Let’s Talk About Your Hair Color, Extensions, and Why I Like to Look at the Whole Picture

Let’s Talk About Your Hair
Color, Extensions, and Why I Like to Look at the Whole Picture
So, you’re thinking about hair extensions.
Maybe you want more length. Maybe your hair has gotten thinner and you miss the fullness you used to
have. Maybe you’ve always wanted that gorgeous, thick hair you keep saving to your inspiration folder.
And then you say to me:
“Lorenzo, what about my color?”
Now we’re having the conversation I really want to have.
Because if you were sitting across from me with a cup of coffee right now, I’d tell you that I don’t really think
of your color and your extensions as two separate things.
To me, it’s all your hair.
And if we’re going to create something beautiful, I want to look at the whole picture.
After more than 30 years behind the chair as a hair colorist, extension specialist, salon owner, and
educator, I’ve learned that the most natural-looking extension transformations usually begin long before I
install the first piece of hair.
They begin with a conversation.
So grab your coffee. Let’s talk about what I’m looking at when you sit in my chair.
First, Tell Me What You Really Want
One of the first things I’ll probably ask you is:
“If we could create the hair you really want, what would it look like?”
Forget about extension methods for a minute.
Don’t worry about whether you need K-Tips, I-Tips, wefts, tape-ins, how many rows you need, or how many
grams of hair you saw someone talking about online.
That’s my job to figure out.
I want to hear about you.
Do you want longer hair? More fullness? Are the sides of your hair getting thinner than you’d like? Do you
want to be blonder? Do you love your brunette but wish it had more dimension? Are you trying to soften or
blend your gray? Have you been through a color correction? Or maybe you just want to look in the mirror
and feel like you have your hair back again.
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That’s where we start.
Once I understand where you want to go, I can start designing how we’re going to get there.
Now Let’s Talk About Your Color
Here’s something I wish more people understood about extensions:
Your extension color shouldn’t be an afterthought.
I’m a colorist as much as I’m an extension specialist, so when I look at your hair, I’m already thinking about
both.
Let’s say you come in with blonde hair, but you want to be brighter.
I don’t necessarily want to match thousands of dollars’ worth of extension hair to the blonde you walked in
with.
I want to know:
What blonde are we creating?
Where do I want the brightness? Do we want a softer root? Do we need dimension underneath? What
should happen around your face? What tone is going to complement your skin? And what does all of that
need to look like once I add the extension hair?
That’s a very different conversation from simply holding a swatch against your head and saying, “Yep, this
one matches.”
Matching Your Extensions Is More Than Picking a Color
This is one of my favorite parts of the process.
Real hair has dimension. Beautiful professional hair color has dimension too.
If you look closely at a gorgeous blonde, you probably won’t see one blonde from roots to ends. You’ll see
lighter pieces, deeper pieces, different tones and little variations that make the hair look alive.
Brunettes are the same way. So are redheads. So is gray blending. And balayage is intentionally designed
around dimension.
So why would I take all of that beautiful dimension and put one solid block of extension color underneath it?
I wouldn’t.
Sometimes I’ll use more than one extension shade. Sometimes I’ll strategically place different shades in
different areas. Sometimes your natural hair needs a little more color work. Sometimes the extension hair
needs to be refined so everything comes together.
That’s where being both a colorist and an extension specialist really matters.
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I’m not trying to match a swatch. I’m trying to match the way your hair moves through color.
When we get it right, you shouldn’t be able to tell me where your natural hair stops and the extensions
begin.
“Okay Lorenzo, But Which Extensions Do I Need?”
I get this question all the time.
And my answer is usually:
Let me see your hair first.
I know social media can make it seem like there’s one extension method everybody should have.
There isn’t.
I work with different extension methods because different heads of hair need different solutions.
Your natural density matters. Your texture matters. Your hairline matters. The condition of your hair
matters. Your color matters. How you wear your hair matters. And your lifestyle absolutely matters.
Someone who wears her hair up every day may need something very different from someone who almost
always wears it down. Someone who wants dramatic length may need a different approach from someone
who simply wants fullness through the sides and ends.
So I’m not interested in putting you into my favorite extension method.
I’m interested in choosing the method that makes sense for you.
And No, More Hair Isn’t Always Better
This one surprises people.
Sometimes guests think that if some extensions are good, more must be better.
Not necessarily.
I’m looking for balance.
I want enough hair to give you the fullness or length you want, but I also want the extensions to move
naturally with your own hair.
Too much extension hair on the wrong head can look heavy. Too little may not give us enough density to
create the result.
So we find the sweet spot.
The goal isn’t to see how much hair I can put on your head. The goal is to make people
wonder how your hair looks so good.
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Before We Do Anything, I’m Going to Look at the Health of Your Hair
If you’ve spent any time with me, you’ve probably heard me say this:
Healthy hair first.
I’ve believed that throughout my career, and extensions don’t change that philosophy. Actually, extensions
make it even more important.
Before we start talking about dramatic blonding, major color changes, or installing extensions, I want to
know what your natural hair can comfortably support.
Sometimes I’ll tell you, “Yes, we can do this.” Sometimes I may say, “We can get there, but I want to do it in
stages.” And occasionally I may tell you, “Your hair isn’t ready for that yet.”
That’s part of my responsibility to you.
I’d much rather create a plan that gives us beautiful hair six months from now, a year from now, and beyond
than give you everything you ask for today and compromise your natural hair in the process.
Extensions should make your hair experience better. They should never come at the
expense of your natural hair.
So, Does Color Come Before the Extensions?
Most of the time, yes.
But here’s the important part:
I’m thinking about your extensions before I ever start your color.
That’s the difference.
Maybe we’re creating your color first. Then we’re choosing or refining the extension colors. Then we install.
Then I cut and blend everything together. Then we finish and style it.
But in my head, I’m working backward from the finished result the entire time.
I already know where we’re trying to go.
That means your color isn’t one appointment and your extensions another appointment that just happens to
come afterward.
They’re chapters of the same story.
Sometimes We Can Do It All at Once. Sometimes We Shouldn’t.
I know everybody loves a dramatic before-and-after.
I do too.
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But I’m never going to promise that every transformation should happen in one marathon appointment.
If you’re making a major color change, going significantly lighter, correcting previous color, or your hair
needs some extra attention before extensions, I may recommend that we break the process into sessions.
That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to get to your dream hair.
It means I’m thinking beyond the Instagram picture at the end of the day.
I want the hair underneath those extensions to be beautiful too.
Once the Extensions Are In, I’m Still Not Finished
Installation is only part of the service.
Now I have to make the extension hair become your hair.
That means cutting. Blending. Balancing the density. Looking at how the hair falls around your face.
Looking at the perimeter. Looking at the movement. And making sure everything we created with the color
still makes sense with the finished haircut.
I don’t want your extensions to look good only when I curl everything perfectly for a photograph.
I want your hair to make sense when you live in it.
That’s the real test.
Then We Talk About How You’re Going to Take Care of It
This is the part of our coffee conversation where I remind you that beautiful hair is a partnership.
I can create it. We maintain it together.
Your extensions will have a maintenance schedule. Your color will have a maintenance schedule.
Maybe you need a gloss between major color appointments. Maybe we need to refresh your root. Maybe
we’re maintaining gray blending. Maybe your balayage only needs a larger refresh a few times a year. And
depending on your extension method, we’ll have a schedule for maintaining that too.
I want those appointments to work together, not have you constantly running back and forth to the salon
trying to figure out what needs to happen next.
We’ll also talk about what you’re doing at home – shampoo, conditioning, brushing, heat protection,
sleeping with your extensions, styling and all those little things that make a very big difference.
Because once we’ve invested all this time into creating beautiful hair, I want you to know how to protect it.
“Lorenzo, What Makes Your Approach to Extensions Different?”
If you asked me that sitting across the table, I’d probably tell you this:
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I don’t see extensions when I look at you. I see hair.
I see color. I see shape. I see movement. I see density. I see where your eye naturally travels. I see where
we need brightness and where we need depth. I see where your natural hair needs support and where it
doesn’t.
And after more than 30 years working with hair, I also know that what I choose not to do can be just as
important as what I do.
My experience as a professional colorist and educator has a tremendous influence on the way I approach
extensions.
I’m not just thinking about how I’m going to attach the hair. I’m thinking about how the color will blend. How
the undertones work together. Where the dimension needs to live. How the extensions affect the haircut.
What happens when your roots grow. What your color will look like at your next appointment. And how
we’re going to maintain the entire look over time.
That’s the difference between adding hair and designing hair.
What Should You Know Before Your Consultation?
Honestly?
You don’t need to know very much.
You don’t have to walk in knowing what extension method you need. You don’t have to know how many
rows. You don’t have to know how many grams. You don’t even need to know the technical name for the
color you want.
Bring me pictures.
Tell me what you love.
Tell me what you don’t love about your current hair.
Tell me what you wish your hair would do.
Tell me how much time you’re willing to spend maintaining it.
And most importantly, tell me how you want to feel when we’re finished.
I’ll take it from there.
That’s what a consultation at Lorenzo’s Hair Studio is really about.
It isn’t me handing you an extension menu and asking you to choose. It’s the two of us sitting down, looking
at your hair, talking about what’s possible, and creating a plan together.
Whether we’re adding a little fullness, creating dramatic length, transforming your color, blending gray,
creating a beautiful blonde, or completely reinventing your hair, I want the finished result to look and feel
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like it has always belonged to you.
And here’s probably the most important part:
No one should know you’re wearing extensions.
They might notice that your hair looks fuller.
They might wonder how it suddenly looks so healthy, dimensional, and beautiful.
They may compliment your color, your length, or how amazing your hair looks.
But they shouldn’t be able to figure out where your natural hair ends and the extensions begin.
That’s what all the color matching, placement, blending, cutting, and customization is really about.
I’ll know they’re extensions. You’ll know they’re extensions. Everyone else? They’ll just see
beautiful hair.
And as far as I’m concerned…
the extensions can be our little secret.
So bring your inspiration, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s talk about the hair you’ve been dreaming about.
– Lorenzo