Extensions by Pepi

My hair doesn't grow
Mi pelo no crece

No seriously, it gets to about shoulder-length and it decides to just stop.
No en serio, me crece hasta los hombros y ya nada, mi pelo decide detenerse

I'm so jealous of all my school friends who seemed to have sprouted mermaid hair over the last 5 years, whilst mine... well, mine is still the same.
Tengo envidia de todas mis amigas del cole a las que le han crecido una melena de sirena en los ultimos 5 años, y yo...pues, sigo igual.

I go through phases of liking my shoulder-lenght hair, easy to manage and style, cool in the summer.
Hay periodos cuando me encanta mi pelo corto, facil de manejar y en verano, no me entra tanto el calor.

Then wishing I had long beautiful Blake Lively hair, her cool Californian-style curls just flaunting themselves at me on the red carpet.
Pero otras veces tengo una ganas de tener el pelo de Blake Lively: su melena rubia con rizos largos a lo California de las cual presume en la alfombra roja.

I get so bored of waiting for my hair to grow! Thank god for miracle extensions!
Me aburro esperando a que mi pelo crezca! Gracias a Dios existen las extensiones!

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This is one of my frustrated and bored times. It's happened twice before and I'm always pleased with the results.
De nuevo estaba frustrada con mi pelo, esta es la tercera vez! Pero nuna me quejo de los resultados.

Pepi is the woman that does wonders to my hair. She has been my hairdresser since I was 1 year old and I've never trusted another hairdresser like I do her. Oh I've made mistakes and tried other salons in the past but nobody has my best interests than Pepi.
Pepi, es la mujer que hace maravillas con mi pelo. Cuando cumpli 1 año ya era mi peluquera y jamas me he fiado de otra peluquera como fio de ella. Obviamente he cometido errores y he probado otras peluquerias, pero nadie me cuida como me cuida Pepi.

Usually I just pop in and say Pepi please do what you have to and fix my hair and I swear to God I come out with completely different hair.
Normalmente entro en la pelu le pido que me arregle el pelo y salgo con una melena totalmente irreconocible!

This was one of those times.
Esta vez iba ser igual.

I'd booked to go home on Easter weekend, except my parents didn't know. Pepi did. She was the first person I told, especially as I now live in the UK - I made sure she had time to tame these messy locks.

Regrese a casa a finales de Semana Santa, pero mis padres no lo sabian. Pepi, claro que si lo sabia. Fue la primera en enterarse y como ahora vivo en Inglaterra tenia que pedir una cita para hacer maravillas con estos pelos.

This is where we started.
Asi empezamos.

Mix-matched, dark straggly unkept hair
Pelo oscuro descuidado y de varios colores.

Really quite short hair

Pelo cortito

So we started with some highlights and a darker lowlights to balance out my hair when it goes dark in the UK.

Empezamos con mechas de dos colores, una claro y otro mas oscuro para complementar mi pelo cuando oscurece en Inglaterra

After a quick blow dry...

Tras alisarlo con el secador...

Phase 1. Complete.

Paso 1. Completado.

Now came the longer phase. Extensions time!

Ahora toca la parte mas larga: las extensiones!

Pepi uses natural hair extensiones, made with real people's hair. They are grouped in little strands with keratin which are then "glued" in to my hair with heat. Keratin is not harmful for your hair but it does mean that each strand has to be individually attached on to my own hair.

Pepi utiliza extensiones de cabello natural, es pelo real. Los pelos se agrupan en mechones sujetados con keratina que se "pegan" a mi pelo. La keratina no daña el pelo, pero lo malo es que cada mechon se tiene que sujetar a mi pelo individualmente.

Usually you hear and see horror stories of celebrities hair extensions leaving awful bald patches on their hair, and yes, this can happen if you constantly have extensions put in and taken out with no break - or it could be that their hairdresser has put too many extensions in your hair because they don't take in to account the thickness of your hair or you've kept them in too long.
Hay muchisimas historias de las extensiones que han a una mujer calva, y es cierto que esto puede ocurrir si estas todo el tiempoe poniendote y quitandote las extensiones sin un descanso - o puede ser que tu peluquera te ha puesto demasiadas extensiones porque no tienen en cuenta el grosor de tu pelo o porque te las has dejado demasiado tiempo.

Every person is different and for me, extensions dowonders to my hair. I don't have to wash it as often, I have instant beach blonde hair which means I don't have to use hair straighteners to give it some shape or volume and my hair comes out in better condition than when I put them in!
Cada persona es diferente y para mi, las extensiones hacen maravillas con mi pelo. No tengo que lavarmelo con tanta frecuencia, al instante tengo una melena rubia con rizos de playa que significa que no uso tanto la plancha con lo que mi pelo se muestra en mejor condicion tras quitarme las extensiones!

My biggest hate about extensions? When they look too fake.
Lo que mas odio? Cuando las extensiones se ven falsas.

OMG I want to die when I see girls hair and you can tell they have extensions in! I cringe so badly!
Por Dios quiero morir cuando veo a chicas a las que se les nota las extensiones falsas! Es horrible!

Pepi is such a perfectionist and she hates fake-looking extensions too, which is why extensiones with her is a process. She had in mind 100 extensiones for me, but after seeing the way in which my hair falls, my cut and style of my hair she had to add in more to even it out and make it look perfect.
Pepi es una perfecionista y tambien odia las extensiones que parecen falsas. Por eso ponerse extensiones con ella es un proceso. Habia calculado 100 extensiones con mi pelo pero al ver mi corte de pelo, hacia que lado caen los mechones y my tipo de corte tuvo que añadir mas para salir perfecto.

So after many hours in the chair (4 and a half to be exact) and 140 extensiones later...
Tras muchas horas sentada (4 horas y media) y 140 extensiones depues...

Et voila! Long blonde beautiful hair!
Et voila! Pelo largo rubio y bonito!

But Pepi still wasn't done...
Et voila! Pero Pepi todavia no habia terminado...

As I've said she knows me too well and she knows how much I adore curls...
La mujer me conoce demasiado y sabe cuanto me encanta los rizos...

You would never tell would you?

Nunca lo sabrias verdad?

If I look after these bad boys, they should last me 6 months, but again, everyone is different.

Si las cuido, estas extensiones deberian durarme 6 meses, pero cada persona es distinta

Some people think they have to take extra care when having extensions which is time-consuming and costly - it's not. You need to brush your hair and your extensiones too! Brush them just like you would your normal hair and make sure to separate each extension if they get a bit knotted.

Muchos piensan que el cuidado de las extensiones desperdicia el tiempo y cuesta un paston - pues no lo es. Tienes que cepillarte el pelo y las extensiones tambien! Cepillalas como tu pelo normal y asegura separar cada extension si enredan con tu pelo natural.

Apart from that, you can treat them just like your normal hair: style them, blow-dry them any which way you like!

Aparte de eso, tratalas como tu pelo normal: alisalas con el secador o la plancha o como quieras!

Big NO NO's:

**Don't wash your hair upside down**

**No te laves el pelo boca abajo**

**Don't use heated straightners/curlers too close to the root of your extensions - they will fall out!**

**No uses la plancha cerca de las raices de las extensiones - se caeran!**

If you want Pepi's details just ask!  Si quieres los datos de Pepi, pidemelas! 
 If not pop in and say hi next time you're in Calahonda. Sino, dale una visita la proxima vez que estes en Calahonda!