Professional Hair Extensions for Fine or Thin Hair

What extension method should you use on clients that have fine and/or thin hair?

Learn more about which hair extension method to use for thin and fine hair types.

“Are hair extensions for me?” You’ve heard your clients ask this question. Perhaps we’re a little biased here at Babe, but “absolutely!” is our perennial response. Whether your clients want a quick fix of length and color or an all-over hair transformation, hair extensions and their various installation methods can bring visions to reality.

Hair extensions do require proper installation and upkeep to achieve their intended effect, and it’s crucial for clients to understand their specific hair type before beginning. But our answer is still a resounding: Yes! Yes! Yes!  Even those with fine or thinning hair can have voluminous, long hair with Tape-In extensions and Micro Bonded Fusion extensions!

When you first hear them, the terms “fine” and “thin” hair may sound interchangeable. Stylists and clients alike have a number of “go-to” terms to describe the spectrum of hair types and lengths they encounter. Still, knowing what these terms actually mean can help you best suggest an upkeep regimen for your clients (or tighten the screws on your own) and help dispel hair myths and misinformation. Here’s a quick guide for identifying the characteristic differences between fine and thin hair (because they are not inherently the same!) and helping your clients determine for themselves.

We’re really talking about density...

For our purposes, hair is characterized in two ways: the thickness of the individual strands and how dense (closely packed together) each of the individual follicles are. When a client has thin hair, it technically means that they have fewer hair follicles packed close together. Terms like “sparse” or “low density” may be more technically accurate than “thin” and better help describe what they actually mean in these cases. While styling a thin-haired client, you may notice that you see a lot more of their scalp (while working) than someone with thicker hair. It is possible for clients with thin hair to also have fine hair, but the two aren’t necessarily related.

Individual Thickness = Fine

When a client has fine hair, they’re technically referring to the individual thickness or diameter of each strand. A visual spot test for fine hair is the strand comparison: if a client’s hair strand appears to be the same thickness as a sewing thread then they have thick/coarse hair. If it appears to be thinner than this, or has “wispy” characteristics, then it is fine. Some suggest gathering the hair into a ponytail and measuring its circumference, fine hair being that which is less than 2 inches in circumference. Clients with fine hair may complain that the fineness of their hair makes it difficult to manage and style.

Can clients have both thin and fine hair?

It’s absolutely possible for clients to have a combination of hair that’s both thin and fine, and in these cases, gentle styling techniques and regular maintenance come highly encouraged. Particular attention should be paid towards braiding or styles which pull the hair away from the scalp as they may be harder on thin or fine-haired clients than those with medium or coarse hair. 

To Summarize: 

“Fine” hair refers to the thickness or diameter of the individual strand of hair. The opposite of fine hair is coarse hair. “Thin” hair refers to the overall density of the hair follicles across the scalp. The opposite of thin hair is thick hair. It is possible for clients to have fine and thick hair, or coarse and thin hair. These clients will benefit from the use of our 100% Premium Remy Human Hair extension methods - Single-Sided Tape and/or Micro Bonded Fusion extensions.

Let’s discuss both of these professional, alternative installation methods and 

how they can be used for thinning and fine hair.

The Tape-In method was specifically designed for finer hair types.

In an effort to make our hair extensions accessible to everyone, we've introduced a cutting-edge extension method trusted by stylists that distributes the weight of the extension hair across a wider section of the client’s natural hair. This method, called the Tape-In method, effectively reduces the strain on individual hairs, making it the most comfortable and sought-after extension type in our arsenal. Tape-In hair extensions are a great option for anyone, but they’re an especially great fit for finer-haired clients who tend to favor the lighter hold.

Half the Wefts = Half the Weight

One of the predominant hair extensions stumbling blocks for those with fine or thin hair is the weight, strain, and discomfort that the hair extensions can potentially place on the hair and scalp. When the client’s individual strands of hair are thinner and the follicles more sparse, Babe’s Tape-In Extensions are preferred over weft or beaded methods because they’re lighter overall. 

Still, even traditional Tape-In Extensions can be too heavy for thin-haired clients. This is exactly where Single Sided Tape comes into play. In a nutshell, Single Sided Tape is a gentle solution for thin-haired clients because they use half as many wefts as traditional Tape-In extensions, and, as a result, place half as much weight and strain on the hair. While traditional Tape-In Extensions work by “sandwiching” the client's hair between two wefts of extensions and then taping them together, Single Sided Tape allows you to achieve that effect using only one weft of hair extensions and a corresponding piece of adhesive on the other side. End result? It creates the same volumizing visual effect as traditional Tape-In Extensions with half the distributed weight overall.

For thin hair, there’s always Micro Bonded Extensions (Fusion Extensions)

Micro Bonding is the revolutionary fusion extension technique that allows you to install custom-sized Fusion extensions in the crown and hairline area of your client’s head.  To use this technique, Fusion Cutters are utilized to cut-down traditional Fusion bonds to fit whatever size is needed to match the thickness of hair. Born out of the need to address problems such as thinning, balding, and installations on short hair, Micro Bonding has quickly become one of our most remarkable (and most inconspicuous!) methods for achieving volume.

Micro bonding is great when you have clients with short hair, they want intricate layers, they want expertly placed highlights, or no bonds to be shown.  However, it’s really great for those with the following thin hair problems...

Kick your hair extension services into overdrive by appealing to a larger audience. Thanks to Micro Bonds and Single-Sided Tape, every client can be a hair extension client!