Micro rings or micro loop hair extensions use small metal rings (usually aluminium) lined with silicone with the extension hair attached. They are fixed to small sections of natural hair and tightened using a special tool that clamps the loop around the natural hair.

The micro loops are designed to be small enough so that they are not visible in normal use. They need repositioning an an average every 3 months as the natural hair grows and the micro rings move away from the scalp.

As they do not use heat or adhesives, these hair extensions should cause less damage than some types.

These things are fairly new onto the hair scene, but they’ve already made a big impact on the extensions world. They’re basically what you’d expect from the name: tiny metal rings. They come in a few natural colours, usually blonde, light brown and dark brown. Some micro rings come with a layer of silicon inside, this makes a better bond, as the silicon is super grippy.

When it comes to installation, basically a small section of your own hair is threaded through, along with a similar amount of extension hair and then the ring is squeezed shut with small pliers to secure it all in place. To remove them, all you have to do is squeeze the ring the other way with the pliers to open it up.

What I love about micro-rings is that you can be seriously creative with them. you can add chunks of colour to an otherwise natural head of hair, you can add single extensions all over the head for highlights, you can add feathers to your hair with them (I know this is becoming popular at the moment)

The usual kind of extensions used with micro rings are called I-tip extensions. These are small sections of hair bonded at the top to keep all the strands together, the rigidity of the glue also makes them super easy to push up through the rings.