If I had a dollar for every time a friend said they wished their hair was less curly, straighter, thicker or longer, I’d be a wealthy woman. As I discovered, Superior Hair can go a long way to making these wishes come true.

My knowledge of hair extensions went as far as knowing it was a favourite of the Kardashians. Considering I don’t know anything about the Kardashians except they are insanely rich, hair extensions had not entered my orbit as something I had considered to solve my hair woes. I had never seen them applied at my local hairdresser, nor had I considered extensions as something suitable for me.

I have plenty of hair, but it has thinned with pregnancy and age and it won’t grow much beyond my shoulders without looking scrappy. I had made my peace with it, opting to no longer try to brush out the curl and let the waves take their natural shape. I’ve never stopped wishing I could grow my hair a little longer though.

Having walked past Superior Hair, a dedicated hair extension salon in a prime spot on Symonds Street, numerous times, I was surprised to find what lay behind the modest shop front. It is the biggest hair extension business in Aotearoa, with a thriving export business.

Woody is my hairstylist and has worked for Superior Hair for six years. He’s an expert and explains that extensions come in set lengths, advising me to go for the shortest length to “get to know how extensions work for me, how to care for them, and what products to use”. The shortest is 14 inch (35.5cm), but they also come in 18, 22 and a whopping 26 inch. I agree to the 14; I’m all about subtle and it would be interesting to know if people noticed anything different about my hair.

Woody tells me he loves working with hair extensions because the transformations are more dramatic and the results mean more for the clients. “They instil confidence, they can make clients more comfortable, and they can do more things with their hair.”

The hair extensions come in just about every shade and colour, so matching isn’t an issue. Woody disappeared to do a colour match and came back with a light copper blonde mix with darker roots, which he announced was a perfect match. He said it would be a natural look with my curly hair and blend well, however, he was going to straighten my real hair today.

Woody warns me that extensions can become addictive. I scoff on the inside – that won’t be me, I’m just here for the story. He has quick hands and while he was taping the extensions to my hair, explained how they are applied and how to look after hair extensions.

The hair extension is sandwiched on either side of a real piece of hair, close to the scalp. What I didn’t know is you have to go back every 6-8 weeks to get them retaped to the top of your scalp. By using the right natural hair products, this can make them last up to 10 months. That makes the $700 price tag, which includes the initial hair, seem a reasonable outlay.

If you dye your hair, which I do, Woody says to use my normal hair colour, but he cautions to not use anything that lifts or lightens as this can ruin the extension. Woody advises me to plait my hair at night so the extension blends with my curls, unless I want to straighten my hair all the time which he also cautions against.

By this stage, Woody has a pair of scissors in his hand. It’s blending time and he explains that “cutting is one of the most important parts, to make sure it blends and looks natural”.

He holds a mirror to show me the back of my hair – it’s long and thick and it looks natural. I am beyond happy – I look younger! As I leave the salon, I’m excited, thankful and smiling. I feel swag. I think back to his comment about hair extensions being addictive. He was right, I could get used to my hair looking this good all of the time.