What hair extensions actually cost, and why nobody will give you a number over the phone
You have probably asked two or three studios what extensions cost and had the same answer back from all of them. It depends. That is true, and it is also not much help, because you still have to work out whether this is something you can afford before you are willing to book anything at all.
Foster & Length Studio is a private hair extension studio in Lake Country, BC, working with women across the Okanagan. This page has every appointment price on it, in ranges, along with what actually moves the number.
How much do hair extensions cost?
At Foster & Length Studio the installation appointment ranges from $250 to $900 depending on the method and how much hair goes in. Move-up appointments run $150 to $300 every four to six weeks. The hair itself is quoted separately, and your full price is confirmed at the hair-health audit before anything is ordered.
What actually moves the number
Four things, and only one of them is the method. That last part surprises people, because the method is the thing every website leads with.
How many grams of hair your head needs. This is the biggest single variable and it has nothing to do with how long you want your hair. It is about how much of your own hair is there to blend into. Someone with fine hair wanting shoulder-length density and someone with thick hair wanting waist-length can end up needing similar weight for completely different reasons, and there is no way to know which you are without seeing it.
Which method suits your hair. Not which one you like the sound of. A hand-tied weft sits differently against a fine scalp than a machine weft does, and the audit is where that gets settled. The price difference between methods is real but it is smaller than most people expect.
Whether colour work is needed first. If your own colour has to move before anything is matched to it, that is a separate appointment with its own cost, and it happens before install day rather than being squeezed into it.
How often you come back. The move-up is the cost most first-timers do not count, and over a year it is usually larger than the install. It is the number on this page most worth reading twice.
None of these can be assessed over the phone, which is the honest reason a phone quote does not exist here. A guess that comes in low is the reason people feel ambushed on install day, and a guess that comes in high loses someone who could have afforded it.
Every price, in ranges
Ranges rather than fixed prices, because the grams of hair and the state of your own hair move the figure and neither is known until the audit. The range is the real range. Nothing here is a starting-from number with a different one waiting at the end.
Where it starts
| Appointment | Cost | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Hair-health audit and hair selection | $50, applied to your install | 45 min |
This is the only appointment you can book without knowing what anything else will cost, and the $50 comes off the install if you go ahead. If the audit ends with a recommendation to wait, which happens, you have spent $50 to find that out rather than a great deal more.
Installation
| Method | Cost | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Machine weft, Genius Weft | $300–700 | 2–3.5 hrs |
| Hand-tied weft | $400–900 | 2–4 hrs |
| Tape-in | $250–600 | 1.5–2.5 hrs |
| Clip-in customisation and fit | $100–175 | 30–45 min |
Colour and finish
| Service | Cost | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Extension toning | $50–100 | 30–60 min |
| Cut and blend | $45–120 | 30–45 min |
| Style and finish | $65–95+ | 45–60 min |
Cut and blend happens on install day, at the end, in the same appointment. It is in this table because it has its own cost, not because it is a separate visit.
Keeping them in
| Appointment | Cost | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Move-up and reposition, every 4–6 weeks | $150–300 | 1–2 hrs |
| Refresh appointment | $60–120 | 30–60 min |
| Deep conditioning treatment | $75–110 | 45–60 min |
| Detangling treatment | $75 | Charged hourly |
Taking them out
| Appointment | Cost | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Full removal | $100–200 | 1–2 hrs |
| Removal and same-day reinstall | $350–950 | 3.5–5.5 hrs |
Removal is on this page on purpose. Knowing what it costs to stop is part of deciding whether to start.
The hair itself is quoted separately [PRICING NEEDED]
Every figure on this page is an appointment cost. The hair is priced on top of them, and how much it costs depends on how many grams your head needs, which is the thing the audit measures. My main source at the moment is Bellami.
Hair is reused at move-ups rather than replaced. It is only replaced when it has genuinely reached the end of its life, so it is not an annual cost, but it is not a never cost either.
Deposits, and moving an appointment
A deposit holds the slot and comes off the total on the day. It is non-refundable, and for a one-person studio that is the whole reason it exists: a no-show is not a gap in a rota, it is an afternoon that cannot be filled.
| Booking type | Deposit |
|---|---|
| New installation | $150–200 |
| Maintenance or touch-up | $50 |
More than 48 hours notice and you can move the appointment once, with the deposit travelling to the new date. Under 48 hours, or a no-show, and the deposit is forfeited. After a no-show, future bookings are prepaid in full.
There is no deposit at first contact. Requesting a callback costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
The questions that come after the numbers
Is there a cheaper way to do this?
Yes, and it is worth being straight about it. Tape-ins start lower than either weft method and clip-ins lower still. Tape-ins are a real service here and they suit some hair better than a weft does, so if the audit points that way it is not a downgrade.
What I will talk you out of is buying cheap hair online and having it fitted. Poor quality hair is the failure I see most, and when it goes, the move-ups you have already paid for were maintaining something on its way out.
What happens if I want them out?
Full removal is $100 to $200 and takes one to two hours. You are not locked into anything, and there is no contract or minimum term.
The one thing worth knowing is that skipping move-ups is not the same as taking them out. The rows travel down as your own hair grows, and leaving them there is where damage actually comes from. If you want to stop, book the removal.
Why is the range so wide?
Because a partial head and a full head are both in it. Someone adding density through the mid-section only is at the bottom of the range, and someone doing a full head with length is at the top. Both are the same service and the same appointment type.
Narrowing the range for your hair specifically takes about 45 minutes, and that is the audit.
If you want the number for your hair rather than a range
That is what the hair-health audit is for. $50, about 45 minutes, applied to your install, and you leave it with a firm price for the install and an honest estimate of what a year will cost you. Nothing is ordered or booked before that.
If you are still working out which method you are even asking about, start with the methods instead. There is no rush to the pricing conversation.
- Compare the extension methods, if you have not settled on one yet
- Read the full process, from first message to first move-up
- Request a callback, and I will talk it through with no deposit and no date to commit to
Nothing here is a quote until someone has seen your hair
Leave your number and I will call you back to talk through what your hair would actually need.