By Rich Bockmann
One of the hottest trends in beauty, sported by celebrities and coveted by the beau monde, is the unparalleled quality of virgin Remy Indian hair extensions, and at Indiqué Hair in Little Neck customers can see first-hand what makes these locks so luxurious.
“In India, it’s a religious thing. For Indian women, their hair is their beauty,” said Indiqué store manager Dakia Riley-Dunn.
“They cut it off and give it to God. They give away their beauty,” she explained.
Traditionally, the temples where these women make their religious offerings would burn the hair, but nowadays companies, many of which operate online, purchase the hair, put it in a weft and sell it to women wishing to enhance their ’dos with the famously well-cared-for tresses.
Lesser products, Riley-Dunn said, are made from “floor hair” — combinations of hair from different women that tangle quite easily and last only a few weeks before losing their sheen.
Remy hair, on the other hand, comes from a single pony tail, and the cuticles run in the same direction, giving the extension the attributes of natural flowing hair that Indiqué says will last more than 12 months.
Riley-Dunn used to work at the company’s SoHo location, and she said customers from outside the city, for whom the downtown parking landscape seems as foreign as the Indian subcontinent, would make hasty decisions.
“There were a lot of people coming in from Queens and Long Island,” she said. “They’re used to driving.”
With ample parking available in its lot, the store on Northern Boulevard gives customers the opportunity to ensure that each idiosyncratic extension meets their expectations.
“Virgin Remy is a very big online thing. You get it home and you look at it and you either love it or hate it. Each piece of hair is different,” Riley-Dunn said. “Here, you can come in and look at what you’re buying.”
The extensions range in length from 10 to 30 inches, and come in a variety of collections that feature pure and unprocessed hair, extensions dyed different shades from blonde to black, and hair that is treated to attain a certain quality or style.
They can range in price from $130-$280, and depending on how many weaves are required it can take up to three hours to sew the weft to the scalp, though customers have to go to their own stylists for that. Indiqué does not style the extensions.
“Women want them for weddings or even just everyday use. If they have damaged hair they can tuck it away and let it grow,” Riley-Dunn said. “You can make your hair silkier or coarser. It’s really all up to your personal preference.”
Indiqué Hair is at 248-12 Northern Blvd. For more information, call 718-225-0002.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
