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View Full Version : Hair Extensions- does any one else feel they are entirely inappropriate at this time?



Blueglass
May 22nd, 2010, 10:58 AM
Yesterday I was at my salon, and I noticed a women getting long black, (most likely REMY hair extensions.) On a good day I am not a fan of extensions, but yesterday, I was appealed to see this occurring. We have an unprecedented, oil leak, not spill, occurring in the golf and I cannot understand why all of this lose and hair and hair-type material is not being diverted to the national and indeed global disaster.

( I am so upset about the disaster, that before going to the salon I felt guilty and characterless for even keeping hair and indeed, I suppose I might be berated for that), If this women is a recent cancer survivor, of course, I have sympathy, but I still believe that using extensions is unconscionable right now, under any circumstances. I am alone in this?

ravenreed
May 22nd, 2010, 11:03 AM
I am guessing that the salon paid a lot of money for the supplies to do extensions and maybe cannot afford to send the materials off for the oil spill. For all we know, those extensions were bought long before the spill.

Belisarius
May 22nd, 2010, 11:10 AM
I am not an american, but i say that she can go forth with it. It is BP whom you should rage at.
And well your own government for allowing BP to get away with it.

spidermom
May 22nd, 2010, 11:12 AM
I'm really upset about the oil spill, too, and even more upset that some in congress are pushing for a taxpayer bail-out of poor old BP and that other company responsible (can't think who it is right now). Heaven forbid this little inconvenience should cut into their profit margin! Compared to that, hair is small change.

ericthegreat
May 22nd, 2010, 11:16 AM
Unconscionable? Absolutely not.

You may not personally agree with getting extensions done on your head. However, if another person feels that getting extensions on his or her head would make them feel happier and be more attractive, then by all means he or she has the freedom to do so. They definitely shouldn't be judged for their choices.

And in fact, there are quite a few members here who are currently wearing permanent extensions right now or they have the clip-in extensions that you can put on and take off yourself. Some members here also own wigs which they wear for their own personal enjoyment.

The real long term solution to solving the oil spill in the Gulf if your asking my opinion is weening ourselves off of oil and switching to cleaner, renewable, greener forms of fuel.

Themyst
May 22nd, 2010, 11:31 AM
I'm just as upset as everyone else about the BP oil leak, as well as the US government's involvement in letting it happen. It will make me sick as I watch the news and see how they pass the buck and blame it on one or two people.

That said, you might say this attitude about hair could raise some sympathy for those people who go around thinking long hair is always wrong since it could be donated to Locks of Love or something. Or how a person might buy themselves a luxury bottle of perfume, when their extra money could have gone towards a childrens' hunger charity. I don't think it is prudent to judge other people like that, although I do understand how passions arise at a time like this.

UltraBella
May 22nd, 2010, 11:31 AM
Hair for extensions used in salons is generally color treated and then a shine gloss is applied to seal the cuticle. This hair is not going to be capable of soaking up oil compared to natural hair, and is best used for it's intended purposes.
Organizations that were collecting hair to be used on the spill have been asked to stop, engineers are no longer utilizing this method, and said this type of cleanup was not feasible.
Hair is no longer a part of the picture, but even if it was, the hair extension hair wouldn't be.

Sarahmoon
May 22nd, 2010, 11:47 AM
Unconscionable? Absolutely not.

You may not personally agree with getting extensions done on your head. However, if another person feels that getting extensions on his or her head would make them feel happier and be more attractive, then by all means he or she has the freedom to do so. They definitely shouldn't be judged for their choices.

And in fact, there are quite a few members here who are currently wearing permanent extensions right now or they have the clip-in extensions that you can put on and take off yourself. Some members here also own wigs which they wear for their own personal enjoyment.

The real long term solution to solving the oil spill in the Gulf if your asking my opinion is weening ourselves off of oil and switching to cleaner, renewable, greener forms of fuel.

Here here.

contradiction
May 22nd, 2010, 11:54 AM
You could say that about any number of things, not just hair extensions.
I will never understand why people who choose to get hair extensions are criticized so harshly on this board....a board that is supposed to be about tolerance and diversity of everyone's hair choices!
Just my 2 cents.

jane53
May 22nd, 2010, 11:58 AM
I live in one of the states affected by the Gulf oil spill and I was sitting with a group of acquaintances when someone actually told me I should cut off all my hair to help save the Gulf. :-O

Yet another excuse to fuss at longhair people to cut their hair.

Yes, I have a yard of hair, but what would it do for the massive catastrophe there?

I've been told I should give my hair to locks of love, too. In fact, my niece has donated twice to locks of love, but last time I checked, locks of love doesn't want my hair with some artificial color and a little gray. They may have changed their standards, but they used to want virgin hair.

That said, Blueglass, extensions DO annoy me on a personal level. It's not rational and I wouldn't impose it on anyone, but I GREW this stuff! And I could never afford extensions. So I privately grump at them. All those Hollywood stars showing up with hip length hair overnight! Humfph! But it's a silly, irrational response. It's not one I'm proud of and not one I nurture. It's one for which I chide myself.

Another take on extensions: Has anyone seen Chris Rock's movie about African American hair, "Good Hair"?

I haven't. I would like to.

Many of my African American friends and students have extensions, and I don't apply my private, irrational disapproval of extensions to them. Hair in the African American community can be a fraught and painful issue. It can be a torment to some people facing haircare and societal expectations.

Kristin
May 22nd, 2010, 12:02 PM
The real long term solution to solving the oil spill in the Gulf if your asking my opinion is weening ourselves off of oil and switching to cleaner, renewable, greener forms of fuel.

I agree completely.:thumbsup:

dropinthebucket
May 22nd, 2010, 12:16 PM
Yeah, a lot of people jumped on me when I weighed in about hair extension on an earlier thread.

It is easy to turn away from a human rights issue when you don't directly see those affected. It's easy to believe the lines of big business and the beauty industsry. If *only* women recovering from hair loss used those products, it would be a different story. But in complete honesty, and all logic, how on earth could any voluntary system of hair donation supply the current demand? I mean, just LOOK at all the online sites selling human hair! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that where there is such high demand for any product involving human or animal byproduct (including hair), the stage is set for gross rights abuses. Factory farms - factory hair farms - the analogy is not so far off. Third world women are used for the hair industry, for egg donation (with ovary ripening drugs), as surrogate mothers, the list goes on and on. Various organizations monitor these activities and agitate for change, but like most "women's issues," you have to be VERY vocal before anyone hears you. Trips to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt, and Pakistan have opened my eyes. DO NOT BELIEVE the "Indian Virgin Temple Hair" propaganda, please! If you're interested in learning more, visit the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Children web site.

I just wanted to add that the synthetic hair extensions are also great looking, hurt no one directly (though they may have environmental consequences, I haven't checked into that, and would welcome hearing from someone who has), and come in many fun colours, lengths, and styles.

DARKMARTIAN
May 22nd, 2010, 12:16 PM
We will never see ourselves weened off oil....not in our lifetime at least .The governments of the world make way too money off of it. Virtually all machinery is dependant on oil to function properly. Even with the electricity and the fuel to run it.....without the oil to lubricate its moving parts...it will not work. And sure there are synthetic oils but its use is very little in the bigger picture.

This is just how it is.......sad but true. We depend on it for virtually everything in some way or another.....

Buddaphlyy
May 22nd, 2010, 12:19 PM
I am not an american, but i say that she can go forth with it. It is BP whom you should rage at.
And well your own government for allowing BP to get away with it.


Unconscionable? Absolutely not.

You may not personally agree with getting extensions done on your head. However, if another person feels that getting extensions on his or her head would make them feel happier and be more attractive, then by all means he or she has the freedom to do so. They definitely shouldn't be judged for their choices.

And in fact, there are quite a few members here who are currently wearing permanent extensions right now or they have the clip-in extensions that you can put on and take off yourself. Some members here also own wigs which they wear for their own personal enjoyment.

The real long term solution to solving the oil spill in the Gulf if your asking my opinion is weening ourselves off of oil and switching to cleaner, renewable, greener forms of fuel.

Totally agree with both of these posts.

I will be putting braid extensions in my hair at the end of the month, but I was disappointed and outraged with the spill long before I made that decision.

Not to mention, I personally think the whole "send the hair to save the Gulf" thing wasn't feasible from the first place. I vaguely remember someone saying that BP said the valve/vent is leaking 5000 barrels of oil PER DAY. And it's been leaking for over a month. I don't think there's enough hair in the world to cover that up.

Carolyn
May 22nd, 2010, 12:26 PM
My gosh, just what people with long hair need is more guilt and criticism heaped on for having long hair. The oil spill is horrible of course but I don't think anyone should be made to feel guilty for keeping their hair long because of it. If someone wishes to get extensions, I don't think it's anyone's business.

jane53
May 22nd, 2010, 03:35 PM
Very weird. I just posted above about someone telling me I should cut my hair to help save the Gulf, and I just got back from a community activity at which 4 women had just cut off all their hair to help save the Gulf.

Noble. Probably cooler in summer too. But I'm not sure that even a few hundred thousand haircuts will fix the Gulf.

Sunsailing
May 22nd, 2010, 04:37 PM
I don't see any connection between the oil spill an hair extensions.

Petroleum usage....even if we didn't use petroleum for fuel, we would still need it. There are so many products sourced from petroleum....most of us are wearing a petroleum product right now as we read this thread.
How many things in your house or driveway are completely free of plastic?
My point is that petroleum is a much bigger part of our lives than most of us realize.

But I'll gladly bag up any hair left over from my dusting trims and donate it to the cause!!:D

Anje
May 22nd, 2010, 05:05 PM
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127041062

I heard on the radio yesterday that the donated hair isn't being used on the oil spill (currently).

I think I'll stay out of the discussion on whether hair extensions are ethical, now or ever.

SHELIAANN1969
May 22nd, 2010, 05:19 PM
I don't worry about what other people do or don't do to their hair, it's their hair, their money, their business.

The oil spill is a mess, I don't think we could clean it up if everyone in the USA donated their hair.

I think we should live and let live in regards to beauty habits and personal choices. Actually, I think we should live and let live unless we see that some harm is being done. Too many people think it's their personal business to get into the choices that others make, it makes life hell sometimes.

GlassEyes
May 22nd, 2010, 05:32 PM
If you feel that terribly guilty, you should shave your head and send off your hair. It's really the same theory, honestly--just because someone is buying their hair doesn't mean that they have less of an attachment to it, or that they have to give up their extensions.

I hate the situation as well, but I don't think there's quite enough hair to get rid of it that way. ):

linda g
May 22nd, 2010, 06:08 PM
This may be a dumb question, but how much hair WOULD it take?

Pegasus Marsters
May 22nd, 2010, 06:09 PM
If you feel that terribly guilty, you should shave your head and send off your hair. It's really the same theory, honestly--just because someone is buying their hair doesn't mean that they have less of an attachment to it, or that they have to give up their extensions.

I hate the situation as well, but I don't think there's quite enough hair to get rid of it that way. ):

What he said basically. :)

julliams
May 23rd, 2010, 07:21 AM
My mother in law said to my daughter and I that we should cut off our hair and donate it to the oil clean up. I'm pretty sure she was just joking but I was thinking that giving them a bucket would collect more oil than 6 inches of my hair could offer.

FrannyG
May 23rd, 2010, 07:34 AM
I absolutely don't think it's inappropriate. It's no more inappropriate than having long hair and not cutting it all off.

When it comes to disasters, whether natural or man-made, there are always options to contribute in many different ways. How one chooses to contribute is their own business.

May
June 7th, 2010, 04:55 PM
You might not be alone in your thinking but I most definitely and respectfully disagree with you.

I really think there are other places to place blame than on people with hair extensions...:rolleyes:

RavennaNight
June 7th, 2010, 05:19 PM
I am really tired of the pressure being put on people in regards to perceived selfishness.:( I think it is really holier-than-thou (in general, not the OP) to judge and guilt people in this way. Wether it's the oil spill or cancer or what have you, I am so sickened by this trend to judge everyone and their uncle as selfish for their PERSONAL decisions. It is a way to allow onesself to feel misguidedly morally superior.

"Shame shame shame! How DARE you have long hair, wether it is real or fake. You don't need it! You better donate that colorful plumage because it is a symbol of your unabashed selfishness and vanity. And that is a mortal sin in our secular, yet nouveaux-puritanistic society. Deny yourself everything." /ranting sarcasm

Quixii
June 7th, 2010, 05:23 PM
My gosh, just what people with long hair need is more guilt and criticism heaped on for having long hair. The oil spill is horrible of course but I don't think anyone should be made to feel guilty for keeping their hair long because of it. If someone wishes to get extensions, I don't think it's anyone's business.
I agree with this.

Lamb
June 7th, 2010, 05:31 PM
Right. So first there was Locks of Love, now it's the BP oil spill. :rolleyes: OP, should everyone driving their car feel guilty too for using oil when there's so much of the stuff floating around?
Oh, and you might be interested in this thread:
http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=48858

ladylovecraft
June 7th, 2010, 06:19 PM
You might not be alone in your thinking but I most definitely and respectfully disagree with you.

I really think there are other places to place blame than on people with hair extensions...:rolleyes:

This, precisely.

ibleedlipstick
June 7th, 2010, 06:34 PM
I have to say that I respectfully disagree with you. I feel that they are a luxury item that is a personal choice, but they are entitled to that option. We are in a financial crisis in this country as well, and have been for a few years now. I use a perfume and skin cream that cost me about $500 a year. I have cut off all non-essential spending except for these items. I'm sure that I could donate that money to a cause, but to be completely honest, the perfume and facial cream make me feel beautiful. They are the luxury that I allow myself while I am working two jobs and studying at night. The scent of the perfume makes me smile every time I catch a whiff, and that makes it worth it. The ritual of putting the cream on my skin relaxes me as I prepare to go to bed. It is worth the extra money for me.

I believe that this is what the extensions do for the women who get them. The extensions make them feel beautiful. I would never, ever begrudge someone that feeling. I miss having my hair brush against the base of my spine as I comb it. I can understand why someone would want to get them- I think that everyone who has long hair can probably imagine why someone would want to have hair that long. The oil spill is horrific, and has done untold damage. Shaving my head and donating my hair is not going to undo it. I worry for the environment, but at this point, ever person in the world would have to shave their head, and I doubt that even that would save it.

Athena's Owl
June 7th, 2010, 07:19 PM
every single person in america man woman and child could shave their heads for the hair cleanup method and IT WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH HAIR.

honestly, i'm more angry about that than somebody faking it up.

jane53
June 7th, 2010, 07:22 PM
I live in a Gulf state and the oil gusher is destroying wildlife and wetlands right now. Hair isn't going to fix it. I'm heartbroken and my long hair isn't the solution.

Nae
June 7th, 2010, 07:31 PM
Since hair is NOT being used for the cleanup it is a moot point. I don't really have any feelings one way or the other about extentions. The oil spill is just the worst thing I can imagine I understand how everyone wants to help in anyway that it can be accomplished but no sense in giving away hair if it won't even be used. It would be akin to throwing money into the gulf, money may help but it needs to be used in a proper way.

Raine
June 8th, 2010, 12:19 AM
Well, since hair is no longer an issue regarding the oil spill, I say more power to her. I'll go ahead and say that I'd have extensions if I could afford some decent looking long ones, and if they wouldn't ruin my real hair. I actually looked into it last summer, because I shaved my waist length hair down to 1/4" inch and am trying to grow it back out. It would be really nice to "cheat" through this horrible in between phase, until my natural hair is at least shoulder length.

Oskimosa
June 8th, 2010, 01:31 AM
On a certain level, I get what you mean. Looking at the way the wildlife has been harmed, looking at what's been going on down there, you're not immediately concerned about who's to blame or how much it will help; just that there was hair needed--even loose clipping from salon floors, and you had it; why not give? Of course there are many other factors involved now, including how they are no longer using hair, but the mental guilt you felt put pressure on your conscience, while you observed another person who clearly didn't give a whit about it... I get where you are coming from. I've felt that way about other situations. But look at the situation now; it's changed, and hair isn't going to help make it better.

It's best to give the benefit of the doubt in situations like that. We can't possibly know all the circumstances of people lives; if we spend time and energy imagining the worst, we end up hurting ourselves more than anyone else.

jera
June 8th, 2010, 01:33 AM
Since hair is NOT being used for the cleanup it is a moot point. I don't really have any feelings one way or the other about extentions. The oil spill is just the worst thing I can imagine I understand how everyone wants to help in anyway that it can be accomplished but no sense in giving away hair if it won't even be used. It would be akin to throwing money into the gulf, money may help but it needs to be used in a proper way.

I thought BP had issued a statement about not using the hair donated for the cleanup. Thanks for clarifying. :)

Dontcha feel sorry for anyone who sacrificed their hair thinking they were going to help clean up the oil spill only to have BP destroy their seascape, murder the wildlife, and deprive them of their hair in the bargain. What corporations get away with !!

error
June 8th, 2010, 01:43 AM
Just a thought , but maybe , just maybe, the point of all us long hair folk ,getting together on LHC, all happened for a reason. Maybe we are meant to march out into the gulf in army slacks ,and bikini tops , then dive into that oily water , to save the marine life! HA you think we would put a dent in it?