This article will look at how much clip in hair extensions are.
Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Bianca, and I have been wearing different extensions since 2006. I love clip ins and use them often between installations of my more permanent extensions, as it gives my scalp a break and keeps my natural hair healthy to do so.
The price of clip in hair extensions is determined by many factors, including but not limited to hair types, length, construction, thickness, and more. To give you a rough idea, 22 inches long Clip in hair extensions (most popular choice according to my experience) can cost from $20 to over $ 180 per set.
So, my savvy shoppers! Ready to deep dive into the cost of clip in hair extensions?
Let’s go!
Why Clip In Hair Externsions?
Have you had a terrible haircut? Accident with some bleach? Are you just tired of having thin hair? Or do you have a special event coming up?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then clip in hair extensions might be the solution to your problems.
Clip in hair extensions is one of the most popular type of hair extension methods as they are affordable and easy to do yourself. They add volume, bounce, and length to your natural locks, and it usually takes only two minutes to clip them into your hair.
They also come in a range of colors and hair textures!
Different Types Of Clip In Hair Extensions
Clip in extensions come in a few different formats.
Synthetic Hair
The cheapest of all extensions are synthetic hair extensions.
These range from the single, brightly colored weft appropriate for adding rainbows to little girls’ hair at birthday parties through to much more sophisticated fiber extensions.
The more sophisticated fiber extensions also come in high-heat and low-heat resistance forms. These fabulous extensions can be seen on stages from celebrities to drag queens and every Comic Con.
Human Hair Extensions
Then we move from synthetic to human hair extensions. They range from super premium Virgin hair to Remy hair to ‘human hair”.
Virgin Hair
Virgin hair is usually collected from a single donor and is completely unprocessed. Virgin hair is very healthy, usually has little to no damage (weak points or split ends), and can last up to 2 years with proper care.
You can tell if you are getting true Virgin hair as the cuticles are all facing the same way, you can heat style it, and you can bleach it.
Dark Virgin hair is usually sourced from single Brazilian, Indian, or Peruvian donors.
Lighter Virgin hair is usually sourced from Eastern European countries, as those of Slavic or Russian descent naturally have much lighter hair.
Remy Hair
The next type of human hair is Remy Hair. Remy hair is still very high-quality hair, it has usually gone through some processing, usually to get it to a consistent color that the brand sells.
Remy hair is collected from 1 to 2 donors, and all the cuticles are intact and facing the same way. It can be heat styled and colored, but it CANNOT be bleached or dyed to a lighter color. Remy hair usually latest up to a year, with proper care.
Ungraded Human Hair (Non Remy Hair)
So the ugly truth about the hair industry, as with any industry, is that some unscrupulous characters have shady practices.
Some factories cut hair from donors, pile the hair up on the floor, chemically burn the cuticles off and color it.
They coat the hair with silicone so that it feels soft and smooth when you touch it. But after a wash or two, when the silicone is gone, you are left with tangled, matted, horribly processed hair that is completely worthless.
And, you want to hear about some more shady practices? This type of cheap, ungraded hair is usually not even all human! They will mix it with synthetic hair and animal hair to get to a certain weight without using all human hair.
As hair is sold by weight, this is a super shady practice. I’ve bought hair from a supplier before and seen everything from long black strands (I’m blonde, and by the texture I’m guessing it was hair from a horse’s tail), to fishing wire.
It’s wild out there, guys, do your homework!
Factors Affecting the Cost of Clip In Hair Extensions?
So as we have seen above, hair comes in different levels of processing which defines the quality. The higher quality hair (Virgin and Remy) will obviously be more expensive than the poorer quality (Synthetic and Ungraded Human).
But that’s not all that factor in the cost of extensions.
Construction
Firstly you need to understand that the wefts need to be well made to hold the hair in place securely. Sturdy clips must be attached to these wefts to ensure that the hair sits comfortably against your head.
My little rule of thumb is to look at the clips while checking the quality. I don’t think I have ever seen a poor-quality weft with a good clip. If the clips are sewn on well, and they have a silicone coating to protect your hair, you should be ok with the sewn wefts.
Double Drawn & Grading
Imagine you get a set of extensions, and all the hair at the top by the clips is really thick, but it turns thin and straggly when you reach the ends. I don’t know about you, but I would be upset.
The way this is communicated is in two ways.
Firstly you will see the term “double drawn”. This means that the hair has had the majority of the short hairs removed and longer hairs put in to ensure the ends are thick.
Secondly, you may see little codes such as “9A” or “12A”. This grading system clarifies just how thick the extensions are to the ends. But then different companies sets their own hair grading standard.
Usually, for a company offering 10A as their highest hair grade, anything from 9A and above is usually good, and I would proceed with caution below.
Remember that the hair houses grade themselves in this manner, so I would still look carefully at pictures to avoid disappointment (if you are buying online).
Length
As hair is sold by weight, the longer and thicker you want the hair, the more it will cost.
Clip in extensions usually starts at about 70 grams of hair that is 10 inches long and go all the way through to 24 inches, which is 170 grams or above.
This is a general range, and most hair brands (ESPECIALLY on Amazon) will make you custom extensions at no extra charge. So if you have very thick hair and want extra thick extensions that are also 20 inches long, expect to ask for around 200 – 220 grams of hair.
How Much Do Clip In Hair Extensions Cost?
Now, knowing what we know, we can understand the categories. So let’s get into some figures.
Virgin Clip In Hair Extensions
Virgin Clip In hair extensions has a price range that usually falls between $45 for 14 inches to $180 for 22 inches and above.
Another way is between $15 – $35 an ounce.
Remy Clip In Hair Extensions
Remy Clip In hair extensions has a price range that usually falls between $40 for 14 inches to $125 for 24 inch clip in hair extensions.
Per ounce, the range is about $10 – $30.
Ungraded Human Clip In Hair Extensions
Ungraded Human Clip In hair extensions have a price range that usually falls between $20 for 18 inches to about $40 for 20 inches.
Or you could calculate at $4 – $16 per ounce.
Synthetic Hair
Ungraded Human Clip In hair extensions have a price range of about $20 – $30, and they can cover everything from 10 inches – 24 inches.
Synthetic hair isn’t generally sold per ounce.
Final Words
And there you have it, now you know the range of what you can expect to pay when looking at clip in extensions.
Obviously, there will be more expensive extensions and some which are cheaper. However, hopefully, after reading this article, you will know what questions to ask, what to look out for, and better understand how clip in extensions are priced.
Do you have a set of clip in extensions that you love and want me to review?
Have a question that google isn’t answering for you?
Let me know in the comments below!