Pretty Plumes | Colored feathers make striking hair additions

Skylar Promer Photos

Adding feathers just requires a few simple tools.

Hair feathers were a popular hair extension in the late 70s and the early 2000s. Today they are on the rarer side to see in someone’s hair, though they are still offered for sale on the internet and in some beachside pop-up shops. These cute accessories are not only cheap to get (at most locations) but also easy to put in and remove yourself.

Materials:

Hair feather(s)

Pliers 

Micro-links

Wooden hook

Putting in:

Get a section of hair preferably on the side of your head to the front of your face.

Separate that section into a smaller section about a quarter of the thickness of your pinky finger.

Prepare your wooden hook, placing a miro-link bead onto the “needle.”

Use the wooden hook to hook onto the section of hair as close to the scalp as you can get without hurting yourself.

Hold onto the wooden hook with one hand and pull the micro-link bead up with the other, gently. Pull your hair the rest of the way through the bead with the hook.

Keep the bead in place with your hand and grab your feather.

Place the hard/waxed end of the feather into the bead along with your hair, (insert the opposite direction the hair went through).

Hold both the feather and micro-link in place as close to the scalp you can get without it being uncomfortable. 

Grab your pliers and clamp down on the micro-link bead with both the end of the hair feather as well as your own hair inside. The bead should now lay flat against your head.

 Carefully brush your hair and the hair feather together.

 Go out and show the world your new exotic look!

Removal:

Grab your pliers.

Clamp down on the micro-link bead on the sides to unflatten the bead.

Gently pull the bead and the hair feather down until they have successfully separated from your natural hair.

Tips:

You may need help doing this the first couple times, so don’t be frustrated if it takes a few tries or if you require an extra set of hands.

When separating a section of hair, try to get a section that is just slightly beneath the top layer of your hair. This way, the micro-link will blend in with your hair and you won’t be able to see the point where it connects.

Do some research for the best price option. Amazon is always a great option, but there are also professional hair feather companies, such as moonlightfeather.com that can catch your eye with many different hair feather options. 

Hair feathers can be washed in the same way the rest of your hair can. They can also be blow dried, curled, straightened and more. Just make sure to take a peek at the heat limitations.

Hair feathers, if taken care of appropriately, can last up to 4-6 weeks.

Experiment! There’s really no wrong way to do this. There’s a variety of different hair feather brands, colors, and styles. Change it up. Do you.