Feather Extensions Fly Off Salon Shelves

There's been the peek-a-boo, the beehive, the bump and the mullet, but now the hair frontier is pioneering a new do: feathers.

This fun and fashionable look is taking the hair world by storm as salons struggle to
keep up with demand.

“They are the hottest new thing out there,” said Judie Manelski, co-owner of .

She added that her salon started selling them right after Easter and they are
completely sold out. She said she expects to receive an order soon and they will be
priced at around $25 for a bundle of three or four feathers.

These hair extensions are real feathers from turkeys, chickens, ostriches , roosters and other birds.

The feather extensions come in all different shades from bright magenta to natural colors.

They are fastened to a piece of hair with a small bead and last as long as the wearer
wants to keep them in with no damage to the hair. They can be curled, flat-ironed,
washed and treated like normal hair.

Angela Marke, co-owner of , said her salon began selling them
two to three months ago after receiving several calls of interest.

“We started looking around and every distributor was out of them,” she said. “So we
knew it was a hot trend.”

When her salon first began selling the extensions, Marke said there was a waiting
list. Now, they are keeping their stock full so they can more quickly serve their clients. Her salon sells their feathers individually for $15 per feather.

Andrew Marke’ Salon employee, Rachel Harvill, said she has seen clients of all ages getting feathers in their hair, although the trend hasn't been picked up by boys just yet.

“The popular colors are probably more of the brighter colors: the purples, the pinks,
the teals,” she said. “But we have been getting in a lot of the natural ones that target
the more mature crowd that are looking for the more natural looking colors.”

The feathers seem to be sticking around for prom. Harvill said she has seen girls
getting them to match their dresses because they come in such a wide variety of colors.

“Even bait stores are running out of feathers because they can’t keep them in the
salons,” Harvill said. “The kids are going to get fishing lures and cutting the feathers off and using those!”

Even Patch is getting in on the fashion. Shelby-Utica Patch Editor Marina Cracchiolo recently visited on Van Dyke in Shelby Township to see first hand what all the fuss is about.

Check out the attached video of her adventure.

Last month, National Public Radio said in its report "Rooster feathers prized by fisherman and now popular in the hair salons" that the feather craze was becoming so popular that it has created a shortage in the market for fisherman who use them in lures.