Posted on by Liza

The hair tinsel trend was very popular in the 90s, but it has come back in full force among people of all ages. Celebrities like Beyonce have been seen sporting sparkling tinsel strands in their hair in recent years, boosting its popularity. Tinsel hair extensions are often worn during festivals and events or even holidays such as Christmas to add a bit of sparkle to your hair. However, nothing is stopping you from rocking this style full time and standing out with your beautiful locks. Fortunately, it is easy to tie hair tinsel by yourself or with the help of a friend. The following is a hair tinsel tutorial that can help you add these shiny strands to your hair.

 

What is hair tinsel?

Hair tinsel is a lightweight, thin, and sparkling ribbon that you tie into your hair. As light catches the tinsel strands, it creates a glittering effect. Hair tinsel is quite inexpensive and often takes about 10 minutes to install.

Tinsel hair is a great way to experiment with your hair without committing to any major or permanent hair transformations, such as permanent hair color. The installation process is relatively straightforward, depending on the technique you prefer. Hair stylists learn the different application techniques, including using microbeads and nanorings, because they cater to a large clientele. However, you can use the slip-knot method if you want to tie hair tinsel to your hair at home. If you have the right tools and the dexterity, you can install it yourself, but your arms are likely to become sore by the time you are done. To quickly install tinsel hair extensions using the slip knot method, it is better to ask a friend for help.

 

Hair tinsel installation tutorial

The first step is to find a reputable hair tinsel supplier an get tinsel that has the qualities you are looking for. Good quality tinsel is heat safe or heat resistant, which means you can blow dry and even curl your hair under low heat after tying this tinsel. The tinsel you select should also be of the correct length so that, when folded, it is the same length as your hair.

The second step is to choose the color that matches your style. Tinsel hair is usually available in metallic tones and rainbow colors. For a safe look, you can choose copper for red hair, gold for blondes, silver for grey hair, black for dark hair, and brown for brunettes. Or you can go bold by choosing a color that contrasts your natural hair color or give your style an edge by choosing multi-colored hair tinsels that feature all the colors of the rainbow.

After choosing the tinsel color, wash and dry your hair to ensure it is clean. If your hair is greasy, the tinsel is likely to slip out. Brush your hair to remove tangles and knots to make it easier to install the tinsel and to ensure it blends well with the rest of the hair.

The next step is to create a part through the center of the head or towards the side. You want to tie the tinsel hair just underneath this part. If you tie it right at the part, the knots will be visible and it will not look neat.

Use a comb to separate a section of your hair right under the part on each side and clip this section up. Take the tinsel hair extension strand and fold it in half. Create a loop using the tinsel hair extension and pass a very small section of hair, about five strands, through this loop to create a slip knot. The section of hair you use for each tinsel strand should be very tiny, as a large section will fall out very quickly. Tighten the loop as you reach the scalp. Ensure all the strands of the section you selected go through the loop so that your hair does not get tangled or knotted.

If you leave it like this, the tinsel will easily slip out. To secure the hair tinsel, tie one part of the tinsel and the hair strands in a simple shoelace knot. Take the other part of the tinsel and the same hair strand and tie it in a simple knot. This way, the tinsel hair is less likely to fall out.

Repeat the above steps throughout your head until you achieve your desired look. After you are done, take a pair of scissors and trim the tinsel strands so that they are the same length as your hair.

 

How to maintain hair tinsel extensions

Tinsel hair extensions are very easy to maintain as you do not need any special products or tools. You can continue to wash and condition your hair as usual. However, you should be careful when combing your hair. If you use a fine-toothed comb or brush, you need to be careful when combing near your roots because that is where all the knots are. To ensure the tinsel strands last as long as possible, start brushing a little lower than the root so that you don’t snag those knots.

If your hair tinsel extensions are heat safe, you can use a blow dryer or curling iron in a low heat setting. This allows you to style your hair without worrying about damaging the tinsel strands.

With time, most of the tinsel strands will fall out on their own. However, when you want to remove them, simply find the knot at the root of your hair and gently slide the tinsel strand out.

 

Conclusion

Tinsel hair is a very versatile style because you can tie it in and take it out very easily. This means that you can tie in hair tinsel for one specific occasion like a festival and remove it immediately after, or you can choose to keep it in your hair for up to six weeks. Because tinsel hair strands are designed to be low maintenance, they will not interfere with your daily hair care or hair styling routine. Just follow the installation instructions and you’ll have shimmering hair in no time.