In the past 18 months I've tried 3 methods of professionally applied hair extensions, after my last set of Great Lengths keratin bonds I thought I had found my match but there's something more than a bit special about Lucinda Ellery hair. For those of you just joining us, a little background. My hair went through a bit of a melt down last year and started breaking off left right and centre after a bad bleaching appointment with my (now ex) hairdresser. It left me with an unsightly, uneven mullet and trawling the internet for solutions. I was ready to chop it all off when I was offered extensions to review. I was already at the ‘lost cause’ stage so I didn’t see the harm.. if they were damaging I could always use some hairdressing scissors to chop it off as plannedBut my hair wasn't damaged and now, 3 months after that last set were removed my hair feels great and I was more than a bit nervous to put it at risk. A little research however put my mind at ease, Lucinda Ellery salons are first and foremost hair loss management specialists, they are NOT in the business of damaging whatever hair you have left when you come in. I know that for me my hair can totally dictate how I feel about myself so to lose it would be very difficult but the work they do in this salon is absolutely unreal. I saw women come in for adjustments and touch ups who you would never know had any issue with hair loss thanks to the Intralace system - you can see some before/afters online here - seriously amazing!

What appealed to me about another set of extensions was 1. the length, it's fun to have instantly long hair for someone who's never had the patience to grow her own, 2. so long as they're in I'm not tempted to colour/bleach my own hair.. which by the way has not been touched since JANUARY!! That's a record for me, I'm certain! and 3. they hide my still uneven, quite mullety style I have going on while the shorter layers (breakage) grow out. I think I will likely have a couple of inches off when the extensions come out.. I never really study the back of my head but this picture is pretty shocking! I look like a Bee Gee!

So here's the big difference between Lucinda Ellery and other bonded extensions.. all of the hair is loose. This means they can not only choose the right thickness of each piece depending on what they think is suitable for your hair type, they can also create a totally custom colour for you which will make a huge difference to how well the extensions blend with your own hair. They also use a thicker section of your own hair to anchor each extension so there's less chance of breakage. I've only had them in for 24 hours at this point but my first impressions are great, the bonds feel chunkier than my last set but I have a lot more hair and yet they don't feel heavy at all. I will update with maintenance info as that was a huge plus for the Great Lengths, I found them really easy to look after and treated them just like my own hair so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll feel the same way about these.

The bond is clear so adapts to your own hair colour which is a massive bonus and although you can see them they're not obvious when I wear my hair up and they will only become less so as they grow out. On that note they are said to last 12-14 weeks with an 8 week check up at which time they can replace fallen extensions as well as check on the health of your own hair.

I've been swooshing around the house all day with my new long hair (un-noticed by the smallest child who said it 'looked browner') and I'm now settling in for an early night (it feels like it should be Friday, can't it be Friday?) and a spot of Gossip Girl, I finally feel like I could give Blake Lively's mane a run for it's money.. almost

*service was provided to me for review