It probably hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that I’m a bit of a novice (to say the least) when it comes to hair, I take a wash and go approach- perhaps venturing in to the world of straighteners or tongs when I’m feeling really brave.

Dirty Looks asked me to do a “how-to” guide using some of their clip in hair extensions . I was a little reluctant at first, I’ve never considered using hair extensions before and I assumed they would be far beyond my capabilities, but in the spirit of things I decided to give it a go.

I had intended to do a step-by-step picture guide on how to use the extensions, but what I actually ended up with was a written guide + a few end results photos. Have you ever attempted to photograph yourself doing your own hair when your tripod has gone AWOL and no-one is around to help you? One word: impossible!

The first hurdle to overcome with the extensions was picking the right shade. I went for the colour “spiced auburn” in a 16″ to 18″ length. It turned out to be a pretty good match, although my current hair colour is currently a little darker, but as my hair is quite multi-tonal they blended in pretty well.

The box that arrived contained 7 wefts of various sizes- from one clip, to four. I wasn’t really sure where to start, but decided to try and work things out for my self and started by brushing out my hair so it was mostly straight, rather than my usual mass of waves as I felt things would blend better.

I used clips to divide my hair in to two sections, roughly top half and bottom half. My hair is really thick so I knew there would be plenty for the clips to grip on to, but people with finer hair might need to create some volume first!

I took the largest of the wefts, which contained four clips and positioned that along the divide in my hair, carefully snapping it in place. I found the clips really easy to use, both getting the extensions in and out- that was a relief as anything complex makes me want to give up! I then released the top section of my hair and gave it shake so it fell naturally over the extensions before adding in smaller wefts under my pre-existing layers to add volume and length.

These photos are after my first ever attempt so things aren’t looking their absolute best but I have promised myself I will practice and get to grips with these as it was brilliant to have longer, healthier looking hair and that bit of added volume.

If you have used clip-in extensions before then I’d really appreciate some hints and tips from you! If you haven’t then I would say don’t be afraid, invest in a decent set (mine was £89.99 for the full set but looked and felt amazing, and I do believe you get what you pay for) and have a play around. In hind sight I would have gone for the home-dye colour option for a more natural effect, but red hair is so variable anyway I think I got away with it!

This post was bought to you in collaboration with Dirty Looks. I wish I had managed to do a better guide for you and for them, but I don’t have a fancy photography set up or a live in photographer any more…hopefully someone will find it helpful though!