a full head
- Best for: Overall
GooGoo is one of my most recommended Remy hair extension brands as the hair is FLAWLESS! The cuticles are intact, the hair itself is healthy and if you take care of your hair it can last more than a year.
The GooGoo range comes in 5 different lengths of hair, which makes it good for a large range of hairstyles and different goals. If your natural hair is down to your shoulders but very thin, you can purchase one pack of the hair closest to your length and add that full volume quickly and easily.
GooGoo hair comes in 16 different colors, with 11 of those either being balayage or blended. This makes it very easy to blend with a large range of different natural colors and suits a wide range of people and skin color tones.
Tape in extensions wins my BEST OVERALL method as you can see in this article talks about how much do hair extensions cost that it is the best value for money over the course of a year. The hair is easy to manage and as the tapes are so wide, they don’t tangle or harm your natural hair at all.
Tape in extensions also suits everyone, from those with thick hair to those with super fine hair, and you can hide the extensions in very short hair and long hair alike!
Complete transparency though? The reinstalling process can be a bit time-consuming. I split my appointments over two days, as I get bored sitting in a chair for anything over 3 hours.
So in the afternoon, I’ll go get my extensions removed and my color is done, which takes about 2-3 hours and leave a deep conditioning treatment on overnight.
The next morning my extensions will magically be rebonded, clean, and conditioned for me and 45 minutes later I walk out with a full hair of fresh hair!
Sunny Hair I-Tips
- Key features: 100% Remy human hair
- Extension length: 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Volume: 14-16 inches 0.5g/strand – 50g = 100 strands
18-24 inches 1.0g/strand – 50g = 50 strands - Best for: I-Tips
Sunny Hair makes I-tips with good grade Remy hair. The tips are long-lasting and are formed with a solid amount of keratin to make sure your tips only need minor maintenance in the reinstallation process.
They also have a wide range of lengths and colors available. Since you need between 2 – 4 packs depending on your desired length, it makes it easy to blend the colors and get a seamless blend that lasts for the whole 2 months install.
If you don’t get any conditioner in the bonds and don’t yank too hard on your head, you should be able to go the whole 2 months without losing more than a few tips throughout the whole period.
I used to wear I-tips and for a full installation of 20-inch hair, I would use between 200 – 250 tips. I used to buy 300 tips at a time and then replace any dead tips or damaged hair at my reinstallation every second month.
I-tips are a great extension method if you have a few inches of natural hair on your head. They can be quite tricky to hide if your hair is less than shoulder-length. If your hair is shorter, I strongly suggest you delve deeper into tape in extensions.
LaaVoo Micro Loop Hair Extensions
- Key features: 100% Remy human hair, all packs are 50g
- Extension length: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 inches
- Volume: 14”-24” are 100g per pack
- Best for: Micro Loop
What a great name! LaaVoo! It apparently comes from combining both of the brand owners’ names together. Two women, finding the best hair on the market and coming up with their own unique way of processing the hair to allow for the least amount of damage? Sign me up.
LaaVoo has a large range of hair lengths and an extra-large range of TWENTY-ONE colors! That’s right, 21! All of this gorgeously bejeweled hair is thick to the ends and can be colored and styled as you would any other natural hair extension.
Micro Loop hair extensions are bonded with cold fusion, so it doesn’t do any damage to your own hair when properly installed and maintained.
LaaVoo uses very fine and clear fish wire in their micro loop bonds, so they are nearly invisible. However, I’m not a fan of micro-loops.
Compared with other mentioned methods, this is rather uncomfortable to wear though.
Full Shine Sew-In Weaves
- Key features: 100% Remy hair, 100 grams per pack
- Extension length: 14, 16, and 18 inches
- Volume: 59 – 100 grams per bundle
- Best for: Sew-In
Sew-in extensions are one of the oldest and most reliable methods of extensions. Full Shine hair offers very lightly processed Remy hair that is double drawn, thick to the ends, and long-lasting. At 100 grams per pack, I suggest budgeting for 2 packs for a full head of hair.
The benefit of using Full Shine is the delightful customer service team. They offer advice freely and will make up custom colors and bundles for you.
Sew-in extensions last a long time, with most people getting about 3 months of wear between reinstallations. If you take care of the hair properly, you can get up to 2 years of wear out of the hair, which makes this one of the best value methods of installing the hair.
The colors of these bundles are beautiful but sometimes they may be a bit different from the picture. The weaves I received was a bit lighter than the picture. So you may want to ask the seller to send you a photo of the real product becaue you hit the purchase button.
Semi-Permanent Hair Extensions – Buying Guide
When looking at purchasing semi-permanent hair extensions, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Not All Hair is Created Equal
Just because it says Remy hair, doesn’t mean it is GOOD Remy hair, or it is ALL Remy hair. Ask questions about the process of collecting hair (single donor or up to 2), and if they are happy to do the burn test to prove it is all human hair, no synthetic hair or animal hair!
Yes, that’s right, some unscrupulous so-and-sos will mix in animal hair into human hair to make the human hair go further. That’s why once I have found a brand I like, I tend to stick to them.
Here is a video of the burn test.
It’s Not Just About the Method
A warning from my own experience, make sure that the person who is installing your hair is experienced with YOUR hair type and YOUR preferred extensions method. And ask to see previous work.
Generally, a good extensionist has an Instagram page, and they cannot WAIT to get it out to show you! And also get YOU on there. The back of my head has featured on hairstylists’ pages all around the world because of this.
If the extensionist doesn’t have pictures or doesn’t want to show you, then I would probably keep looking. The damage that can be done by a poor fitting can take literal YEARS to come right. Trust me…
A few years ago, when I was in the I-Tip portion of my hair extension journey, my regular lady went on maternity leave and I had another woman install my set, with DISASTROUS results.
She installed the I-tips on too fine a piece of natural hair, and the tips started ripping my hair out and leaving bald patches behind! These patches took years to grow out to the length of my natural hair.
So, once you find someone you are happy with, don’t let go! Your hair extensionist is so valuable.
FAQs
Here are some quick questions relating to semi permanent hair extensions and their quick answers.
Why is my hair thinner after extensions?
When your hair extensions are too tight, the traction would be too much that they will pull on you hair follicle.
If you wear hair extensions for a long time, like over a month, it may cause traction alopecia, resulting in thinning hair.
How long do semi-permanent hair extensions last?
Most semi-permanent hair extensions will last for around 6 to 8 weeks. Depending on how fast your natural hair grows and how well you take care of your extensions.
My Verdict
I have fine hair, so I love tape ins over all other methods (so far!), and GooGoo Hair Tape In Extensions are great value for money and have a wide range of colors, so I can switch my extension colors and change up my hairstyle as often as I want too!
Have you tried any of these methods? What was your experience?
Let us know in the comments below!