I Thought Having Hair Extensions Would Make Me More Confident—Boy, Was I Wrong

Like many girls, I've always dreamed of having luxurious, long locks—And although I've tried to achieve length, I've never succeeded.

There's nothing wrong with how long my hair is currently, but there's always been a little voice in the back of my head that's told me if I grow my hair out, if it looks a certain way, I will feel happier, more confident and beautiful.

(Here's what my hair length normally looks like. So short!)

I wasn't sure if this was the case, but I knew there was one way to find out. How? Extensions.

I decided to test out Secret Extensions' invisible headband extensions for five days straight to see how added length really made me feel.

Scroll below to see how long hair unexpectedly affected me.

Long Hair Day One

On day one of this process, I slipped on my Secret Extensions in the morning and tucked my hair into a side pony, thinking it would make my transformation a little less obvious.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I honestly loved what I saw. Even though my hair was in a ponytail, I felt put together and elegant. Funny how hair can do that, huh?

Although I was super excited to see my co-workers' reactions, I was also very anxious. What would they say when I walked in with four extra inches of hair?

When I strolled into work that morning, my co-worker Ashley commented that the color and cut seamlessly blended in with my own hair, putting me at ease. At least the extensions didn't look that obvious.

I carried on with my day, and quite surprisingly, no one else commented on the length of my hair.

Maybe this wasn't as dramatic of a change as I had thought.

Long Hair Day Two

On day two of this experiment, I decided to let my hair down.

I struggled for quite a bit to get the extensions to mix in with my short hair, but when I finally did, it actually looked like I had the locks I've dreamed of for years.

On this day, I had two co-workers comment on my hair, both just asking if I had done something different, neither asking how it had magically grown.

Although I did love the way it looked, every time I caught a glance of myself in a reflection, I didn't necessarily like the way it made me feel.

I felt so unlike myself, so much so, that halfway through the day I actually took the long hair out and stashed it in my purse.

Maybe it was just all in my head, but I thought I looked like a phony trying to be someone I was totally not.

Long Hair Day Three

Day three came, and I wasn't exactly excited about putting on my extensions that morning.

One thing I've always admired about long hair is that there are so many different and fun hairstyles you can create.

Trying to remember what drew me to this hair length, I messed around by styling my locks with bobby pins, playing around with some braids and curling a few places to make them blend more seamless than they had the two previous days.

By putting a little more effort into the hairstyle, I found I was totally satisfied.

Long Hair Day Four

Day four of this experiment was rough.

I woke up late, and had no desire whatsoever to put time and effort into my hair. Normally, I would have thrown my hair into my go-to top bun, but with this particular hair extension, it's hard to do without them showing.

I opted for a low pony, and headed to work, not at all feeling confident about how I looked.

A few hours into the day, I decided to take a walk, so I headed outside—It was a beautiful and extremely warm day.

The intense heat was not so kind to me. Because my hair is normally short and thin, I don't usually deal with overheating when I go outside on a hot day.

This wasn't the case with extensions. The weight of the synthetic hair on my shoulders was heavy, hot and extremely uncomfortable. So unbearable, in fact, that I had to take them out.

On this particular day, I was very thankful for my light and fine hair.

Long Hair Day Five

The last day of my experiment, I attempted to try out yet another style and see if that affected how I felt about my hair length.

I went with a simple fishtail braid—something I'm not able to do with my short hair.

Honestly, being able to braid my hair (and quickly), was a major bonus. Having a long, loose braid makes you look put together without looking like you've put much effort in, which is something I've always wished to achieve.

On this last day, I received more compliments than I did on the previous days, but I'm not sure if that's because my hair looked cute, or if I was just having a good day and exuding more confidence than usual. ????

The Verdict

Overall, I enjoyed my experience of rocking hair extensions. It was a nice change and a way to quickly transform my look without a whole lot of effort.

Although I genuinely liked the way I looked 99% of the time while wearing the hair, it definitely made me overly self-aware.

As I mentioned above, I never fully felt like myself while wearing the hair piece. I felt like a fraud trying to be someone I'm actually not.

I don't believe this experiment made me any more confident than I already am, because, as cliche as this sounds, confidence truly does come within.

If anything, this experiment taught me that in order to feel beautiful, happy and confident, I must first appreciate and love the hair I already have!

So no, hair extensions didn't make me believe in myself more, but yes, they did make me rethink about how I treat and perceive myself on a daily basis.

Moral of the story: Happiness and confidence don't come from something as silly as hair length. Love yourself and others will take notice!

 

I'm always trying new styles with my hair. Click HERE to see what happened when I tried out a Zig Zag iron for cool crimped locks!