Sewn-in wefts
Hair Extensions in Raleigh
Sewn-in wefts for length and thickness, colored and cut to disappear into your own hair.
Extensions fail for one reason: they look like extensions. The colour is a shade off, the weft sits too high, the ends are blunt where your own hair tapers — and everyone can tell. Getting that right is not a product decision. It is a colouring and cutting problem, and it takes someone who has been doing both for a long time.
Maria has spent forty-three years behind the chair. She colours every weft to your hair before it goes anywhere near your head, sews it in flat so it lies under your own hair rather than on top of it, and then cuts the whole head together so the extension ends and your ends become one shape.
The result should be hair you forget about. You wash it, you brush it, you put it up — and nobody asks.
Who this is for
Anyone whose hair will not grow past a certain point, has gone fine or thin through the lengths, or who simply wants more of it. It also suits people growing out a short cut who do not want to spend two years in the awkward stage. If your concern is thinning at the crown or a widening part rather than length, a topper is usually the better answer — see the toppers page.
Her work
Drag to compare
Fine, shoulder-length hair before. Sewn-in wefts, coloured to match and cut in, after.
What goes into it
The craft behind the price.
Matching the hair
Your natural colour is rarely one colour. Maria matches the weft to your root, your mid-length and your ends, and custom colours it where the stock shade will not do. This is the step most installs get wrong.
Sewing, not gluing
Sewn-in wefts sit on a small braided or beaded track and are stitched flat. Nothing is glued to your hair and no heat or adhesive touches the strand, which is why this method suits fine hair better than tapes or bonds.
Cutting it in
An install is not finished until it is cut. Maria blends the extension ends into your own layers dry, checking how the two lengths fall together when you move.
Move-ups
Your hair grows, so the track grows away from your scalp. Every couple of months the wefts come down and go back up tight. A mini move-up handles a partial row; a full move-up resets everything.
Her process
What happens in the chair.
A new install usually runs three to five hours including the cut and style. Move-ups are shorter.
- 01
Consultation
You come in, she looks at your density, your growth pattern and the condition of your ends, and tells you honestly whether extensions are the right call. She takes colour matches and works out how many wefts you actually need — not the most she can sell you. $50, applied toward your install.
- 02
Ordering and colouring
The hair is ordered to your match and coloured in the studio before your install date, so it is ready and correct when you sit down.
- 03
Install day
Sectioning, the track, then the wefts sewn in row by row. This is the long appointment — plan for most of a morning or afternoon.
- 04
Cut and style
Everything is blended and cut together, then styled so you leave seeing exactly how it looks finished.
- 05
Move-ups
Back roughly every eight to ten weeks depending on how fast you grow. Mini move-ups between full ones keep it comfortable.
Recent work.
See the full gallery
Pricing
What it costs.
- Extension consultationApplied toward your install
- $50
- Sewn-in wefts — new install
- $450 and up
- Sewn-in wefts — full move-up
- $450 and up
- Sewn-in wefts — mini move-up
- $250 and up
- Sewn-in weft removal
- $200 and up
- K-tip removal
- $200 and up
Maria quotes every price in the chair once she has seen and felt your hair. Length, density and condition all move the number, and she would rather be accurate than cheap over the phone.
How to work with her
Getting started.
- 01Call or text Maria at the studio to book a consultation.
- 02Bring photos of what you are after, and be honest about how much time you will spend styling.
- 03She quotes your install at the consultation, once she has seen your hair.
- 04Hair is ordered and coloured to match before your appointment.
- 05Install, cut and style in one visit.
Aftercare
Making it last.
- Brush from the ends up with a soft-bristle or loop brush, holding the track.
- Wash in the direction the hair falls; do not pile it on top of your head.
- Keep conditioner off the track itself — it loosens the stitching over time.
- Dry the track properly. Sleeping on a damp track is the fastest way to a problem.
- Come back for the move-up on schedule. Leaving it long is what causes tension and breakage.
Questions
Hair Extensions, answered.
At Maria's studio a new sewn-in weft install starts at $450, a full move-up at $450, and a mini move-up at $250. The hair itself is quoted separately at your consultation, since the amount depends on your density and the length you want. The $50 consultation is applied toward your install.
Sewn-in wefts are among the gentler methods because nothing is glued or heat-bonded to your strands — the wefts sit on a track and come out cleanly. Damage comes from tracks left in too long, installs put in too tight, or too much weight for the hair supporting it. Maria sizes the install to what your hair can carry and will tell you if it cannot carry it.
The hair itself, cared for properly, commonly lasts around a year and sometimes longer. The install needs a move-up every eight to ten weeks as your own hair grows.
Yes. Sewn-in wefts lie flat against the head, so ponytails and updos work — that is part of why they are placed the way they are.
Maria specialises in sewn-in wefts and toppers. She does remove K-tips ($200 and up) if you are coming out of another method and want to switch.
Plan on three to five hours for a new install, including colouring the blend, sewing the wefts and cutting everything in.
Also in the studio