Sometimes it’s nice to switch up your style and rock some sassy clip-in natural hair extensions. If you have curly hair, you probably like to have fun with different styles. Or you may just want to fill out your current look with more kinky or curly hair.
Gone are the days of limited options. It used to be that shiny, straight human hair was the only thing available. That hair didn’t match our texture at all.
Now there are all kinds of hair to choose from. And even better, some extensions are labeled with your exact curl pattern, which takes the guesswork out of buying them.
The best thing about choosing curly or kinky clip-ins is that you can blend them in with your natural hair if you prefer a curl pattern that matches.
In this post, I’ll discuss how to rock clip-in natural hair extensions so that you can have the added volume and length you want, without sacrificing your kinks or curls.
How to Use Natural Hair Clip-ins
Natural hair clip-ins are an excellent way to get the instant look you want without waiting the years that it takes to grow longer, fuller hair. It’s a great way to change up your look, and clip-ins for natural hair are easy to install and remove.
Almost all clip-in styles require that you leave some of your hair out to cover up the tracks. It can be confusing what to do with this leave-out hair, and how to make it look natural with minimal damage to your mane.
The way you wear the leave-out with the clip-ins will have a lot to do with which extensions you purchase because your natural hair leave-out should match your clip-ins.
Do you want the flat-ironed natural hair look? Then you should go for straight kinky or Yaki clip-ins, and expect to straighten the top portion of your hair when you want to wear them.
However, there are more options if you buy hair with a similar curl pattern to your own. Because kinky hair clip-ins are more voluminous than straight hair, it is easier to hide the natural hair clips within the hair itself.
You might be wondering, are natural hair clip-ins a protective hairstyle? It all depends on what you do with your hair underneath. If you’re flat-ironing the top portion, it’s not protective, and it could even be downright damaging.
If you cornrow your hair underneath and have no leave-out, it becomes much more protective. The question is, how do you pull off clip-ins with no leave-out?
If you’re getting kinky extensions, you can opt to place some of the extensions forward beginning at the crown of your head. It’s counter-intuitive, but it will help to cover clips while avoiding leave-out.
Placing the clips forward requires you to have bangs, but you may find styling easy since you’re covering your mane completely. Plus, no leave-out means it’s more protective.
Another, less-popular way to avoid leave-out is by using a frontal hairpiece that covers both your natural hair and tracks. However, you’d have to make an additional purchase to get the top piece, and you’d need to be able to match the frontal color and texture to the clip-ins.
If you don’t care about leaving some of your hair out, you can choose one of the many leave-out styles. You’ll need to blend your hair with the clip-ins to hide the clips, but it’s easy to do once you know how.
In the next sections, I’ll discuss how to install and blend your hair with your clip-ins to get a beautiful, seamless appearance.
How to Install Natural Hair Clip-Ins
Easy styling makes many naturals flock toward clip-in extensions. They only take 5-15 minutes to install in the mornings once you get the hang of it.
Understanding how you’ll blend your own hair in advance is key to success with clip-ins, and you’ll need to plan blending techniques before you purchase them.
To install clip-ins, first decide where you want your part. Take a small amount of surrounding hair in a u-shape and separate it for styling and blending later.
Wondering what to do with your hair underneath? You can attach the clip-ins onto the roots of your hair, or you can braid or twist your hair into a cornrow pattern before you begin attaching the hair.
Having the hidden cornrows will be the most protective for your natural tresses. Keeping a protective style underneath is a great way to keep your mane untangled and moisturized. You also might find that it gives a less bumpy and evener look.
Cornrows will be easy to work with as you install the clips, which means less struggle and less potential damage on your natural curls.
If you don’t know how to cornrow hair, you can also just part the hair into several sections and braid it. This simple braid style will protect your hair too.
You’ll probably receive several wefts of different sizes in your package of newly-bought extensions, including one or two long 4-clip wefts, and several shorter wefts.
Begin with one of the medium-sized wefts for the area just above the nape, and then continue with more of the extensions to cover your head. The longest weft should be reserved for the upper back of the crown, where there is a lot of area to cover.
Continue with the sides and the top of the hair until you get to the line where your natural hair meets the weft. The last step is to blend your hair with the extensions.
How to Blend Natural Hair with Clip-In Extensions
Blending your natural hair with your clip-in hair is easy if you choose the right extensions. Consider what you’ll do with your leave-out hair before you buy the extensions. Will you wear your leave-out in a twist-out or braid-out? If so, buy your extensions to match this pattern.
Buying extensions that match your hair will make your time spent getting ready in the mornings much quicker.
The first step is to pay attention to where you want your part to be. If you want it in the middle, make the part there, with a small amount of leave-out falling on each side of the part. The leave-out should form a little “u” shape on top of your head. Do the same if you want a side part.
To blend, install all the clip-ins up to your natural hairline, and co-mingle the strands. Use a handheld mirror to make sure the upper back is covered well.
Clip-in extensions get even more exciting to play with when you can make fun styles with them. You can make a high bun by leaving out hair all along your hairline. You’ll get a smoother appearance if all clips face toward the bun.
Place the clips upward in the back, sideways on the side, and backwards in the front. Make a ponytail and then form a messy bun. Use Eco-Stylr Gel at the end to smooth down edges and blend your hair with the clip-in hair.
Want to experiment with length by using one weft only? Try clip-in bangs. It’s a smart way of adding instant side-swept bangs for an exciting look. Install the clip so that the hair comes forward over the forehead, and then cover the tracks with a small amount of your own hair.
The best natural curly clip-in hair extensions are made of 100% human hair. One of the best suppliers, in my opinion, is Better Length. Their clip-ins are double-wefted, so you only need to purchase one bundle for a full head of hair. Plus, each clip has an elastic protection band to guard against frictional damage on your own tresses.
What about you? Have you tried clip-in natural hair extensions yet?
Hey Curl Friend, I’m Patrina Haupt the creator and author of Natural Hair Queen. I hope you find my healthy hair care tips helpful in your hair journey. Healthy hair care practices are definitely, what helped me to achieve waist length hair.
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I am continue in touch with your blog and all the post are helpful by which learn somethings new. thanks for all this.
Thank you Diva!
Thanks for pointing out that we must be aware of the techniques and how to blend it well with our natural hair. I will keep this in mind since I will be buying some for myself. I needed to add volume to my hair because I am going to imitate a certain artist due to the theme of our party.
Yes, clip in natural hair extensions are a fun way to jazz up a hairstyle.