Hey ladies,

I have about an inch of fresh regrowth after losing pretty much all of my hair from chemotherapy (for breast cancer). I don't have the face card to pull off short hair and I'm deeply insecure and afraid to leave the house. I've never had extensions before, but I think it might be my only hope.

I want to get extensions while my hair grows out, but I have no idea if they can work on very short hair, or how long I'd have to wait. I've read that keratin nano tips might be the way to go, but I don't know if they will work.

My regrowth is actually pretty dense and healthy, so I'm not too worried about it being thick enough. Would extensions be safe? I don't need long mermaid hair, I'd be happy even with a relatively fine bob. I'm losing hope and can't deal with being stuck inside or in a beanie for several more months

In my last 2 posts I talked about single drawn and double drawn hair. In both of them 2 words kept coming up, machine Remy and temple Remy. So this one is about that, because this is where the real difference in quality comes from.

Machine Remy

In a lot of small villages and towns, women keep the hair that falls out when they comb. People go around to those homes and buy it. Then all of it gets collected and sold to bigger vendors at a higher price, and everyone takes their little profit on the way.

- Hair from a lot of different women gets mixed together

- Machines are used to line up the cuticles and set the heads and tails

- Chemicals and bleach are used, and that's why the quality drops

- You can only color it up to #27

Temple Remy

A lot of people donate their hair in temples. It's a tradition and part of the culture. Companies then buy this hair from the government through tenders.

- The hair can come from a single donor, but it can also be mixed from multiple donors

- No machine or chemical processing at all, that's why it's called temple Remy

- The only processing happens when black hair is colored into another shade, and even then the quality stays really good

- Because of this the quality is much better and the hair stays in good condition

- Price is higher than machine Remy

- You can color it up to #60

Temple Remy vs Machine Remy

What does #27 vs #60 actually mean?

#60 is basically white or platinum blonde. Only really good quality hair can reach that level. Low quality hair will just get damaged. That's why this is the easiest way to tell the two apart. If a hair can only go up to #27, it's machine remy. If it can go up to #60, it's temple remy.

Does it matter if it's single or double drawn?

Both types can come from either source. So you can get single drawn machine remy, single drawn temple remy, double drawn machine remy and double drawn temple remy. Double drawn costs more because the short hairs get taken out. Example: one donor gives 300 g of hair and 100 g of it is short hair. Take that out and only 200 g of double drawn is left.

So "double drawn" alone doesn't tell you the quality. Always ask which source it is.

Quality Ladder

Quick note, I only work in the Indian hair industry, so everything here is about Indian hair only.

Thank you :)

Long story sorry in advance -in March 2026 I switched to a new to me hair stylist and have loved everything she has done including fixing my previous stylist work.

It was time for new hair so she bought curly hair ones from a brand that had good reviews but she hadn't personally used before. She installed and tried to color but the color didnt take right on the extensions. She then toned (same appt) my extensions and she still didnt love the color but it was better than the first round. She told me to go home try them out and let her know. (I paid for the hair in advance of my appt and paid for the install fee plus color during this appt)

Within 2 days I let her know the extensions needed to be shorter and I didnt love the color. She moved mountains to get back in that week because I had a wedding to attend. She tried to re color the extensions and they came out muddled, she made the decision to pull the curly hair/new extensions out and put my old ones back on(thankfully she saved them for a few days). She wouldnt let me even tip her for her time reinstalling the old extensions.

She got ahold of the curly hair extension company, they wont refund her money and will only give her 30% off her next purchase. She bought new hair and I have an upcoming appt for installation of the new (not curly) extensions this week. She told me she wouldn't allow me to pay for new extensions or the installation of them "because I already paid for both once".

It's a double edged sword, she is the salon owner so I appreciate she isnt charging for the service BUT I also know that she is losing money by paying for the 2nd set of extensions and installing for free.

How do I handle this? I really like her professionally and she has helped me with my hair tremendously. Previously I have always been a tipper of 20 to 25% for each appt so not paying for anything makes me feel bad.