Pukka Hair Extensions and Enrapture Totem Styler

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, had an important university essay to do and have been soooo busy, but I promise to blog as normal now! :)

So, I received my first ever set of hair extensions in the post this week!! I've always wanted to try them but could never figure out what colour I'd need, what length I'd need and to be honest couldn't really afford them. Anyway, I discovered Pukka Hair  who sell 100% Remy Human Hair extensions at a reasonable price. I wanted human hair extensions so I could style them and wash them etc.

After much deliberation I decided I didn't want them to look too unnatural and too long for my own hair so I settled for 18" extensions. I still wasn't sure what colour I needed so I emailed Pukka Hair to ask for a colour match and sent them two pictures of my hair. They replied within 24 hours telling me my match would be #60 which is Lightest Blonde. They cost me £49.99 for the extensions and delivery was £5.99 for 2-3 days delivery (4-7 days is available for £4.99 but for the extra £1 I decided I'd rather have them sooner).

I tried them in my hair when they arrived just to check I was happy with the colour match (once the gold hygiene band is removed you cannot exchange them so be careful!) and then decided to style them for my blog review. 

I styled my extensions and my own hair with my favourite totem styler by Enrapture. I like these as they have 3 different sections on the barrel which can be heated up at three different temperatures to create different curls. You adjust the numbers to decide how tight or loose you want the curls which I will show you later on in the post. They retail at £74.99 but can often be found on offer at various retailers which can be found on their site. I was lucky enough to get mine for £37.50 at Superdrug just before Christmas so keep your eyes peeled for offers! I also own the Jumbo Waver by Enrapture which I absolutely love as well and will post a review on shortly. I need their heated rollers to complete my collection but have to save up money for them first as they also retail at £74.99! As soon as I'm able to purchase them I'll post a review on them too.

So, my extensions came packaged like this:

They will be more securely packaged than mine as I have removed my gold hygiene bands and played around with them in my hair prior to this post.

You receive eight pieces of hair weighing 85g starting with the 1 x 8" wide weft (4 clips attached):

I start by putting this one at the bottom of my extensions when I put them in (this may be wrong, but for the size of my head it works best so as I can apply the single ones around the side of my head which I will explain later). I usually line this up with the tops of my ears.

Next we have 2 x 6" wide weft (3 clips attached):

I apply these above the piece with 4 clips.

Next we have 2 x 4" wide weft (2 clips attached) and 1 x 3" wide weft (2 clips attached):

The 3" piece is on the left and the 2 x 4" pieces are on the right. I put these above the previous pieces of hair leaving just enough room either side to fit the next pieces which are 2 x 2" wide weft (1 clip attached):

I place these either side of the previous pieces approximately in line with my eyes at the side of my head, just so all of the hair blends. 

The extensions feel really soft and lovely to touch. I proceeded to spray them with my L'oreal Hot Straight Spray (I know that doesn't make sense if I'm curling them, however I ran out of my normal heat defence spray and I'd rather use the Hot Straight than burn the extensions as they would lose their great quality).

I styled my extensions using the Encode Totem Styler as mentioned by Enrapture. They come in a beautiful purple box that looks great on your dressing table:

I tried to package them back in their box exactly as I received them so as you can see how they arrived to me before I used them.

As you can see they look extremely professional and I just love their packaging so much (it is the same for the Jumbo Waver).

 As you can see there is a flipper which I am personally glad about as it makes it easier to style, however if you're not a fan of flippers, don't worry as it is only short and no longer than the first section of the barrel, allowing it to also be used as a curling wand if that's what you prefer. The numbers dial allows you to create the perfect curl, 1-1-1 being very loose curls and 3-3-3 being the tightest curls. I personally styled mine with the combination 1-2-3 from top to bottom (the tip of the wand being one, and the bottom being 3, so the curls at my roots were not as tight as the bottom of my curls. I absolutely love the amount of control you have over your hair with this styler and I think it is so innovative. Completely in love with this brand. 

The results of these curlers on my hair extensions are as follows:

The final picture is all of my extensions finished and ready to clip in. If you're struggling to curl them with one hand then I suggest you try and find a trouser/skirt hanger and clip your extension in to them which then allows you to hang them up and work with two hands and not just one.

The following pictures are my hair curled with the styler and without extensions:

 As you can see the curls are tighter at the bottom than at the top which is exactly what I wanted!

This is my hair with the extensions in:

Funny enough I did want a bit of length added on to my hair but as you can see not much has changed in length as they are only a few centimetres longer than my own hair! However, they have added a lot of volume! The colour is a perfect match and you can't tell I have them in at all! In the mirror pictures you can see the bump in my hair at the back and I'd just like to clarify that this is nothing to do with the extensions, but rather the fact I had my hair tied up all day which left a kink in my hair and I did not want to straighten my hair immediately before curling as it would be counter productive, so rest assured the back of your hair will not have kinks and bumps :). The extensions are so undetectable underneath your own hair and are really light and don't pull on your hair or weigh your head down, I could literally wear them day in, day out. Now I just need to buy 20" extensions for a bit of length!!!

I hope this helped anyone looking for reasonably priced, good quality, human hair extensions or anyone unsure whether to bite the bullet. I also really recommend the Totem Styler whether to style extensions or your own hair as it really is the most amazing heated hair styler I own besides the Jumbo Waver!

Amanda :) xx