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Are you ready for hair extensions?

‘Glamorous’ really doesn’t need to be an adjective reserved only for today’s hottest celebrities, especially since it’s now easier than ever to look like a star! Have you noticed the amount of celebrities who suddenly have grown long, flowing locks overnight? After doing a bit of research online and calling several salons here in the city I was ready to jump on the hair wagon. If Paris Hilton can walk around one day with a “bob” and be photographed the next day with 20 inches of golden tresses, I can too! You don’t need to be a millionaire to look like one, and you too can look as though you just had crab cakes and champagne for lunch with your girlfriends at The Ivy in Beverly Hills! (Minus the annoying paparazzi and the short stint in rehab, of course!)


If you are anything like my sister, Pamela (Lifestyle’s Style Editor), and I, it takes a lot of time and effort to grow your hair past your shoulders. Our hair is fine and breaks easily so in order to achieve the look I wanted, I would have to grow my mane for at least five years. I don’t have five years to wait! Summer is just around the corner and I want LONG hair! It will go perfectly with the Rosa Cha bikini I got so many months ago when I promised to hit the gym four days a week. That bikini has been snickering at me from my lingerie drawer since I bought it and I was just about ready to give it away to my nearest Salvation Army store when my very wise sister whispered to me: “Those extra Christmas pounds won’t matter much anymore. When your hair is fabulous everything else just falls into place.” She has yet to lead me astray. So I asked her to take the journey with me.

Luckily, Pamela and I found Jay Wells Salon, the only salon in Halifax to use a technique favoured by celebrity stylists called “Great Lengths.” Stylist Lisa Myers uses the same hair that Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz and Jessica Simpson use on our Maritime locks. This process is incredibly gentle on the hair. No horror stories here! This is 100 per cent natural human hair of the highest quality, the process takes approximately five hours, it is completely painless and I have to say I had a blast! Everyone at Jay Wells salon made us feel right at home. It is a timely process, depending on the length, fullness and look that you desire but it is time well spent. You will need a consultation with your stylist to talk about your expectations and to match the colour of the extensions and you are well on your way to having the hair of your dreams!

There are some things that I’m still trying to get used to with my new hair. For example, I have to brush it at least twice a day with a special “Great Lengths” brush that is made of natural bristles so as to not damage the hairs. Before bed, I need a loose braid and a satin pillowcase so the hairs stay tangle free. As I write this, I have had my extensions for a little over a week and I am really beginning to feel like they are my own. The first few days take some getting used to but when you look in the mirror and see that beautiful hair shining back at you, it reminds you that you just made the best beauty decision of your life!

My sister and I are patiently waiting for the weather to warm up so we can take our new hair to the beach. That Rosa Cha bikini I was talking about earlier has quieted the snickering and moved onto whistling at me from my lingerie drawer! It is going to be the perfect accessory to my new silky golden locks. The very same locks I’ve been ogling on celebrities since I opened my first fashion magazine as a teenager.

A very special thank you to everyone at the Jay Wells Salon in Halifax. Lisa Myers is a miracle worker, I dare say a hair genius, and being at the salon is like sitting in your best girlfriend’s living room gossiping over green teas, except in this case, it was champagne and all of your friends wore designer denim and had FABULOUS hair! •

Cailean Canning is a stylist with Lifestyle Maritimes Magazine. Photo by Josh Webb. Makeup by Priscilla Love @ Making Faces. Paisley Print Dress by Joseph Ribkoff and Blue Jersey Babydoll Dress by Ripe, both @ Samuel & Co., Park Lane Mall, Halifax.