“It’s simple; you put a micro-bead on a threading tool, take a small chunk of hair and thread it through to fasten the bead,” Kathryn Crawford, a former student of the University of Tampa explains. “Next, you put the preferred feathers into the bead at the root of the hair, clamp it down so they stay in place, and voila!”
Crawford picked up hair feathering over the summer as a part-time gig to fund a road trip. When she started selling them in spring of 2011, a pack of 12 feathers cost around $8. Due to popular demand, the price has skyrocketed to $30 a bundle.
Rocking yellow and green feathers in her long brown hair, Crawford considers herself a trend-setting hipster. Her own display of feathers attracted several customers at Camp Bisco, a music festival in upstate New York, this past July. Sitting at her campsite, Crawford was approached by a girl resembling Lady Gaga, who immediately purchased a $15 hot pink extension. The Gaga lookalike stumbled away after admiring her new extension in the rear-view mirror of someone else’s Jeep and exclaimed she was “tripping so hard on acid.”
Every day another rooster proclaims his last crow while a feather finds its way onto a trend-hungry head. But what started this feather phenomenon? “It’s a temporary way to be rebellious,” Crawford answers.
Feather extensions are the freshest trend extending from people of all ages to their furry companions. Previously used as tying feathers for fly-fishing, the extensions are now available in natural colors to neon hues. It is generally assumed the craze stemmed from hippies, although some argue it was Pocahontas. Although, there’s actually a rooster feather to complement any body’s flair.
“I’ve seen the ages range all the way from 7-year-old girls to 50-year-old women who are clearly going through a mid-life crisis,” says Anna Gorbunova, a UT alumnus, currently employed at an upscale salon on Kennedy Boulevard.
These feathery extensions have managed to squeeze themselves out of local bait stores and into mall kiosks. A feather will run you $15 to $25 at Addictions, a hair extension kiosk in International Mall.
“It’s cute to have one in your hair just to add something extra to the everyday boring routine, but it is horrifying when people have their whole head covered in feathers,” says Cayla Birk, a student at UT. Birk’s red and black feathers are more than enough to complement her dark strands. Her mission was to make a fashion statement, depicting herself as a chic accessory guru.
A 6-month-old girl was spotted sporting a single brown feather in her golden locks at Stacked Burgers, a sports bar on Platt Avenue. Her mother, a trendy middle-aged woman, spoon-fed the baby while their waitress admired the feather.
As the infant screeched playfully in her highchair, her mother claimed the baby had asked for the extensions. Sheer evidence of the classic orthodox mother trying to live vicariously through her children, making certain her baby girl raised the style bar at daycare.
UT senior Kimmy Assalone decided the hot commodity was an essential accessory for her teacup Yorkie, Zoey.
“Zoey loves to dress up; I actually bought the stuff to do it and feathered her myself,” says Assalone.
As feather-lovers flock to salons wearing colossal grins, animal activists are not smiling, because the rate of massacred roosters is on the rise.
“Roosters used to make these extensions are bred and genetically altered to produce long, luxurious saddle feathers [the ones on their backsides, which can take years to grow] before they are killed and de-feathered for their precious plumage,” wrote Keegan Baur, on PETA.org.
Whiting Farms in Colorado is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of fly tying feathers. According to the California-based publication, Orange County Register, Whiting Farms slaughters over 65,000 birds weekly to meet the demands of cosmetologists in addition to regular distribution.
“It may be big for a year, but when people decide they’re running short on money and materials they’ll realize it’s not necessary,” says Neil Sperling, the President of the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club.
An interesting contradiction provoked in this fashion fad is that a peace-loving hippie would contribute to such inhumane activity. Feathers are even being offered at small businesses like the Lotus Room, a yoga studio located on Kennedy Boulevard. The Lotus Room is capitalizing on this niche. After your afternoon yoga session, you can score a feather extension for $20 to $25.
Feather extensions may be the one trend young people and baby boomers share. Its use for self-expression and creativity allow large demographics to identify with each other.
Are hair feathers the next Silly Bandz? Rumored to cause cancer, the once-hot Silly Bandz were labeled taboo. There’s a chance this feathering phenomenon could hit rock bottom when the toll it’s taking on roosters goes general knowledge, but only time will tell.
Melissa Santell can be reached at msantell@spartans.ut.edu.