Highlights from the article by Katie Glass which appeared in the Sunday Times Article 12th Ferbruary 2012.

“I’ll get hair extensions. I’ll look like Cheryl Cole; men will want to sleep with me, my life will be better.. Why not? So I did. And they work.”...

Once the preserve of Wags, porn stars and Jordan, extensions have upgraded from chavvy to chic. Everyone from Cheryl Cole to (allegedly) Kate Middleton has been seduced. Natural-looking and reassuringly expensive, they make you appear younger (by babying-fying your face) and thinner (by out sizing your body)...

Extensions say ‘i’m sexy.’ and ‘i’m rich’ I wanted some obviously.”...

"In a Swivel chair at the ColourNation salon off Oxford Street, Brad takes my hair in his hands. "Mmm it's very... Natural," he says, like that's not a good thing. With 15 years in the industry, Brad does all the big names. "You know Lucy from Towie? That's my hair." The extensions company he uses, Great Lengths, has seen demand leap - more than 70% in the past five years. Brad's clients range from 16 to their sixties, from trendy teens to wealthy older women. His clients spend upto £2,000 for four- hour appointments every six months - " Normal women", says Brad, "from women maxing out their credit card to treat themselves, to someone who won't bat an eyelid."
"Men love long hair," trills Evgenia Nokhrina, 29, her golden extensions sweeping her waist. "My boyfriend loves it. I have a male friend who was mesmerised by it. Girls are very jealous." Her colleagues don't know it's fake. An interior designer, she spends £1,200 on them every four months. "It's addictive. I'm not very curvaceous, but as soon as I had my hair long, I felt more feminine, more beautiful. This is my trademark now."
Businesswoman Pam Hague-Wilton, 44, spent £1,600 on her first set two months ago.
"It was a tenfold return on my investment. It makes me feel more confident, more feminine, more relaxed. I see myself differently. My husband loves it - he was thrilled. I'm a bit of an instant-gratification person - I want long hair so I go and get long hair!"
"I want really, really, long hair," I tell Brad. But he says hair-extensions virgins shouldn't attempt more than 18in (because of the work of looking after them, and the weight). He tries some hair out against my head and I picture my new life. What will happen when a man runs his fingers through my hair? "Well," drawls Brad, "his fingers will get stuck."... In salon I ask Pam and Eve if they worry where their hair is coming from? "No," says Pam. Evie shrugs: "Not much." In Fact, the extensions ColourNation uses come from GreatLengths... [Which is ethically sourced]...

It takes five hours for Brad to equip my head with £1,400-worth of somebody else's hair. Dragging down my scalp are more than 200 tiny bonds - attached with high-tech cold-fusion technique that seals the extensions to my own hair with ultrasonic waves. It feels like i have paper clips in my head. I like to think I'm not an idiot, but the minute the hair goes in I become one. I walk around swishing it at passing men. For some reason they love it; perhaps because behind the glossy shag-me mane they cannot see my face. Male friends coo: "You look so much more feminine."

- Katie Glass. Sunday Times Magazine 12th February 2012.

See the article here (click and press CTRL key if pop-up blocked):-
http://www.colournation.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=20