By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
The Hairitage is going to Great Lengths for customer satisfaction.
For Dowagiac's first hair extensions, that is.
Otherwise, the closest locations are in Kalamazoo or in Elkhart, Ind.
Entertainers such as Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson popularized extensions.
David Gold founded Great Lengths in London in 1991.
Indeed, they began at 9 a.m. Wednesday and were still going at 5 p.m.
Villicana, who hasn't worn her hair long since second grade, didn't seem to find the down time tedious, however.
For Lisa, it's a welcome day of relaxation, flipping through magazines and stopping for lunch.
Clouse said the process takes all day "because I have to do individual strands. She's going to have about 386 in her hair today. I have to measure her head and decide how many go in."
One-hundred percent human hair comes from Indian women who donate their locks "when they get married or have something significant (happen) in their lives."
Hair is stripped of color and placed in bins for 20 days.
Extensions are fused to Lisa's hair by a protein polymer bond that adheres "until I take it off with a special tool."
Extensions last five months or more. Clouse said the only special care required is a chemical that prevents the bond from softening.
Watching her lengthen Lisa's hair is not unlike building an artificial Christmas tree with pre-coded branches of varying sizes.
Clouse started at the nape of Lisa's neck and worked up a row at a time "in a pattern."