HAIR FALLS FAQ

... or ... what, where, why, how, can I? can you? ... etc.  Anything not covered here that you want to know - please ask me.

1. HOW DO I PUT YOUR HAIR FALLS IN?

   ... at the moment, all my falls are mounted on strong elastic, about 3/4 inch in width.  They are worn by tying the elastic round hair bunches or hair buns, or round a pony tail, and sweeping the falls over the natural hair.  To get a 'full head' look, the bunches/buns should be tied up on top of the head, close to a centre parting line.  For a more 'manga/lolita' look, the bunches/buns are tied further apart.  The elastic grips very well, there's usually no need for the use of hairgrips, and one knot is sufficient to tie them in securely (so, no breaking nails on trying to untie double knots afterwards! )

2. HOW HEAVY ARE THEY TO WEAR?

   ... most of my falls are light to medium light in weight, as I use a high proportion of yarns and ribbons in them rather than a high proportion of heavier items like rexlace.  This means that they don't pull on the roots of your hair, thus weakening it.  I occasionally make weightier pairs, but rarely make sets more than medium-weight.  I have too long a personal history of wearing extensions and knackering my own hair not to be concerned about this!

3. WILL THEY COVER ALL MY OWN HAIR?

     ... unless you have very thick hair, the answer is probably yes.  All the falls I make are full coverage when worn in the 'full head' style - just as you see in the photos, in fact.

4. ARE THEY THE SAME AS EXTENSIONS?

     Not quite.  By 'extensions', most people mean semi-permanent fake 'hair' (of whatever material) that is braided, bonded, sewn, clipped or crimped into someone's own hair.  Hair falls are purely temporary sets of 'hair', designed to be put in at the start of the day and taken out at the end.  They are not attached to your own hair at all, just tied or clipped onto it.  They are perfect for people who want to change their hair often, can't have the hair they'd like due to factors such as work, or just fancy a temporary change.  As long as they are looked after properly, hair falls can be worn again and again and again and again and .....

5. DO THEY COME ON A CLIP?

     ... not ... yet.  Hopefully, I'll be offering them on clips soon, as I've had several people request this.  At the moment I'm sourcing types and costs of clips - and when I find some that are suitable, durable and won't mean that I have to put prices up a lot, I'll be offering clip sets on eBay.  It would certainly help people with hair too short to wear hair falls the conventional way.  Speaking of which ....

6. HOW LONG DOES MY HAIR HAVE TO BE TO WEAR THEM?

    ... for the classic wearing method, you need to have hair that's long enough to put up in bunches or in hair buns (for hair buns you simply twist a bunch of hair around and around until it coils in on itself, and secure with an elastic band), for the fall to tie around.  If I can get hold of suitable clips, then clipped hair falls can be worn by people with shorter hair.

    

7. WHAT COLOURS CAN YOU DO?

     ... how many colours can you think of?  heh ... some materials I use only come in given ranges of colours (eg Elysee Star dreads, rexlace etc) but I use a very wide variety of items in my falls and that usually means that I have access to as many colours as I need.  Also, I hand-dye most of the yarns that I use, myself ... this means that I can get just the right colours for a set, and can blend different colours along the yarns, or use transition dyeing ....  whatever is required.

8. WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE?

     ... Nearly all my falls are mixed-material falls.  Whereas I CAN make sets just with dreads or just with yarns or whatever ... I rather like the difference in texture and density and colour that I can get by using a wide range.  I tend to use Elysee Star dreads - occasionally hand-made ones too, but that depends on how much work I have on, as handmade ones are quite labour-intensive.  I'm always happy to make some for a special project though, if colours or combinations of colours are wanted that aren't available in premade ones.  I use either predyed premium yarns such as the Colinette range, or buy undyed thin roving and different weights of slub yarn (like Colinette Point Five and One Point Zero) and dye my own.  I use rexlace and different types of satin ribbon, lurex tape and cord, crystal rhinestones, lace, organza, ribbon/parchment flowers, feathers ...

9. HOW DO I LOOK AFTER MY FALLS?

     ... the falls actually require very little maintenance.  Keep them in the protective bags if not wearing them, or hang them up somewhere so that they don't get crushed (it doesn't matter with most of the materials, but satin ribbon can get creased and rexlace can kink if left folded).  Run your hands through them to separate strands and fluff them up a bit.  If they pick up smells from being worn, refresh them with a little fabric freshener/deodoriser such as Febreze.

10. HOW DURABLE ARE THEY?

      ... As long as you look after them, they are very durable and should last many, many wears without falling apart, unravelling or anything else nasty.  All the materials are either tied securely round or sewn around (not onto) the elastic, not glued.  In the unlikely event of one of the dreads unattaching itself, just loop it back around the elastic and sew it onto itself.

11. WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY GET WET?

      ... they take on a life of their own and turn into a ravenous, fanged creature after your blood!!!! ... uh, no, they don't.  They just tend to smell a bit (due to the high wool content).  This is easily countered by another spray of Febreze or equivalent.  If they get really dirty and you feel you have to wash them, then you should hand-wash very gently, in lukewarm water, with a mild detergent.  Let them dry naturally (no spindrying unless you want a very, um, artistic effect!) and ... mmmhmmm ... Febreze'em.  All the dyes I use are colourfast, so you won't find that you're doing your own spot of dyeing if you have to wash them.

12. WHY DON'T YOU USE ........?

     UPDATED!!  There's certain materials that other falls sellers use that you rarely or never see in mine, and I get some people asking why.  Well, there's several reasons.  Firstly, I like my falls to look a bit different from other people's.  I don't want it to look as if I am copying other people's designs (which can be hard enough when we are all using the same basic types of material).  Secondly, some of the more unusual materials (foam, chain, tubing etc) can either get very expensive to use (eg chain) or aren't very cost-effective unless you buy it in bulk (eg tubing), and with all the other stock I have to buy in, they're not things I really want to take a risk on for 'ordinary' auction and shop sales.  Of course, I will always try to get in materials for custom orders that someone wants, but that's different.  CYBERLOX ... this lovely material, a.k.a. tubular crin, used to be really hard and expensive to get hold of as it has to be imported to the UK - however, I've recently found a couple of suppliers whose prices make it feasible for me to get a selection of this in stock.  I'll be listing the occasional set of cyberlox falls in the future, and this material is now available for custom orders.  Please be aware though that Cyberlox custom orders might take a lot longer to make than others if I don't have the colour in stock, as I have to fill a minimum order requirement with my supplier, so if I've recently placed an order with them it may be a while before I have enough demand to place another.

13. AM I BIDDING ON THE ACTUAL PAIR IN THE AUCTION PHOTO?

      ... usually, no.  "What? How dare you!  False advertising!  I want THAT pair!!" ... I have about 8-9 'standard' colour combinations that are the mainstays of the sets that I regularly sell on eBay.  Because I advertise these regularly, it would be a bit annoying fpr me to individually photograph each set and make a new listing for each auction!  The photo is strongly representative of that design and at least 3/4 of the materials in the photo will be the same as in your pair - this includes all the 'important' ones like dreads, rexlace, yarn, roving etc.  Due to the hand-dyeing process, yarn shades will vary slightly from set to set (this is inevitable) and each set will probably have a very slight change in materials from any other.  It depends what I have in at the moment and on the precise colours of the yarns, but the set will be very, very similar to what you see in the photo.

14. HOW SOON AFTER THE AUCTION ENDS DO I GET MY FALLS?

    ... normally, I don't make a pair of falls until after the payment has been received.  The materials will probably have been measured and cut, but I don't assemble the falls till I am certain a sale has gone through.  There's two main reasons for this.  Firstly, it enables the buyer to request any changes to the falls if they so wish (additions etc), and secondly, it means that if a sale falls through for any reason, I haven't got some of my materials tied up in an unsold pair when I could use them instead in a pair where the sale has proceeded smoothly.  Unless I am very busy, falls will normally be made within a week to 10 days of receiving payment, and will then be sent either 1st class recorded delivery (in the UK) or via Royal Mail airmail (anywhere else).   Please allow two weeks for falls to get to you if in the UK and at least 3 weeks if overseas.  If you require special materials that need to be ordered in (most especially cyberlox, which needs to be imported and is subject to a minimum order value, so may not be able to be ordered right away) then this will probably be longer.  Please always check the 'Order Schedule' page in this shop for details of the week in which new orders will be made - this is updated on a weekly basis.  If you need your falls. for a particular deadline, please email me.

15. I WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, CAN YOU DO THEM FOR ME?

      ... yes, and if I can't, I'll have a good try to.  I'm always happy to take custom orders - indeed, I prefer them, as I like working with my customers to achieve exactly what they want.  Drop me a line with an idea of the colour/s, length, materials, whether any specific look or purpose is required, and I'll get back to you with lists of materials, ideas and prices - all no-obligation, of course.

16. I MISSED OUT ON A PAIR IN AN AUCTION - WILL YOU BE LISTING ANY MORE?

      ... a majority of the sets I sell on eBay are ones that have proven themselves to be popular items, and therefore, that style is likely to be relisted.  It might not be right away, but feel free to drop me a line and ask.