Best Hair Extensions for Fine & Thin Hair UK

Hair extensions for fine hair in the UK are designed with very particular requirements in mind. To put it bluntly, if you have fine hair, you will need any extensions you use to be lightweight. 

Our experts, then, have put together a guide for people with fine as well as thinning hair. The specialists in our team have focused on brands offering lightweight and discreet hair pieces that add volume and length, without causing damage or looking obvious. 

Scrutinising such types of extensions as clip-ins, tape-ins, and halo hair extensions options, our knowledgeable professionals have put the spotlight on the best hair piece brands for thinning or fine hair. 

Why fine hair needs different extensions

You might understandably wonder why there is any need for dedicated extensions for fine hair. Firstly, people with fine hair have thinner hair strands. This is normally around 50 to 70 microns, rather than 80 to 100 microns, as is the norm for people with thicker hair. 

Given that fine hair has a smaller strand diameter and often lower density, people with this type of hair could be putting their hair at risk if they use traditional extensions. Such options as standard keratin bonds or thick wefts can exert weight stress and cause breakage. 

If you have fine or thinning hair, you should also generally avoid extensions with large, bulky, or obvious clips or bonds, as they are difficult to conceal and can cause tension. 

Best extension types for fine hair UK

The best extensions for thin hair or fine hair in the UK include the likes of: 

• Tape-in extensions, which are the best option for fine hair, due to their gentleness and their flat, comfortable, and secure fit. Tape-in extensions help protect vulnerable hair by distributing weight over a wider surface area. 
• Halo extensions, which are low-maintenance, one-piece extensions sit on a wire. Halo hair pieces cause zero tension, and therefore zero damage, to natural hair.  
• Lightweight clip-in extensions, which offer instant volume and length without the tension (and associated damage risk) of permanent methods. Hair piece buyers with fine or thinning hair should make sure any clip-ins they buy are no heavier than 120g.

Best brands for fine hair

Our experts have assessed a variety of factors to determine the brands offering the best hair extensions for fine hair in the UK. Specifically, the top three brands providing hair pieces for people with fine or thinning hair are Cliphair, Beauty Works, and Hidden Crown. 

1. Cliphair

The Cliphair fine hair extensions range includes several lightweight and discreet designs that add volume and length without overwhelming natural hair or causing strain. 

Cliphair’s hair extensions for fine hair include clip-in sets weighing as little as 100g. Cliphair is also renowned for its seamless wefts that allow for an invisible blend. 

The full-head clip-in extensions that Cliphair offers typically include seven to eight wefts or pieces with pre-attached clips. The design of Cliphair’s multiple-piece sets distributes weight evenly across the head instead of concentrating it, thereby making them gentler on fine or thinning hair compared to heavy single pieces. 

The prices of Cliphair’s full-head lightweight or seamless sets for fine hair typically range from around £90 to more than £150. 

2. Beauty Works 

The tape-ins that make up the Beauty Works brand’s Slimline range are among the best hair extensions for thin hair in the UK. 

Beauty Works’ Slimline tape-in hair pieces use a super-flat polyurethane (PU) weft strip designed to lay flat against the scalp, thereby minimising bulk and reducing stress on fragile roots. 

3. Hidden Crown 

Further examples of great hair extensions for thin hair in the UK are the halo-style pieces offered by Hidden Crown. The Hidden Crown halo extension design utilises a wire to prevent the damage, tugging, or breakage that tape or traditional clip-in extensions can sometimes cause. 

Both the Hidden Crown halo extensions and the Beauty Works Slimline options combine light weight with non-damaging application methods. Such qualities help make them a feasible alternative to Cliphair’s own offerings for thinning or fine hair. 

How to apply extensions to fine hair

With a particular focus on both tape-in and clip-in extensions for fine hair or thinning hair, here are some tips to help you apply these hair pieces correctly to potentially vulnerable hair: 

• Section hair properly. Proper sectioning is crucial for fine hair, because it creates thin, even layers allowing extensions to sit flat and blend seamlessly without bulging. 
• Use smaller wefts. Fine hair can’t handle bulky or heavy pieces. So, you should opt for smaller and lighter wefts to prevent your roots getting weighed down. 
• Prioritise coverage, balance, and minimal tension with your placement. We recommend that you focus on hiding attachments, while adding volume where fine hair needs it most (often the crown and mid-lengths). 

Avoiding damage to fine hair

Making sure extensions won’t damage fine hair isn’t just a case of choosing the right hair pieces in the first place. You should also be taking various other steps: 

• Never sleep in clip-ins. Taking care to always remove clip-in extensions before bed will allow you to avoid issues like tangling, matting, and unnecessarily pulling on your roots. 
• Limit tape-in wear to eight weeks or less. The semi-permanent and adhesive-based nature of tape-ins means you will need to reapply them every six to eight weeks, maximum. Doing this will help prevent buildup, slippage, or adhesive weakening. 
• Use heat protectant (and limit heat styling overall). Fine hair is extra vulnerable to heat damage – so, you should always a good heat protectant spray before using straighteners, curlers, or blow-dryers. 

Conclusion 

The overall best hair extensions for fine hair are, in the view of our experts, Cliphair’s clip-in hair pieces. However, if judged purely from the perspective of causing zero damage, the halo-style options from Hidden Crown were our specialists’ number one choice. 

Ultimately, then, if you need hair extensions that won’t damage fine hair or thinning hair, you should find relevant options across the Cliphair, Hidden Crown, and Beauty Works ranges. 

Top photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash