As a busy businesswoman with super curly 4C hair I am no stranger to the hair extensions market. Weaves, wigs and all the contraptions in between are my regular selections to protect my delicate strands when I’m in between washes or when I just don’t feel like sitting in a braid shop for eight-plus hours (beauty is … you know the mantra ladies!). I had come across Mayvenn many years ago when I first began venturing into sew-ins but was highly skeptical of yet another online hair company promising me dreams within a click of a button. After years of dealing with crazy relaxers, terrible sew-ins, irreversible heat damage, I had become suspicious of most hair companies (and hairstylists!) that were making claims that they could take my hair to levels I had never seen before.
You see I grew up in the bundle and weave era — pre-lace fronts, 360 wigs, natural hair and whatever other hair sorcery exists on the interwebs these days – and I’ve tried almost every protective style under the sun. I have had everything from beauty supply store hair sew-in my head (YIKES) to ratchet wigs that get matted in a matter of days so I’ve become super protective of my scalp and what gets put on it. So, when I had a second opportunity to give Mayvenn a try I was still a bit skeptical but ultimately, I’m glad that I did.
Mayvenn is a virgin hair extension company that’s mission is to make it easier for women to access quality hair extensions at a reasonable price via a top-notch digital experience. More importantly, and this is something that I have truly valued as a BAUCE woman, Mayvenn helps black hairstylists scale their businesses by sending them new clients via their install service. Over the years I had become a wig wearer ultimately for the convenience and my lack of patience and frustration with different hairstylists who didn’t know how to handle my 4C hair. However, through my own trial and error, I was starting to realize that the “human hair” that is used to market many of the “oh so silky” wigs that we see on social media and the internet are not as high-quality as they may appear and I started to think that my bundle-wearing sisters were actually on to something with the way their bundles would stay luscious and full longer . So, I decided to give Mayvenn an actual try with a classic sew-in at a hair salon — this is how my experience went.
First, the product
In today’s human hair market there are many sellers which makes it a lot harder to track where your extensions and wigs are coming from, who is manufacturing them, and how ethically they are being made. But Mayvenn keeps it real — their hair is truly the real deal, not silicone-masked “throw-away” hair reproduced in a Chinese factory and sold at a fraction of the price. The Mayvenn website made it very simple to select the bundles that I wanted; the website was easy to read, and it provided the opportunity to shop by look so I knew ultimately what I was getting into. I ended up purchasing a 14”, 16”, 18” bundle set with a 14” closure because I knew I wanted a bouncy, layered hairstyle. I did struggle with figuring out the difference between a closure and a frontal and ultimately went with the closure because of the ease I wanted to have when waking up in the morning. Although frontals give you that flawless hairline to scalp look, they are as much maintenance as a frontal wig and ultimately, I felt like if I wanted to struggle with keeping my weave glued down every morning I might as well just buy a wig!
My bundles arrived quickly and were packaged nicely in silk bags. The product was very lightweight; I was super nervous that I wouldn’t have enough hair to cover my head, but Mayvenn’s site recommendation was right – you really only need three bundles and a closure/frontal to complete your look. All in all, the ordering process and delivery got five glowing stars from me.
Let’s talk about the service
What sets Mayvenn apart from other hair companies, in my opinion, is the fact that they don’t just sell you the hair but they also give you the option to get it installed at one of with certified partner stylists. After choosing which bundles I wanted I was immediately connected with a virtual customer service agent that worked to help me set up my install appointment. I got several text messages confirming my appointment, connecting me with the owner of the shop, and aiding me in the process of rescheduling my appointment. I also loved that when I went to purchase my hair I had the opportunity to review hair stylists near my home that I could potentially work with and see their reviews. My only caveat was sometimes the virtual agent was a bit slow to get back to me, but that wasn’t a major deterrent. I ultimately decided to go to Diamond Kouture Hair Studio in Brooklyn to get my Mayvenn hair installed. My rating on the service? Definitely a strong 4.5 stars.
The experience
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for Mayvenn and the hairstylist they matched me with! This was honestly my favorite part of the entire process! Now as I mentioned at the beginning of all of this, I have salon phobia from years of bad experiences that damaged my hair. But after getting my hair installed through Mayvenn I feel like I may have found my new go-to woman! I woke up early on a Sunday morning and made my trek to Diamond Kouture. The owner Diamond was more than kind to me when I arrived at her shop; I have never met anyone who has such patience, attention to detail and care when it comes to hairstyling then I did with this woman! I was very hesitant to get a sew-in due to the last bad experience I hair where I suffered from thinning due to way-to-tight braids, but Diamond was so patient and understanding. She didn’t put any synthetic weave into my braid-down during the sew-in process because she didn’t want my scalp to get irritated.
She also educated me on ways to help improve the health of my scalp over time. Furthermore, she was filled with so much positive energy and had a special craft for the closure install. She plucked the closure with care and literally made the lace melt into my scalp. She swooped my baby hairs with an artistic skill that I have still been unable to replicate on my own. And lastly, she took the extra time to re-curl my bundles so they had a tighter and bouncier look and didn’t appear wavy and straggly as some bundles can be when you first unravel them. The best part was that she was super-efficient with my time – there was no hovering back and forth between too many clients or leaving me stranded under a hairdryer (some of you ladies know what I mean!). She whipped through the process in less than three hours and gave me so much attention and care I felt like a VIP client for the day! If I could give Diamond 10 stars I would — she was that good and literally won me over as a new customer.
I’m writing this after having Mayvenn hair products installed for two weeks and they are definitely holding up! The weave is bouncing and flowing, and I am literally loving the fact that I am able to hop out of bed, do some light styling to my hair and get out and go. Having a closure does limit my styles but having quality hair that looks flawless not the daily helps keep me feeling like a BAUCE on a daily basis. If you have been thinking about giving the Mayvenn Hair install process a try I highly recommend it! And for those of you who are scared of the needle and thread, get this – Mayvenn just launched a wig-making service with their bundles too!
Here’s 25% off Mayvenn hair for Black Friday to get started! Just use the code SALE at checkout! And if you buy three or more bundles with a closure or frontal your hair install is free!
