Scene hair extensions are long pieces of synthetic or human hair dyed in brilliant colors, such as green, yellow, or hot pink. "Scene" is a general term that describes a subset of the emo culture, which is popular with young adults. A big part of dressing in the scene style is to have colorful hair. Many people do this by wearing 1-inch (about 2.5-cm) hair extension clips in different colors. The hair extensions can be pink, green, orange, neon, or any color combination. Emo hair is closely related to scene hair, but it is usually dyed black, flat-ironed, and not as voluminous or as colorful as scene hair.
Teenage girls make up the majority of the consumer base for scene hair extensions. While this emo hairstyle can be worn by males and females, girls usually sport the look and wear the colorful extensions. Though the hairstyle is a subset of the emo culture, it is important to differentiate scene style and emo style, as a true emo hairstyle does not use colorful hair extensions, and the hair color is usually dyed a uniform black color.
Coontails, which are zebra-striped sections of hair, are also popular. Scene hair extensions that are black-and-bleached dyed are commonly seen as well, along with side-swept bangs that cover one of the eyes. The hair extensions are applied close to the scalp with snaps or crimps, which hold the hair in place for a day or longer.
Scene hair is cut so that the hair is a few inches (about 7 or 8 cm) long on top with longer layers underneath. There are usually numerous layers throughout the hair, with the shortest layer at the crown. This hair is teased up and held with hairspray for extra volume. The bigger and brighter the hair, the more "scene" it looks.
Scene hair extensions are usually applied near the back of the ears so they blend in with the longest layer of hair. They are then trimmed to match the length of the hair. The coontail-style hair extensions usually are applied on each side of the head so they match.
Hair extensions can be made from human hair, often imported from Asian countries, or synthetic materials. Human hair strips are more expensive, but they blend in with the wearer's natural hair better than synthetic extensions. Human hair can also be heat styled like regular scalp hair. Synthetic hair extensions are less expensive, but they cannot be flat-ironed or curled, as the intense heat can cause them to melt. These types of extensions are found online and in beauty supply stores.