A good friend and colleague of mine at Village Hair Design has recently started offering Cinderella Hair Extensions as a service in our salon. Laurie Stribling traveled to Chicago for training and has been a Cinderella Hair Extension wearer for several years. I didn't think that extensions would really be something I'd ever try, but after growing my hair out for several months now, I've found myself itching for a change. Here I am before having the extensions. You can see how long, or rather how short, my hair was before the process.

So about a week ago, I spoke with Laurie for a consultation. We picked out a color using swatches. I was amazed at the wide variety of colors available. I wear my hair very blond, and we were able to find a color that matched perfectly. Cinderella hair is 100% human hair and of excellent quality, so it can be washed, curled, flat ironed, or blow dried. It can even be colored! You can choose lengths of 12" to over 20". I chose the 12" length. Baby steps.

My appointment was yesterday. I was a little nervous, but the process for bonding the extensions to my natural hair was absolutely painless. The bonds are made from protein and are melted onto the natural hair with a special tool. These bonds stay put for up to four months and grow out as your hair grows out! When it is time to replace your extensions, the bonded hair is easily removed with special tool. Laurie placed three packs of hair in my head, and the process took about two and a half hours. Then Laurie cut my extensions to blend with my natural hair and give me the style I desired.

I am thrilled with the results! I have decided to order a fourth pack of hair to be placed in the back to thicken the back of my hair up a little. Laurie will order that hair and place it in the next week or so.

I'll be sure to keep you posted on maintenance of these extensions, how they wear, how comfortable they are, and if I continue to like having long hair.

More on Long Hair

• How to Place Temporary Extensions
• Long Hair Photos
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Photo © Kendra Aarhus

I think I've mentioned before that I absolutely love Halloween. I was thrilled when we were invited to three Halloween costume parties last weekend! I just thought I'd share photos (and apologize for the poor quality of the last photo, we forgot to take pictures and had to snag some from friends).

I was the corpse of Anna Nicole Smith and my boyfriend went as the corpse of Michael Jackson. We both wore wigs, made our faces look dead, and wore homemade coffin contraptions.

Halloween Ideas

• How to Wear a Halloween Wig
• Sarah Palin's Updo
• How to Create Sexy Vampire Hair

Photos © Jessi Mart

Online ordering and scheduling has taken over the world. Gone are the days of making a phone call when you want airline tickets or even a pizza! I'm a big fan of not having to small talk, chit-chat, or even having to be sure that I'm perfectly clear about my desires and expectations. I like that when I order a pizza online I can choose my toppings with the click of a mouse, rather than relying on some kid that hates his job to write down the correct options.

Online scheduling has been available in salons for a while now, but I've noticed an increase in salons offering this service. I recently decided to give my clients this option and chose Schedulicity.com as my provider.

I like Schedulicity because the rates are reasonable ($29.00 per month for a single provider) and they let you give the program a try for 60 days before charging you a thing. The program sends an email reminder to the client before his or her appointment and as a provider, you have the option to control when each client can schedule and how far in advance they have to cancel. You can list your pricing, hours of operation, and services provided. There is also a handy email program that allows you to easily communicate with your clients. Super cute email templates are included and look very professional and can be customized for the season or occasion!

I'm excited to give it a try and am interested in what you think about online scheduling. Would you use it if it were available at your salon? Do you think it's impersonal or convenient?

I'm considering switching away from the hair color system that I use in my shop to a certified organic color line. I plan to give the All-Nutrient line a try later this week on a couple of clients willing to let me experiment. I'm curious to know from my readers: would you appreciate an organic hair color line, assuming (of course) that the results were at least as good as your normal color? Would you pay more for organic hair services? How much more would you be willing to pay for organic? 10%? 50%? How important are environmentally friendly and organic hair products to you?

Preparing your hair for the most photographed day of your life is really, lets face it, important. No one wants their heads to be a hot mess on their wedding day. My recently engaged sister, has set her wedding date for the 21st of August. Only the most humid and frizz producing month out of the year (no pressure, right). So, at our first appointment, we discussed products to get her hair in tip top shape and to grow faster and healthier over the next year.

At the eleven months and counting point we had another appointment scheduled to discuss her color. Jaylene has medium to dark brown hair with ashy tones. Her hair has been every color under the sun over the past several years. We decided that her hair looks best in a warm blond with lighter blond highlights. It goes nicely with her skin tone and sets off her eyes beautifully.

Why are we discussing her wedding day color 11 months before her wedding date? We chose to at least be "in the ballpark" so her color can be easily maintained over the next 11 months. With this color technique, we will simply touch up her regrowth every 4 to 6 weeks, rather than change her hair color and subject the mid-shaft and ends of her hair to color or highlighting on a regular basis. This will aid in growing her hair out and keeping her hair healthy for the big day.

After Jaylene's color was completed, we very very lightly trimmed the ends of hair. Her fresh look was perfect for her engagement party that we threw for her this past weekend!

Bride-to-Be Tip: If you color your hair, commit to a color that can easily be maintained in the months leading up to your wedding. This will prevent damage, breakage, and promote healthy growth!

Check Out Bridal Styles

• Updo Styles
• Half-up and Styled Down
• Short Hair Bridal Styles
• Get My Newsletter

Photo © Kendra Aarhus

I LOVE getting mail from my readers!

Q: Dear Miss Kendra - If i want some sort of change this fall but don't want to loose too much length - any ideas? I just really want polished look that is not too difficult for me to put together, since i have little to no hair talent!

A: You could completely change your look by changing the way your layers are shaped, especially around your face. Try going a little shorter and wispier with your layers for a more textured look, which is super hot for fall. Another fun trend for fall is to try a full bang! Keep them long enough that if you don't like the full out in front look, you can sweep them to the side and work them into your fringe until they grow out! If a full bang isn't for you, consider changing your bangs up a bit.

Check Out More Reader Mail

• Will a perm give me volume?
• Help! My curls fall after two hours!
• Send me YOUR Hair Questions!

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

We've discussed firing your hairstylist, which leaves you in need of filling a hole in your life, right? Well, my About.com brother in hair, Dave Alexander, has put together some great tips for finding a new hairstylist or barber. Check it out (unless you're one of my clients, of course)!

More Great Articles from Men's Hair Guide, Dave Alexander

• Get a Better Haircut
• How To Tip Your Stylist
• Facts Behind Common Men's Hair Myths

If you haven't heard all the buzz, New York Fashion Week Spring 2010 is in full swing! It's not too often that runway hairstyles really communicate to the street, but this year Avon Advance Techniques lead stylist, Allen Ruiz has created a fun, chic ballerina updo that can easily translate to the everyday girl that's looking for a simple style, with a twist (literally)! Not only did Allen show us a great style, but he also told me how to do it, and provided some pretty cool behind the scenes photos of his work! I'm thrilled to share these tips with my readers and hope Allen's work inspires you to create a modern look on a classic style!

Photo © Avon

As I recently reported, my little sister was engaged and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share with other brides-to-be just how to prepare your hair to be showcased on the most important day of your life (or at least likely the most photographed day of your life).

Jaylene has set  her wedding date for August 21, 2010, so at about one year before her wedding day, I scheduled an appointment with her to talk about her hair goals for the big day. She was also due for a hair trim, so this was a great time to kill two birds with one stone!

Bride to Be Tip: Schedule a haircut with your stylist one year before your wedding day and ask if she could mind taking a few extra minutes to talk about some products and a plan to get your hair in great shape before your wedding day.

So, first things first we analyzed her hair and her hair history. Jaylene's hair is pretty "average" in texture. It's not too thick or two thin. It's not curly, but it has some natural body. Her hair does tend to be a little on the dry side, and she shampoos her hair every other day. Jaylene spends 15-20 minutes styling everyday, usually with a blow drier and/or flat iron, so her hair does see heat on a regular basis. Jaylene has had her hair just about every color under the sun from very dark to very blond.

Like many brides, Jaylene is planning to grow her hair out as much as possible so that as her wedding day near she will have more options for styling on her day.

To encourage her hair's healthy growth, I recommended a variety of products for Jaylene. First I recommended Pureology's Nano Works Luxury shampoo, conditioner, and weekly conditioning treatment. Because these products more expensive than the products Jaylene usually uses, I also recommended Pravana's Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner to use every other time she shampoos, to save money. So why did I choose these shampoos and conditioners? Well, both are great for color treated hair and provide an adequate amount of moisture for Jaylene's hair. The Pureology products are amazing for encouraging strong, healthy hair growth (you can read more about Puralogy's hair product technology here). In addition, I advised that Jaylene continue to use CHI's Silk Infusion and CHI's Keratin Mist, encourage strength in her hair. For heat protection, she decided to try Pravana's Keratin Fusion Thermal Protector.

Next, I did a clarifying treatment on Jaylene's hair to be sure that product build up and build up from her hard water was eliminated. We did a deep conditioning treatment and then a slight trim to get any broken or split ends off. At the end of the appointment we scheduled a hair color and haircut in four weeks.

Stay tuned for more bride-to-be tips, and keep up to date with all my hair articles and ideas by subscribing to my newsletter!

Photo © Kendra Aarhus

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards were held last night, and although Kanye West, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce's drama was the talk of the awards, I enjoyed checking out everyone's hair!

Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images