I used to be born with thick, lengthy, envy-inducing wavy brunette locks. Nevertheless, I began experimenting with bleach on the ripe age of 12—biking via every little thing from stark ombré and refined highlights to full-on platinum blonde—earlier than returning to my pure mahogany tone post-college. Now, 23 years later, my hair is not envy-inducing. I’ve tried every little thing to revive my strands to their thick, wholesome glory: masks, glosses, protein therapies, and even dietary supplements. The one factor I by no means thought-about that turned out to be the shortcut to fixing my broken hair dilemma? Extensions.
If I’m being fully trustworthy, the concept of extensions made me nervous. How would I match the added strands to my present highlights? Would half my hair be straight whereas the remainder stayed wavy? Would my head really feel heavy? However when alternative struck for superstar extension specialist Alex Pardoe (who recreated Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s iconic blond locks on Sarah Pidgeon in Love Story) to personally apply his then-unreleased hair extension model, The Anti Co, I couldn’t say no.
This hair is totally different. “It’s the antithesis of professional hair that’s available,” explains Pardoe. “The hair is medium to high-quality in density, naturally lighter than most hair in the marketplace, and far gentler and more healthy to course of.” Plus, it’s naturally wavy and isn’t coated in any silicone or sealant, so you understand precisely how the hair air-dries and feels proper out of the field. It doesn’t appear to be “Barbie hair,” however somewhat, “minimally processed hair that’s as near a pure texture as potential.”
With that, all my worries went out the window, and I sat down in his chair, ecstatic to see my transformation. We began with coloration matching, which couldn’t have been simpler since all of his hair bundles are tinted to the technical hair ranges numbered one via 10. There was no want for phrases like “caramel latte” or “teddy bear chocolate,” as a result of he checked out my pure hair and highlights and famous I’ve a combination of stage 4 and stage eight strands. So, that’s precisely what he did: apply alternating 22-inch Okay-tips of coloration 4 and coloration eight in horizontal rows all through my head. This ease can be what made it the proper selection when recreating Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s naturally polished waves from the Hulu and FX collection Love Story.
When it got here to deciding on colours for Sarah Pidgeon, the method was far more strenuous. “Alongside colorist Kari Hill, I used to be very invested in getting the colours precisely proper,” says Pardoe. “However as a result of The Anti Co hair is so customizable, I didn’t must seek for the best tone; I acquired to make it!” To match Bessette Kennedy’s dimensional golden tones, he utilized a combination of coloration 4, coloration rooted six/eight, and coloration rooted 9. Nevertheless, her hair will get lighter all through the story, so he needed to alter the extensions as filming continued. “At its lightest, it was coloration six that I lightened to show heat, combined with coloration rooted eight/10.”
On my head, he used simply 5 bunches of hair complete (priced $118 to $135 every, relying on size and coloration), and all the course of took slightly beneath two hours. Not solely was it fully painless and impressively fast, however the end result left me speechless.
My new layers of locks seemed and felt fully like my very own, a lot in order that I couldn’t inform the place my pure hair began and ended. Even my beauty-expert co-workers had been fooled, with one telling me, “I simply thought your hair grew actually lengthy over the summer time.” My head didn’t really feel heavier, the bonds didn’t trigger discomfort, and the waves matched my pure texture. Plus, the added size and thickness made me really feel assured sufficient to put on my hair fully air-dried for the primary time in years. And once I did need to type my hair, my washing and styling routines seemed the identical—it simply took slightly further product and time.
As a lover of slicked-back types, the one draw back was that I may not clean down all my strands right into a smooth excessive ponytail or bun. I attempted a number of instances, however a keratin bond would at all times come out someplace. I rapidly got here to phrases with this, deciding my new hair deserved to be worn down and proven off as a lot as potential—and I did precisely that.
For the previous two months, I’ve obtained extra compliments on my look than ever earlier than. When you ask me, it’s partially as a result of my mermaid-like tresses, and partially to the best way I’ve been carrying myself since getting them put in. There’s one thing about loving your hair once more that quietly shifts your vitality. You stand slightly taller, smile slightly wider, and shine slightly brighter. It’s a singular sense of ease and confidence that comes from feeling like myself once more—and actually, it’s superb what having a very good hair day day by day can do on your temper.
The Anti Co’s extensions at the moment are formally accessible to buy under, and it feels becoming that hair this good is not an business secret. Everybody deserves to really feel that very same sense of empowerment from hair that appears and seems like their very own, however higher. Plus, any product that will get me one step nearer to the effortlessly stylish strands of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy is one I’m absolutely dedicated to.


