DIY Ombre Clip-in Extensions

This post is also available in（こちらの言語版もある）: Japanese

Finally a non-recipe related post! If you only care about food, now would probably be a good time to see yourself out, but if you’re one of the many people who have asked about my hair extensions, this post is for you! I tend to get a lot of questions about my hair along the lines of “How did you dye it all those colors?” “How are your extensions attached?” “How do you have a corporate job and hair like that? Why haven’t they fired you?” so I figured a DIY tutorial on my ombre clip-in extension sets was a fitting first fashion-related DIY post. So if you too would like to have awesome colored extensions that look reasonably realistic the cheap and easy way (and without losing your job!), give this little project a try★

Using the following technique I have made both a red-purple-violet 16″ extension set…

…and a dark red-red-orange-yellow-white 20″ extension set.

To make your own, the first thing you need to do is assemble your materials. You will need the following basic things:

• A set of light blonde clip-in human hair extensions. You can get these many places and in many different lengths, but I get mine from here as they’re pretty decent quality for the price and ship to Japan quickly. I have both this and this set, but the length you will want to buy will depend on how long you want your extended hair to be.
• A hair dye that is close to whatever color your real hair is
• Fun colors for your ombre gradient. Semi-permanent dyes like Directions, Special Effects, or Manic Panic work well because you can leave them in as long as you like to deepen the color without risking damaging the extensions. The number of colors you use is up to you, but as a general rule, the longer your extensions, the more colors you can add.
• Brushes for applying the dye
• Gloves so you don’t dye your hands
• A comb
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Plastic to protect your work surface from dye

For this example, I am using this extension set and adding the following gradient with Directions hair color:

1. A mix of “Pillarbox Red” and “Rubine” to match my real hair
2. “Pillarbox Red”
3. “Mandarin”
4. “Light Daffodil”
5. The natural blonde of the extensions for the ends

Step 1: Extensions often have a coating on them so  gently wash your extensions with mild shampoo and then rinse them (you don’t need to condition them). Let them dry.

Step 2: Clip the extensions into your hair and use a marker to mark the end of your real hair on all of them. You will be dyeing the portion from the mark to the roots a color that matches your real hair.

Step 3: Remove the extensions and lay them out on some plastic so you don’t dye your work surface. I usually cut up some plastic bags for this and lay them on the floor.

 

Step 4: Use a comb to gently tease the hair a bit from the mark to the roots. This will give you more of a gradient between the color that matches your hair and the fun colors. Do this with all of the extensions in the set.

Step 5: Put on those gloves and start painting on your colors! If you are using any box dyes or other dyes that contain a developer, you should do these last and start with the semi-permanent colors as leaving the semi-permanent dye on for an extended period of time won’t damage the hair. If you plan to leave any of the hair blonde, cover it with conditioner now so you don’t accidentally get dye on it. I used all semi-permanent colors so after I put conditioner on the ends, I just started by mixing up some “Rubine” and “Pillarbox Red” and painted it on from the roots to where I marked the hair (the teased part), making sure to flip over the extensions and thoroughly coat the reverse side with dye too.

Step 6: Paint on your second color. Be sure to blend it a little with the previous one and don’t forget to dye the reverse side too! For me, this was the bright red.

Step 7: Paint on your third color, blending it with the second one and don’t forget the back! For me, this was the orange.

Step 8: Keep painting on additional colors if you’re using them. In this example, I finished by painting on the yellow and blending it lightly with both the orange and the conditioner-covered blonde.

Step 9: If you are using semi-permanent dye like I did, leave it on for 30-60 minutes and then rinse it out and condition the extensions in cold water. If you are using permanent dye with a developer, follow the directions on the box for how long to leave it on and how to wash it out.

Step 10: Let your rinsed extensions dry

….and then style as desired.

The great thing about human hair extensions is you can use hair straighteners and curlers just like you could in your natural hair.

Extension sets like this are of course ideal for wearing your hair down, but you can use them to make up-dos as well–it’s just a matter of wrapping the extension pieces around ponytails and making sure the clips stay hidden. With this technique you can do things like:

These sorts of extensions are a really great and super easy way to extend the range of fun hair styles and colors you can have without having to make drastic changes to your real hair that might not fly at work, so I definitely recommend taking a couple of hours and making a set!