Hair Down to There

By TAMALA M. EDWARDS

K.D. Williams, 55, had accepted that sexy hair would never be hers. Her shoulder-length blond locks were thin and broken off. But last December the Redondo Beach, Calif., psychology student and former office manager read about hair extensions. "I decided it would be my Christmas present to myself," she says. Now luxe golden waves sweep her shoulder blades, and no one can tell they're not hers. Men swirl around her in clubs, she says, and women follow her into parking lots to gush. She recently saw her ex-husband for the first time in 20 years. "You look so hot!" he marveled--which left her nonplussed. "His wife was right there!"

There was a time when hair extensions were the expensive secret of stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, who--five days after sporting short, wavy hair at a London premiere--was the talk of the Golden Globes with straight tresses that flowed down her back. The look has been exploding in fashionable circles since last fall, when labels like Gucci and Marc Jacobs showed their spring/summer collections with straight, flat "Cher hair," and celebrities like Madonna and Fergie took up the style. Extensions were the hit of last week's Victoria's Secret show in New York City, and are expected to be prominent again at next week's fall collections.

In the past such expensive, out-of-reach accessories were available only in pictures in the fashion magazines. But a new generation of higher-quality, low-cost extensions is going mainstream and becoming big business. By doing so, hair extensions have crossed ethnic lines: African-American women have long used them, particularly in the '90s for braided styles.

Human-hair extensions--preferred by stylists and celebs--used to cost thousands, not because of the cost of the hair but because experienced stylists were rare and could therefore charge premium rates. But a boom in trained stylists has meant competition, and newer, more affordable processes have tamped prices even further down. Los Angeles stylist Lisha Coleman may charge as much as $5,000 a head for top-of-the-line processes at the upcoming Gucci and Versace shows. But she provides alternatives as low as $300 for a multiethnic clientele of teachers and librarians.

Synthetic extensions have always been cheaper, but, coarse in texture and limited in style and color, they were less attractive. The new synthetics, however, are much improved and offer a whirligig of choice. Amekor, which supplies the line of extensions marketed by the model Beverly Johnson, saw its sales jump from $25 million five years ago to $100 million last year, in large part because of a synthetic line that offers 40 styles and 20 colors.

Extensions can be added to hair primarily in two ways. Traditionally, bands or strands of hair are sewn or glued into the natural locks; these typically last two to four months. The newer and less expensive technique is simply to clip the extension under real hair. Women can keep the clips indefinitely and attach them on their own after a quick lesson from the hairdresser. "It's there if you want to create another dimension or have a little fun," says celebrity stylist John Sahag, who styled an extensions spread for the March issue of Glamour and put Jennifer Aniston in them for an upcoming Rolling Stone cover.

Still, even those pumping the trend wonder how long it will last. Liz Tilberis, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, features extensions in her March issue. But, she whispers, "all that hair looks hot for summer, doesn't it?"

--With reporting by Roberta Grant/Los Angeles

With reporting by Roberta Grant/Los Angeles