Tutorial: How to Make Leopard Print Extensions

How to Make Leopard Print Extensions
The below tutorial explains how to make temporary, clip-in leopard print extensions. We do not recommend using this tutorial on real hair because of the need to tape the hair down to a flat surface to be able to draw on it.

You can use this tutorial to make other patterns as well, like zebra print or polka dots. Abstract patterns work better than definite shapes. I've tried making heart and star print extensions and the results were less than impressive.

What You will Need
- Three inches of wefted human hair
- Two weave clips
- A needle and thread
- Tape
- A piece of cardboard
- Hair dye
- A Q-Tip or small tint brush
- A marker and a piece of paper

Instructions
1. Cut your 3 inch piece of hair in half. Each half will be a single streak. For thicker streaks, use 6 inches instead and use two layers of hair instead of one.

2. Sew the sections of hair onto your weave clips. If the clip has holes in it, sew through each hole. If your clips don't have holes across the top, you can sew through the teeth in the comb.

3. Straighten the hair. This step may be optional if the hair you're using is completely straight already, but most wefted hair will be a little bunched up at the top from the packaging so it is a good idea to straighten it before you dye it.

4. Tape the top of your streaks onto the cardboard. Hold the hair out straight and tight, then tape the bottom down as well.

Make sure to hold the hair out straight when you tape the bottom!

5. Practice drawing your leopard print on a piece of paper. Try not to overthink it; if the spots look too orderly, it's not going to look like leopard print. Alternate between messy "C" shapes, "O" shapes, and dots. Keep practicing until you are satisfied with the pattern. Drawing leopard print freehand can be hard at first, and getting the pattern to look right takes practices. Better to use up some paper than waste your wefts and hair dye!

6. If you've got a full bottle of dye or dye that comes in a pot (Like Manic Panic), you can dip your Q-Tip directly into the dye. If you're using a bottle that you can't easily dip into, squirt some dye onto the cardboard you're using to make the streaks.

7. Dip a Q-Tip into your hair dye and begin drawing your leopard print on the hair. Hold the hair around the area down with your other hand to keep it from moving. You will also need to dab the dye on rather than draw with long strokes, again to keep the hair from moving. If the hair moves around too much, then the print won't look the same when you're done.

8. Now that you've got your pattern all done, leave the streaks alone for a while. I recommend leaving them overnight before rinsing; if you just go by the directions on the packaging, there will still be wet dye on your spots and it may stain the rest of the hair when you're rinsing it out.

9. Rinse the dye out.

10. Once the hair is dry, straighten the streaks and then you're done!