This site is really cool. It's a hair salon that does extensions, and they've posted lots of photos of their happy customers.

What I was especially impressed with is how much better all the women look with longer hair.

http://pages.zdnet.com/hairart1/id2.html

Sometimes they fasten in wefts, which is hair sewn onto a tape and cut into lengths to go around the scalp, and sometimes they put in what they call strands, which are actually small locks of hair held together with a dot of glue on the scalp end.

Good point, BB.

I have to say though, after looking at all those before and after photos, it really got me envious and wishing that I could have instant results like that! (Without paying out of the nose, of course! I'd say it's quite dear to have it done.)

I went to the Hairlocs main website: http://www.hairlocs.com/index.html
and was highly impressed with the photos and methods there as well. I had a friend who had the glue in extension and it WRECKED her hair. It looked lovely while it lasted, but I don't think it would be worth it in the long run.

This Hairlocs method seems to be much gentler and long lasting. Check out the gallery: http://www.hairlocs.com/gallery.html
and scroll down till you get to the lassie thats 4 pictures down from the top right. It's like a Pantene Pro-V commercial!!!!

*sigh*

My hair grows so slow...

I would definitely recommend against Hairlocs, based on what I've read on other sites. Not only do the locs pull out  as you shed (taking your own hair with them, by the roots) causing the hair they are clamping to to thin out, but the copper corrodes and permanently stains your hair with green damaged sections. Hairlocs encourages extensionists to never remove the whole head at a time, but to remove and replace them individually, which prevents a client from seeing how badly damaged their hair is. Many women have been shocked to see that their hair is less than half as thick and much shorter then when they started. And once somebody gets used to wearing extensions, short, badly damaged hair seems intolerable, so they keep going back.

Glue-in extensions are removed by the application of acetone, and the bonds are crushed. If it's done right, there's not too much damage, but it can be awful if it's not done right.

Any type of extension causes dreading, so extensions probably shouldn't be kept in the hair for more than a couple of months.

What seems to be popular now among DIY-ers and those who are concerned about the health of their hair are shrinkies, little clear plastic tubes that you put strands of hair into, and pinch-braids, where a lock of hair is looped around and braided in with a lock of your own hair.