This is a guide to help you decide how many hair extensions to buy for every type of hair extension client - keratin/I-tip/Tape-in. Please make sure you read the entire article. There are important tips at the end.

#1 - Thickening and/or lengthening long-thin hair that is past shoulder length

Long-thin hair can be easily filled in with extension. More or less extensions can be used depending on the client’s budget and how thick they want their hair.

• Use 50-100 keratin tip hair extensions (808 I tips are thin so use 100-125 strands)
• 10 to 15 tape-ins single sided application
• 20-30 tape-ins double sided application

#2 - Lengthening medium hair – medium length hair touching shoulders 6”- 9” long

Medium density hair that is at least shoulder length can be easily lengthened with 125-175 pieces of

keratin extensions. The thickest hair will need the most the higher amount. It is very important to balance the thickness of the client’s hair with the thickness of the hair extensions you put in.

• Use 125-175 keratin/I-tips (808 I tips are thin so use 150-225 strands)
• 15 to 24 tape-ins single sided application
• 30-48 tape-ins double sided application

#3 - Lengthening thick hair – medium length hair touching shoulders 6”- 9” long

Thick density hair that is at least shoulder length can be easily lengthened with 175 - 225 pieces of

keratin extensions. The thickest hair will need the most the higher amount. It is very important to balance the thickness of the client’s hair with the thickness of the hair extensions you put in.

• Use 175-225 keratin/I-tips (808 I tips are thin so use 200-250 strands)
• 35-45 tape-ins single sided application (single sided is not recommended for thick hair)
• 60-80 tape-ins double sided application (the shorter and thicker the hair, the more extensions you will need).

#4 - Lengthening Short Hair 5” long

It can be very difficult to lengthen hair any shorter than 5” – not recommended!

(If you must go shorter don’t go any shorter than 3” and add more extensions at the crown).

Short hair is the hardest to lengthen. Any shorter than 4 ½” – 5” on the crown is not recommended. We don’t recommend I-tip extensions for short hair because of the large quantity if beads. Flat I-tip extensions by Euro SoCap/Seiseta are an exception. These flat I-tips are wider and hold much better than regular I-tips. Donna Bella also makes a flat I-tip.

• Thin short hair will need 150-175 pieces of keratin extensions or
• Medium thickness will need 200-225 pieces of keratin extensions
• thick hair will need 250 pieces or more.

With thick hair you will need to add more rows than average. We have had hair that was so thick that they needed 14 bundles of thick hair extensions which would be 350 keratin pieces. This is rare but be aware that this can happen. People can be upset if you run out of hair.

Important Tips about How Many Hair Extensions to Use

• Always make sure you have enough hair to finish job.
• If you are worried about running out of hair:
• Do the first row in the nape solid then brick lay next 2-3 rows.
• Bricklaying saves hair; you can always go back and add more later. Apply top rows solid.

Before you start application be sure you have enough hair for the front. Set aside the hair for the front sections before starting. Approximate amounts used in front:

• Long thin hair: 15 pieces each side (keratin) 2-4 pieces tape-in
• Medium length thin/thick: 25-35 pieces each side (keratin) 6-8 pieces tape-in.
• Short hair, thin/thick: 30-50 pieces (keratin) 8-12 pieces tape-in