I tried this subtle hair extension technique used by celebrities – now my bouncy 90s blow dry lasts all day long

The Kardashians, the royals and countless other stars around the world have been known to embrace the subtle art of tape hair extensions. Ever wondered how stars switch up their hair from hip-length mermaid waves to a bouncy old money bob and back again – all in a matter of days? This is the secret. We’ve seen Kim Kardashian and J.Lo’s long-time hairstylist Chris Appleton often applying tape hair extensions to add volume, length or a new fridge or style to his celebrity clients.

So, what’s the difference between tape extensions and clip-in extensions or wigs? Tape hair extensions have a much more natural appearance, they only take around 30 minutes to apply or remove and they can last up to six weeks if applied professionally and taken care of properly.

Up until recent years, since around the age of 18, I have been a full-blown hair extension addict. I’ve had the lot; bonds, clip-ins, micro-rings, nano-rings and *shudder* synthetic hair pieces. Some I had professionally fitted at a salon, some I would fit myself. Mostly, my sister would apply them for me at home, this did save me hundreds of pounds whilst I was at university, but my natural hair certainly paid the price.

It is so important to get hair extensions professionally applied, especially when there’s adhesive (bonds and tapes), metal (rings) or stitching (weaves) involved. This will prevent breakage and long-term damage to the hair. Often, hair extensions can improve the overall health of your hair, but this won’t be the case if you have a botched job done at home. Tape hair extensions come in small inch-long strips, with a small line of adhesive at the top. Two strips are then sandwiched together in a pair, on either side of a small section of your natural hair. It’s so simple and so subtle.

During lockdown in 2020, I took my hair extensions out – because I couldn’t visit a salon to get them refitted. I slowly but surely got used to my natural hair and began to love it again. But these days, I’m starting to miss the volume of hair extensions. My hair is long and healthy enough, it’s just a bit thin and limp, which means whenever I attempt a bouncy '90s blowout at home, no matter how much mousse or hairspray I use, it falls out after a couple of hours. I was craving the layered Matilda Djerf curls that took the internet by storm.

I decided to visit The Beauty Club London to get a volume set of tapes fitted. A volume set is a small set of tape hair extensions that match the length of your existing hair and are positioned strategically to give you added volume, whether your hair is up or down.

Beauty Club London

Firstly, The Beauty Club London has such a great vibe. There’s soft house beats bouncing around the room, there’s a huge disco ball spinning from the ceiling, there’s the Paint nail salon, a brow station, EDY London’s lash station and a stunning cocktail bar. You could literally walk in feeling like a sewer rat and strut out looking and feeling like J.Lo.

Secondly, every member of the team is super friendly and welcoming. The hair makeover duo Louise Bailey and Mo Harb sat me down for my tape hair extension consultation, they made sure they were fully aware of the look I wanted to achieve. It was super important to me to have a set of hair extensions that were low maintenance, looked ultra-natural and were easy to disguise when I scraped my hair back into a tight bun for the gym.

Mo Harb, a crazily talented and speedy colour specialist, whipped me up a beautiful soft balayage that complimented my skin tone, with natural sun-kissed hues that framed my face. He was so quick I barely had time to sip my spicy margarita. Extension mastermind Louise Bailey then worked together with Mo to create a bespoke look, colour-matching my enhanced hair with a new set of extensions. Louise positioned the extensions in a way that gave me additional volume at the back and at the sides where my curtain bangs lay. She also made sure my tapes were undetectable when I scraped my hair into a bun – a literal genius.

For a volume set, I had 10 pairs of tapes fitted, so 20 strips of tapes all together. For a full-head you can have up to 60 strips, meaning 30 pairs of tapes dotted around your head. I was over the moon leaving the salon and I was so excited to go home and try out the 90s blow dry for myself.

For the first few days, as the extensions feel slightly tight to the scalp, it’s best to sleep with them in a loose, low, braid, rather than shoving it into a messy bun on the top of your head. My new set of hair extensions would need refitting in around 4-6 weeks, depending on how fast my natural hair grew, the hair itself can be refitted time and time again.

Tape hair extensions lie completely flat on your scalp, leaving your hair naturally falling over it – whether your natural hair is thick or thin, your tapes lie undetected. They’re super easy to wash and dry at home and a new set of hair extensions always feels much thicker after their first wash.

Before work, I went about my usual hair washing routine; sulphate-free shampoo, conditioner just on the ends, volumising mousse on wet hair, then blow dry in sections. I already couldn’t believe how much thicker my hair felt and looked after the first wash and dry. I sectioned off my fringe, blew dry it with a round, soft-bristle brush and pinned it to cool in a large hair roller. While my fringe cooled, I used a Turbo Tong to curl the rest of my hair, again pinning it close to my scalp to cool as I went. I gave a quick mist of hairspray over my head and spent the next fifteen minutes applying my makeup while my hair set.

I was super eager about taking my rollers and pins out, but low-key apprehensive at the same time. I’ve been conditioned to expect the jaw-dropping, beautiful, bouncy waves that I’m so used to seeing on TikTok – thanks to Matilda Djerf and heatless rollers. Hair extensions famously allow your curls to last much longer than they would in your natural hair, since the additional hair lacks natural oils compared to your own hair.

When I unpinned my hair, I genuinely couldn’t believe the result. My hair had never looked so fluffy, full and bouncy. I was so obsessed with my new look, but could it stand the test of time?

After a commute to work on a frosty morning, I arrived to look in the mirror and there they still were – my bouncy Rachel Green waves. They had already outlasted my limp natural waves pre-tapes. I have never had so many compliments on my hair as I did that day. I was asked multiple times whether or not I had gone to get a professional blow dry before work. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Fast-forward to the end of the day, and I was going out for a post-work glass of wine – so I was really hoping the curls had somewhat lasted. I looked in the mirror once again and the bouncy at-home blow-dry had conquered… which is exactly when I knew that my tape hair extensions were here to stay. I'm a convert.