The Best Clip-In Hair Extensions, According to Stylists

Cassadi Curier, an extension specialist at Pembly Joon salon, loves Philocaly hair for a few reasons, chief among them being the fact that the hair is single-donor. “That means that all the hair comes from one person, which is revolutionary,” she says. Since the strands all come from a single head of hair, “the cuticle is all aligned in the same direction,” which makes it look ultrarealistic. “The reason why the cuticle pattern is so important is because, if you have hair that’s going in two different directions, you’ll get knotting and matting,” Currier says.

Currier adds that the hair type is important to take into consideration, as well (the types can range from Russian to Indian to Brazilian). Philocaly uses Russian hair, which Currier recommends for people with thin hair. And it’s a brand you can wear in good conscience, according to Currier, as the hair is ethically sourced, “meaning that they don’t just go up to people and chop their hair and steal it, because that’s a real thing that happens with hair extensions.” These quality markers do come at a price, though: This is one of the most expensive set of clip-ins on our list.

These extensions are built to be more seamless than your standard set of hair extensions, giving them a more natural look when placed. Currier explains that the “clip-ins are typically sewn onto lace; these are placed on a silicone band that lays incredibly flat on your head.” Currier also appreciates Bellami’s wide color range. “The reason why I started wearing them was because I was working with silver hair, and no hair-extension company had silver extensions,” she explains, “But at the time, Bellami did a collab with a silver-haired YouTube influencer, so they did.” And no matter which weft or color you choose, she says the hair you’re getting from Bellami (which is 100 percent human) is quality. “Their clip-ons always last a year or more,” she notes.

Veronica Johnson of Anahella Bridal also thinks Bellami gets it right, saying, “they have mastered the grams [how hair-extension companies measure volume], the length, and the feel is very natural.” By “mastering the grams,” Johnson means that you can buy exactly how much hair you need from Bellami, unlike with a beauty-supply store where you might get “straggle pieces.” It is also slightly cheaper than some of the other high-end companies — a full $200-plus less than the Hair Shop.

Ricky Kening, who founded the iconic NYC beauty supply store Ricky’s and is now working on a project with another one of his favorite hair brands, Amoy, says he would turn customers with thinning hair looking for natural volume to House of European hair. European locks tend to be thinner than Indian or Brazilian, making it a better match for the more fine-haired among us. Indian and Brazilian hair is also naturally dark, and therefore requires lots of processing to get to blonde, which is why House of European Hair is also a good option for users with lighter hair (less processing is involved in their blonde color range).

But an even better choice for blondes, according to Currier, is this Australian brand, which is well-priced, has super-fast shipping, and, most importantly, has a fantastic, very natural-looking color range for blondes. According to their website, about half of the clip-in offerings come in some shade of blonde. Beyond the free shipping, 60-day returns, and the fact that the most expensive bundle caps out at $120, Currier says the quality is competitive. The hair is 100 percent human, Remy hair and it’s also double drawn, which means, according to Currier, “the manufacturers hand-remove every short hair, anything that isn’t the exact length as the rest.”

While many of our experts prefer to stay out of the traditional beauty supply stores when buying hair, sometimes that’s the only option. “For someone like me, where I travel all over the world to do hair, sometimes I have to go into a beauty shop and get hair there,” De La Paz says. And when he does, as a “quick on-the-go for a client,” his brand of choice is Euronext. Their hair is Remy, which is a priority for De La Paz, and is highly rated on the Sally Beauty site. Currier says that she, too, has used Euronext extensions from Sally’s “for years,” and finds the quality good, if not necessarily meant to last: “I would have to repurchase just about every six months, but for the price, it’s great, and come in lots of different colors.”

If you think no amount of teasing would get a clip-in extension to stay put in your hair (if, for instance, your hair is exceptionally thin), De la Paz recommends an extension with no clip at all: a halo extension. Instead of a weft, the hair is attached to a durable, elastic string, which De La Paz says is “almost like a headband.” It goes “above your ear, behind like the crown of your head and then you just cover that string with your hair” — and voilà, “you have length and fullness.” While other brands produce halo styles, his particular favorite are these designer extensions, which he admits “are expensive, but the quality is really good.” It’s human hair just like the rest of the options on this list, but these extensions have advanced color-matching technology that might actually save you money (they’re so precise that you might not need to get them customized). The ombre colorways “are developed with a ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’ side,” according to the website. “The Sunrise side is layered with a lighter shade and the Sunset side has a darker shade,” to accommodate the way your natural hair changes color with the seasons. This purchase also comes with a number of accessories, including a hanger and bag for your extensions, a Balmain hair tail comb, one meter of extra fill-in strand, and two security clips.