shrinkies...

Hi all i'm new here, although i've been reading alot of the pages, which is really useful!
I'm new to using shrinkies, hair extentions is rare where i am!
I was wondering, I have straight dark hair.. if i were to use shrinkies to apply light brown wavy human hair... will it blend in ok? also what is pre-tipped hair?
i was just curious, thanks!

Please read my first review of shrinkies back in October here:

http://www.enhancementmedia.com/cgi-bin/beauty/index.cgi?noframes;read=59382

I have photo links in that post that show what shrinkies look like up close in both blonde and brown hair.

The only thing I would amend to that post now is that the "fusion" glue on the inside of the shrinkie does come out with acetone and vegetable oil. I will not say all the residue comes out with the oil because sometimes I have more coating on my strand than others.

I think any extension application can have a downside. The shrinkie residue is that applications only fault, imo. I rarely have to take the time to work it out though because I usually put a strand right back in the same spot. How can I do that? Because I still have all my hair and it's not broken. Yay!

Hi AMM,

How long does it take you to do a full head? And how long do you have to apply the heat clamp for? Do you think this would work with Monofibre the same way as with Human Hair?

I'd just like to add that I tried shrinkies for the first time last night, just put a couple in my hair and I thought WOW these are absolutely fantastic, I used a pre-bonded extension and they just grabbed it !!!

Excellent news. Did you use the kind from Doc Locks? Which prebonded hair did you use? Are you finding that the they're smaller and less noticable that other methods? Any tips you'd like to share? Congratulations!

Yes I used the kind from Dr Locs, they are fantastic, I couldn't believe how well they shrank and how small and undetectable they are. I have used and had glue methods and micro-rings and haven't thought much to either of them especially the micro-rings I thought they were terrible things and so uncomfortable to wear but these shrinkies are ace. You can hardly see them and they shrink to the colour of the hair you put in as well, they are so small but effective. I made my own pre-bonded hair using the liquid gold glue. I couldn't wait to use my shrinkies till my fusion wand came so I just used my normal ceramic straighteners and they worked a treat. I've had these shrinkies in for nearly a week now and they are as they were put in, I've used intensive conditioner, straighteners and hairdryer and they haven't budged xxx

Amanda, that's great! Just wait until it's time to remove them and there's no damage. Yippee!

After you reheat the shrinkie to remove it, don't try acetone at first. Try straight vegetable oil and wrap it around the hair strand to gently work it out.

I tried olive oil and it doesn't work. Apparantly it's not gritty enough like veg oil is.

Again, congrats!

Thanks ever so much for the advice. I've just ordered a full head of bohyme hair colour 613 for my first shrinkie client, I'm going to prebond it myself. She can't wait. SHRINKIE HEAVEN XX

I have been using the original 'shrinkie' system called Shrink Links. Shrink Links, (previously known as 'Toobz' or 'Elegant Additions') was invented and patented by Mark Barrington Concepts, Inc over 10 years ago. The Dr. Locks method is a copycat, and Mark Barrington has contacted them regarding patent infringement.

I like the Shrink Link method, but they also leave a lot of sticky residue in the hair and it is hard to get out. I have been using a product called "Take Down" which is a oily substance used to remove hair extension residue and it works good. The only remaining problem is that it is hard to get the oil out of the hair, which you must do before you can reapply.

I would caution anyone against reapplying the Shrinkie over hair that you have not got all the residue off of or brushed out the fallen, naturally shed hair because you could get massive matting problems in the future.

Conparing the two systems, I like the Mark Barrington Shrink Links better than the Dr. Locks' Shrinkies. I think the Shrink Link Shrinks down much better ( I have tried both systems)

The Shrink Links system is only sold to professionally licensed cosmetologists, and I think you have to take a class to become certified.

see the website at www.markbarrington.com

I am not affliated with the company, I have only used their product (and worn it myself) for several years.

Good luck!

I looked at the Mark Barrington site and there is the tm symbol after shrinklinks which means trademark. I did a patent search for shrinklinks and there is none, nor is there one pending. Dr. Locks is fine with what they're doing because they have not called their product the same thing. It's similar to Kleenex. Other companies can make facial tissues that look and feel exactly like Kleenex... they just can't call them Kleenex.

Unfortunatley the Mark Barrington shrinklinks are not available online for purchase. Clear, dual wall tubing and shrinkies are and I for one am grateful.

Why does someone need to be profesionally licensed to use these? Certification is overrated. There's enough former Hairlocs wearers in this crowd that can tell you a "certificate" isn't worth the paper it's printed on sometimes.

Perhaps Mark Barrington will make his shrinklinks available on the market? That would sure be nice. I mean, what's the big holdout here?

Reapplying shrinkies over a hair strand that is still holding residue from a previous shrinkie is fine. It's all about common sense. If you're wearing a strand for a week and it falls out, just reapply -- if you're doing a maintenance after there's been enough time for shedding and matting to start, remove the residue and get the shed hair out.

PS:

metalgirl,

What's inside Barrington's shrinklinks? Do you know what the coating is?

I have to agree with amm: Certification is WAY overrated (two "certified" extensionists ruined my hair way worse than I possibly ever could). I hadn't heard about any patent violation, but I really doubt the Mark Barrington people have much of a case. Even if they do hold the patent, these sorts of products are all rip-offs of one another (fusion, links, Shrinks, and so on), and there are probably enough differences between it and the Doc Locks version that it wouldn't be a problem. I don't see any reason why a product like this wouldn't be available for home use--God knows there are much more damaging products any 13-year-old with an Internet connection can get.

The Take Down product sounds interesting. Is that available for home use? What are the major ingredients?

I just re-read the thread. A trademark is definitely not the same thing as a patent, so if they've only trademarked it, I don't see how it could be a problem.

Has anyone tried shrinkies with human hair? I was wondering if the bonded extensions would slip out of the shrinkie.

Amm uses human hair, so all of her comments above and on various threads apply to human.

hi there!

my roommate has been reading your site and referred me to you...and i have to say WOWOOWOWOWOWOWOW! what a wealth of information!

anyway, i am all over begging my friend to put in shrinkies for me (and likely my roomie too---we''re both sort of donkeys when it comes to hairstyling or i''d do it myself. oh gad, i can only imagine if i did them myself!), but i am baffled by just how MUCH hair i need to purchase. i''ve been looking at the ebonyonline and the superhair...something (i can''t remember already lol) sites that i believe AMM recommended....remy and boheme hair. i have chin length hair and really need maybe 3/4 of a head done---as i think that the way my hair falls would look pretty cool....like intentional layers.

it looks like you can buy 4oz wefts. which means nothing at all to me . how much do y''all recommend i purchase?

i''ve also seen afropuffs'' recommendations about finding cheaper places to buy shrinkies, but being so new to it, i''m a little leery (not that more $ is better-- i spent an ***load much on my last set of extensions and they sucked). also, i have a pretty decent flatiron, will that do to apply them?

whoa. lots of questions. thank you so much for getting thru all that.

kelly

Hi Kelly,

I'd think that you'd need at least three of those wefts (or 200 pretipped strands) to be safe, but I'm not the best at figuring out the ounces.

Hopefully someone else will chime in here...

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

You have chin length hair, you say. How long do you want it to be with extensions? The longer the hair, the shorter the weft will be because of the extra weight in the length. A 10" weft is about 100 feet long. Heehee, I exaggerate on that, but it's pretty darn long.

As a reference, the picture of my hair below is about 22" - 24" and 5 oz in weight which is a little over one weft.

omg Amm you have beautiful hair!! What type do you have in right now? I know I read you have a few differnt kinds but just wondering where you buy it and how you make it. What would we do without you on this board.

first of all, holy craptastic your hair is gorgeous AMM!!

well, my friend has agreed to this, so now i just need to decide on hair. as for length, i'd like it maybe to where the bra strap turns into bra. how's that for a description LOLOLOLOL.

i have and want to keep it straight..i've found the silky straight boheyme for $60 for 4oz online...but locally, $100 will get me this: Weight of each extension is 1/4 th of a pound and the length of the weft is 60-70 inches.

how long will it take to ship the shrinkies? i'm such an instant gratification ******. i want it NOW!!

kelly

Thank you both! Somewhere on here I say what all that hair is and where it came from. There's numerous types and some of it has copper Jazzings streaked in.

Bra strap length is about 18" and one weft will probably be plenty. I'm assuming you'll be making your own strands with it? ebonyonline and superhairfactory is where I believe the good bohyme hair is. Good luck!

commonpleasure...where the heck did you find bohyme for 60 bucks.....gotta know!

http://www.superhairfactory.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_41

of course, that's 12''. which, now i know, is short.

so i think i'll go to the local supply store and get 14'' or 18''... one weft. and order my shrinkies stat. i hope i won't need more then one order???
and hope my flatiron works, b/c i already spent a ton on that thing and i don't know about buying a new tool.

oooooo i'm so excited. i'm moving back east and no one will know they aren't real since i've been gone for 8 months. except the boy i adore. gotta figure out a way to tell him, cause he's the one who will be, um, close enough to figure it out! LOLOLOLOL

yay!

double post sorrrry!!

Concerning Shrink Links ( Mark Barrington Concepts) :

It does say on his website (under the Shrink Links sections) that the method does have a patent on the product. (what that # is-it doesn't say?)

That's what I thought he said when I took the class from him several years ago to become certified. ( I also think certification is over rated)

I happen to live in the same city where the company is located and so I have often stopped into his office to pick up my client's hair orders, and we often chat about how his business is going. Very nice group of people.

I don't think he aggresively markets his system because he wants to keep it 'exclusive'. He would probably never sell a system to an unlicensed person.

A big difference with their system, is that the hair is pretipped with a small plastic end that does not melt under the heat of the flat iron. So that means you can easily reuse the hair several times and don't have to keep rebonding it. It's really no hassle.

Also, they are big on sellling true 100% European Hair which they get from Extensions Plus, in LA. Real European hair is so much better than any kind of Indian hair (which includes Bohyme), but almost three times as expensive. I do have clients who have been using the same European hair for over 2 years with no tangles at all. I myself have also have worn European hair and it is great, if you can afford it. However for the most part, I think Indian Remi hair does just fine for most clients.

For the most part, the Dr. locks system seems good too. Their shrinkies are more firm than the shrink links and therefore take more heat to shrink them down, but I don't think that is a problem.