Extensions · 6 minute read
What do hair extensions actually cost in the first year?
The install price is the smallest number. A realistic first year total for tape in and beaded weft extensions in Utah, including move ups and hair.
Everyone publishes a starting price. Almost nobody publishes the first year, and the first year is the number that decides whether extensions were a good idea.
So here it is: install, then move ups every six to ten weeks, then replacement hair once or twice. Three costs, not one.
The sequence
The sequence is the whole problem
Extensions are not a purchase, they are a subscription with a hardware cost at the front. Your own hair keeps growing, so the attachment point moves down and has to come back up.
That rhythm is the real budget, and it is completely predictable once someone says it out loud.
- 01
Install
Tape in from $50 labour. Beaded weft from $120 labour. Hair charged separately.
- 02
The hair
Typically $300 to $900 depending on length, density and quality.
- 03
Move ups
Every 6 to 10 weeks. Tape ins usually need new tabs, wefts are re tightened.
- 04
Replacement hair
Tape in hair often lasts 2 to 3 move ups. Good weft hair can run 9 to 12 months.
Potential solutions
What actually works.
Beaded weft if you are staying in it
Higher labour up front, longer hair life, and usually the cheaper option across a full year.
Tape in for a shorter commitment
Lowest entry cost, lighter feel, and the right choice if you want to try length before committing.
Fewer rows, better hair
Two rows of excellent hair beats three rows of average hair on both look and total cost.
A colour match plan
Matching to the tone you will hold all year, not the tone you have today, saves paying to recolour the hair.
What to avoid
The things that make it worse.
- Buying hair online to save money. Mismatched cuticle direction tangles, and the labour to fix it exceeds the saving.
- Skipping a move up. That is where matting, tension and shedding come from.
- Colouring extension hair repeatedly at home. It shortens the hair's life dramatically.
- Budgeting only for the install. It is the smallest of the three numbers.
How we recreate it
Step by step, in the salon.
- 01
Consultation and match
Density, length, lifestyle and colour, with the full year quoted, not just day one.
- 02
Order the hair
Quoted separately and confirmed before it is ordered.
- 03
Install
Placed, cut in and blended so it disappears.
- 04
Move ups in the diary
Six to ten weeks, booked forward for the year.
- 05
Home care
The right brush, the right shampoo and a nightly routine. This decides the hair's lifespan.
Laila's pro tip
The move up interval is not a suggestion. I would rather you buy slightly less hair and keep every move up than buy the biggest set and start missing appointments. The hair that gets maintained is the hair that still looks good in month ten.
Laila Grigley, Creative Director
Book with the Creative Colour teamCommon questions
Straight answers.
- What is a realistic first year total?
- Most clients land between $1,200 and $2,600 in the first year across install, hair and move ups. Your quote comes from the consultation.
- Which lasts longer, tape in or beaded weft?
- Weft hair generally lasts far longer, which is why it often costs less across a full year despite higher labour.