The lovely Rebecca from Rebecca’s 3 R’s reviewed I&K’s 100% Human Hair Clip-In Hair Extensions, available exclusively at Hairtade. So if you’re thinking of getting some extensions her thorough review might answer any questions you have!

I&K Gold Hair Extensions…

Hair extensions have always been on my radar, I have never been fortunate enough to be graced with long flowing locks so over the past 8 years or so I have kept my hair short. It is probably at the longest that it has been over them years now, although it’s still shorter at the back that the front.

I recently signed up to the fabulous Hair Trade blogger partnership, which you may have noticed from the shiny badge over there on the right. This means that I get one fabulous product each month to share my thoughts with you guys, and this is the first one, so I shall get straight onto it.

The I&K Gold hair extensions come in three lengths on the Hair Trade website and numerous different colours to suit all hair types. The lengths are 14″, 18″ and 22″, depending on the colour chosen there may only be the first two options. The colours range from the deepest of jet blacks to the sun kissed lightest blondes, obviously spanning the whole spectrum of colours in between too. They are 100% premium quality grade A human hair which is also tangle free, meaning that you have a lot of scope to play around with different styles as the hair can be treated as your own, as long as they are well protected from heat, and cared for in the correct way.

I  chose the 18″ Burgundy I&K Gold extensions* which currently retail at £59.99. I chose the burgundy colour as I wanted them to be a contrast to my currently red hair. I have been loving the dip dye, two tone effects that have been gracing the catwalks and magazines over the past couple of months, so I did not want an exact match to my hair colour, which is why in the pictures they are two different tones. If you want to match your hair spot on with your new extensions then a fabulous service that the lovely people at Hair Trade offer is a sample colour matching one. You simply pay £1 for a single sample of the colour of extensions that you think will match, you can order as many samples as you like for £1 each, you then get a discount code sent to you that you can redeem against the purchase of your new extensions when you have matched the colour, therefore knocking £1 off the cost if you ordered just one sample, of £4 if you ordered four. The order colour sample button is on the individual information page of the extensions so is easy to find. Also you can return the extensions for an exchange of colour within fourteen days of purchasing if you don’t feel that they match, as long as they have not been removed from the cardboard insert. So there is an option for everyone and every situation.

Delivery of the extensions was great, the order for my extensions was processed on a Friday and they arrived on my doorstep at 7.30am on the following Monday. It will only cost £4.15 for a set like these, and that is via Royal Mail registered if you spend less than £80, spend more than that on hair extensions and delivery is free. The extensions from Hair Trade were also well packed in a perfectly sized box and complete with a hair extensions after-care guide and hair extension FAQ booklet too.

The extensions themselves come packaged in a very nice and handy plastic sleeve, which ensure that they are flat during transit, and the clips are all held together at the top of the packaging with a gold twist tie. The neutral tones of the striped I&K packaging are really pleasing to the eye, they make them look professional and worth the money that you are paying.

The 18″ I&K gold set of extensions weigh 120g without the clips, so you are getting a lot of hair. The set includes ten clip in pieces, with eighteen clips, you also get two test pieces which have no clips attached. The size of the pieces vary, there is one 8″ wide piece, a 7″ one, two 6″ wide ones and then eight size 1 1/2″ pieces, along with the two test pieces which are the same width. So there is plenty of hair to be used, and the end result is variable dependant on the thickness of your own hair. The clips that are attached to the extensions are amazing, they feel so strong, yet so comfortable in the hair, they don’t pull at all and they really grip the hair, even fine stuff like mine. They are easy to use, and snap open and shut with ease, there is no fiddling around to be done, simply slide into position and snap shut.

(Sizes as pictured- From the top- 7″ piece, 6″ piece, 8″ piece, 6″ piece, 4 of 1 1/2″ pieces, 2 of 1 1/2″ pieces.)

Now my hair is pretty fine all over, in particular on the top but still it’s still quite bulky around the back sections. For me the  best combination to use was the 7″ piece first, I found this most comfortable and natural looking around the area of the occipital bone, I then left about an inch and inserted the 8″ piece there. I then took the to 6″ sections and placed them so the two met in the centre of the back of my head, and then came round each side to give some length to the sides. Then I simply took two if the six 1 1/2″ inch pieces for either side and clipped them in about one inch from my hair line, but a little higher than where the 6″ sections ended.

This gives a great natural and full look for me, without looking too artificial with my fine natural hair. Obviously  you could see where the join was as I was aiming to achieve a two tone effect, which I did so, perfectly if I do say so myself.

(Shown in artificial light at night on the left, and with flash on the right to show the colour difference)

The burgundy colour of the extensions that I chose is utterly amazing. It shines so many different colours under different lights, there are tones of magenta, purple, red and of course burgundy all mixed in there to give the most amazing intense even colour. I was so surprised also by the softness of the extensions, obviously they have been colour treated to get an intense finish but the condition of them is still phenomenal. With the I&K Gold extensions being 100% human hair they can be treated as your own. I still treat them with more care though, I use my straighteners on them at around 180° instead of the normal 200° that I would on my own hair. I also make sure I always use a heat protector to avoid too much damage.

(Extensions in after straightening)

Even though you can dye the hair if needs be, it isn’t recommended as the condition of the outcome cannot be guaranteed as they have already been colour treated, but as mentioned before, Hair Trade offer a sample service so you can get the colour spot on the first time.

The 100% human hair is as mentioned super soft to the touch and obviously acts just like normal hair. It is a dream to straighten and curl, I have been doing both of these when the extensions are in, and I feel no pain or discomfort of pulling on the clips or anything when doing so. I love the look of the extensions either curly or straight. When straight my own hair just looks like long layers, and when I wear the extensions curly I simply curl the ends of my on hair too and then run my fingers through it to loosen up the curls and blend them in.

(Curled with hair straighteners, various thickness of sections pulled through the straighteners whilst twisting)

I found the I&K Gold extensions from Hair Trade to be super comfortable throughout the whole day. There was absolutely no pulling on my own hair, and they felt safe and secure all day. Even after being put into a ponytail, plait and curled! I was very impressed by this as I was expecting them to become a little loose after pulling them around so much. They also feel really safe and comfortable when brushing through too, I do this just after putting them in with a large soft bristle brush.

Of course removing the extensions is just as simple and comfortable as putting them in, for me I find it easy to plait the extensions and secure with a bobble, then starting with the highest placed extensions just un-clip them working my way down, that way then I don’t have to worry about pieces going missing as they are all secure within the plait. I then tie them at the top near the clips, release the plait and brush them thoroughly before placing them back inside the plastic case that they came in and then I have kept the box to keep them extra safe, and I just stand that up by the side of my dressing table.

I haven’t washed my extensions yet as they have only been with me a little while, but I will do soon and I will update you on how it goes when I do. I have every confidence in the results being fab as long as I follow the care instructions, as these extensions really are amazing quality.

Overall I really cannot recommend these extensions enough, obviously the product is amazing and I have been raving on about them in this post so I gather you may have picked that up, but also the service from the lovely Laura and Hair Trade overall has been just as fabulous, which definitely enhances the whole experience.

I think the £59.99 price point for the 18″ I&K Gold extensions is great too, I have seen other similar sets a lot more expensive than this on various websites, and although I cannot speak of their quality or service I really would not recommend paying more when you can get these for such a low price in comparison.

You can see the full range of colours here on the Hair Trade website, and also check out the different length options for each shade. The prices start at just £39.99 for the 16″ set, so please do check them out if you are looking for a new set of extensions.

I think I have covered every aspect in this review, I hope I haven’t rambled on too long, which I probably have, but you have made it to this far so you must be interested in reading my rambles too. So I will conclude this review here. If you have any questions regarding these extensions or any product on the Hair Trade website then you can get in touch via Twitter and Facebook with the lovely team and I am sure they will help you out 100%.  They also have a fabulous blog which you can find here, and a YouTube channel which is packed full of step by step guides to a lot of their different amazing products, so do pop on over there and have a look through.

Are you a wearer of extensions? I’m still getting used to seeing long hair on me, when I do wear these so would love to know what you think of them? I do eventually want to match my natural hair colour to the burgundy extensions as they are such a gorgeous colour, but I cannot for the life of me find a burgundy hair dye! So if you know of one then please let me know!

Thank you for reading.

Bec x