On stories I mentioned wearing halo extensions, and I received a lot more questions and interest than I anticipated! I’ve worn many different types of hair extensions over the years, but I always go back to the halo. I’ll touch on my experience with different hair extensions here, but I may do another post in detail for those of you researching different types of hair extensions. Today I wanted to answer your questions about the halo extension I currently use.

I also wanted to mention I do still wear these fill- in extensions from time to time, depending on what I’m feeling that day. I’ve been wearing the halo more recently because my hair has grown out.

wearing halo hair extensions

These are some recent posts where I’m wearing the halo extension. You can click on them to view the entire post.

barefoot blonde fill in extensions

In these posts, I was wearing the fill-in extensions, which are just for a natural volume boost. My hair was also shorter earlier in 2020. I can wear these extensions all day without any headaches because they are very lightweight.

I currently use a Luxy halo extension, but I’ve also tried Hidden Crown and Halo couture in the past. I think out of all three, the Halo Couture is my favorite, but it is the most expensive option.

hidden crown extensions

I personally don’t recommend Hidden Crown after having a not so great working relationship with them that I won’t get into, but I know a lot of girls who love them. They were the least natural looking to me, and the two color options I tried for my hair weren’t a great match. I tried the strawberry blonde (27/613), which was way too orange and streaky with thick blonde highlights, and the color 2412, which was also not the best match compared to others in the same color family.

halo couture extensions

Halo Couture was the first halo extension I tried, and you can only get them through a salon that carries them. This is great if you’re not comfortable matching your own color online, or want a stylist to color and cut the extension for you professionally for a perfect match. They offer a lot of length variety, and also have a layered option. The extension itself was adjustable, which I liked because I could play around with what fit the most comfortably on my head. The one negative I noticed with this feature though is the sides could buckle a little bit depending on where you placed the wire. I also remember having more of a headache after wearing these for a few hours, but I also wore them a lot more regularly back then.

luxy hair halo extensions

I currently use a Luxy Halo hair extension, and the color match has been perfect; however, I did have to DIY a few things to make it work to my preference. The wire it came with was more like a clear band – it was very stretchy and noticeable thicker. When I would brush the extensions, I could feel it stretch on my head, which I didn’t love. I also have fine-textured hair, so I felt like the band was more noticeable. I switched it out using an extra fishing wire and bead from the Hidden Crown extension I had on hand, but you could easily order this online if you were considering this option. The Luxy also came with two clips on the band to secure it to your head, but I cut them out because it was hard to pull my hair through the extension without my hair snagging in the clip. They didn’t offer as many length options, so I went with the 18 inch extension and cut it to my preference. I can’t do the super long extensions, it’s just too much hair for me to deal with.

One halo brand I’ve been curious to try but haven’t yet is from Sitting Pretty. They offer different weights (fine, medium, and thick) depending on how much hair you want. But when I’ve looked at their color options I’m not sure if they have a good match for me, which is the biggest reason I haven’t tried them yet.

Halo Hair Extension Q&A

Why do I prefer a halo extension?

Long story short, these extensions are the most comfortable and natural-looking extension as far as blending, the easiest to put in, and the least damaging on your hair in my opinion.

You also get a lot of hair with a halo extension. I would say it’s equivalent to 3 beaded rows. To get the same look with clip-in extensions, you would probably need to wear 8-10 pieces around your head, which is a lot of clips snapped into your head! I like that you can get a ton of hair with a halo extension and it’s all sitting under the crown of your head, so even if someone rubbed your head they wouldn’t notice!

Is the wire visible in your part?

I could see it if I looked close enough, but no one else would ever notice it. If you fix your hair over the band correctly, no one would ever know it’s there. I usually use the end of a rat tail comb initially and go along the front and back of the band, then the fine comb side to brush and blend my hair evenly around the band.

How long do you usually keep them in all day?

These days, I only wear them for photoshoots or when filming a video, which is probably at most 3-4 hours total 1-2 times a week. When I wore them more out and about for longer periods, I would notice my head starting to get tender after 4 hours and I would want to take it out. I would describe it like taking your bra off at the end of the day, lol. You can also move the wire ever so slightly to a new spot on your head to make it more comfortable after some time if you’re wearing it all day. But I personally get this way with any extension where I just want to scratch my head.

Does it hurt where the wire is? Headbands usually hurt my head

To go off the last question, after a few hours my head can get tender. I get headband tenderness as well on the sides of my head when wearing them. But compared to the pain of beaded row extensions, it’s nothing lol. I wouldn’t even say it’s the same type of tenderness as a headband, more so just something I notice on my head and wouldn’t mind taking off and giving my head a good scratch, lol.

The longer the extension you wear, the heavier it will feel. That’s a big reason why I like to cut mine to a more natural length. Plus, I think it just looks more natural. No one ever knows I wear extensions unless I tell them 🙂

Between clip ins, beaded row, and halo which is your favorite?

clip in hair extensions

I absolutely hate clip-ins, except for these fill-in extensions. Clip-in extensions take forever to put in, and I hate the feeling of having clips all over my head. I was also always worried about the end sections of the extensions showing. I don’t think clip-in extensions are the best option for smooth/fine hair types because it seems to slip throughout the day, and I have to be very gentle with brushing.

The reason I can deal with the fill-in extensions is because I only wear two of them to fill out my hair and they are still lightweight. If you’re wanting to add natural-looking length to your hair, you need a lot of clips and hair to blend your hair correctly. But if you’re just wanting a little volume boost around the length of your natural hair, these are still a great option.

beaded row extensions

I wanted to try out a more permanent hair extension option in 2019 so I tried beaded row extensions from my local salon. This technique is different than natural beaded rows, because it wasn’t additionally sewn in, and was much more affordable.

I loved having long hair when I woke up, but after a few months, I was definitely ready for something with less maintenance. They made washing and styling my hair more of a chore, and I missed just throwing my hair up and being comfortable. You need to wash horizontally with the rows, and I felt like over time my hair had buildup and started to get really dry. Not to mention, moving the rows up every 6-8 weeks always came with a night or two of very tender sleep.

If I were to ever get these again, I would probably just get a single row for thickness.

For reference, I wore these extensions from about March 2019 to January 2020 if you want to scroll through that time on my blog or Instagram to see how they looked. Looking back at the photos, I personally think they look a little more scraggly since they were a tad longer, especially when grown out.

halo extensions

So the reason I love the halo extension the most, other than the factors above, is because it’s the quickest and easiest hair extension I’ve tried. It’s also super easy to hide, and I never worry about them showing like I would the other types. It also looks the most natural to me, just based on how it’s positioned on the head. I like being able to wear them when I want, but have the freedom to wash my head, sleep comfortably, workout, and throw my hair up in a ponytail extension free.

Why do you wear extensions?

The two main reasons I wear extensions now is for extra volume, and to hold my style. My hair is very fine-textured, and adding in extensions helps to maintain my style! When I first started wearing extensions however, that wasn’t even on my radar and I just always envied people with long, thick hair.

How often do you wash them?

I very rarely wash them. I’ve had my luxy hair for 6 months and have only washed them once lol. They don’t get oily and I don’t use any product on them. During the summer if I’m outside wearing them, then I would wash them more often. I think they recommend you only wash the extensions every 30 wears or so.

How do you match your color?

I usually just watch a video with their color options and go with what I think will be best. When I got barefoot blonde fill in extensions they had more color options, so I ordered samples and I’m glad I did! The original color I thought would be right ended up being too brown in person.

Usually, most online hair extensions will also help you color match if you email them a picture of your hair in natural lighting. Most of them are dimensional colors and will blend once they are in your hair.

Is it real human hair?

Yes, you only want to wear extensions that are real human hair. If not, you wouldn’t be able to use heat to style them, and they would look very shiny and fake. Now I won’t say there aren’t some artificial filler in the extensions, but that’s my own personal conclusion. Every hair extension I’ve tried no matter the brand has had a few dark pieces of hair that burn off when you curl them. I mentioned that in my initial hair extension post when I tried the Bellami clip-in extensions years ago, and I’ve noticed it with every other brand since. Although I don’t recall the Luxy extensions having as many as the Bellami and Hidden Crown.

After a few hours, mine would start slipping down. How do you keep it in place?

I would stick a bobby pin in to secure it and also play with the fit of the extension. If it’s too tight, it will slide back, and if it’s too loose, I usually notice more movement and tenderness in the top of my head since it’s not sitting as angled (like a halo) around the head.

How do you fit the wire to your head comfortably?

I watched tutorials on youtube to fit the wire! Some of them are more permanent fits where you use a bead and cut the wire to preference, whereas others like the Halo Couture and Luxy (how it originally came before I tweaked it) are adjustable and you can trial different fits and see what works for you.

Are there any cons to a halo extension?

I think the biggest con is that out of all the extension types, it feels the least secure. But that’s also why I find it the most comfortable lol. It won’t fall out with normal activity, but if you flip your head upside down or pull your top over your head, it can come with it. It can also move side to side if you move all the hair to one side. You can secure it more by adding a bobby pin or two into it!

The only other time I have to be careful with them in brushing my hair – I can’t take a brush across the top of my head because it will pull the band back with it. You can brush down on both sides of your part without any trouble. But with all that being said, I wouldn’t worry about it falling out. I would actually be more worried about clip-in extensions slipping out of my hair than the halo! The only other con is just feeling the band across your part after wearing them a few hours.

Does this work if you have super thin hair on top?

I have seen others with very damaged, thin hair wear these with no issue. I would actually recommend this type over any other extension because I think they are the easiest to hide AND the least damaging type of extension you can get.

I found clip-ins the hardest to hide in my light colored fine hair. I always felt like I didn’t have enough room around my head to place them as low as they needed to be to hide them.

Can you wear your hair up?

This extension is best for wearing your hair down. I have worn it for weddings and I know plenty of brides who have as well. I usually do a half up half down type of style if I’m not just wearing them down. If you want to wear an updo for a wedding, I would go with clips since they can be places specifically for the hairstyle you’re wanting to achieve.