Our Founder’s Story
Learn about the creator of the best hair extension system
Patented System
Our Story
Glamour Locks #1
Paula began her training at a very young age in Beirut, Lebanon where her parents owned their own beauty salon. She learned and watched as they interacted with their clients, without realizing she would one day be making a difference working with her own clientele. Sadly, war began in her beautiful hometown of Beirut and Paula’s family was forced to leave their home and their established salon to find refuge in Athens, Greece. They began again with a new salon, where Paula and her family spent the next four years following their passion for hair care. Paula has fond memories of watching her parents care for their clients in Athens who were part of a community filled with peace, tranquility and the simplicity of living life to its fullest.
Later in 1979 Paula’s family moved to sunny Southern California where they opened new salons. Soon Paula graduated from high school and beauty school and began working as a full-time hairstylist. Although most young hairstylists are learning the basics of haircare, Paula was able to master many things early on by helping her parents, so by the age of only 19 Paula was already a master hairstylist with a full clientele.
The Patent
Not long after that, Paula opened her own salon in South Orange County, where she continued to build her clientele and was introduced to the world of hair extensions. She immediately became interested in improving the way hair extensions were worn. Concerned with the damage hair extensions were causing, Paula was determined to come up with a new system that would not damage the hair whatsoever. The Glamour Locks technique was born and word spread quickly. People from all over the country began flying in to meet with Paula and experience the Glamour Locks hair extension system for themselves. Because this technique was so unique she had it patented, which was quite an accomplishment for Paula’s career.
Paula takes pride in knowing her invention has a powerful and useful purpose for people interested in improving their own hair length and volume while avoiding damage. Because the Glamour Locks hair extension system can only be installed in an authorized Glamour Locks facility, Paula has personally trained and certified her hairstylist staff.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Glamour Locks Founder and System
What inspired Paula to create the Glamour Locks Hair Extension System?
After decades of working as a master hairstylist in Southern California, Paula saw firsthand the damage that existing extension methods were causing her clients. Women who came to her with thinning hair, broken strands at the hairline, and scarred scalps from adhesive-based and tension-heavy methods convinced her that the industry needed a fundamentally different approach. She began developing a system that could deliver the length and volume her clients wanted without any of the damage she was witnessing. The patented Glamour Locks Hair Extension System — with its carbon fiber Tension Strap and beaded track — was the result of years of testing and refinement, and it remains the only method of its kind.
How does Paula’s background influence the Glamour Locks approach today?
Paula’s training across multiple countries gave her exposure to a wide range of hair types, textures, and client needs from an early age. She learned that beautiful hair results require both technical precision and a deep understanding of hair health — not just aesthetic outcomes. That philosophy is embedded in the Glamour Locks system and in how every stylist at the salon is trained. The emphasis on non-damaging methods, cuticle-aligned hair, and thorough client education reflects Paula’s original vision: that extensions should make hair better, not compromise it.
How are Glamour Locks stylists trained, and what sets them apart?
Every Glamour Locks stylist undergoes extensive training in the patented system before working with clients — this is not standard cosmetology licensing supplemented by a brief extension course. Stylists learn the specific technique, the science behind cuticle alignment and hair quality, the client consultation process, and the at-home care protocols clients need for optimal results. Because the Glamour Locks system is proprietary and unlike any other extension method on the market, this specialized training is essential for consistent, high-quality results across all locations.
What does the patented aspect of the Glamour Locks system actually mean for clients?
The patent on the Glamour Locks system means the specific combination of the beaded track, the carbon fiber Tension Strap, and the weft attachment method is legally protected intellectual property — no other salon can replicate it exactly. For clients, this means that if you’re looking for the Glamour Locks result, you can only get it from Glamour Locks. The patent reflects the genuine novelty of the system compared to every other extension method on the market. No other approach uses a Tension Strap to decouple the weight of extensions from natural hair in the same way.
Does Glamour Locks offer consultations before committing to an installation?
Yes — and the consultation is strongly recommended for every first-time client. During a free consultation at any Glamour Locks location, your stylist will assess your current hair condition, discuss your goals, recommend the right number of rows and extension length, and walk you through the full cost and maintenance commitment involved. The consultation exists because Paula’s original vision included making sure every client had the information they needed to make the right decision for their hair — not just making a sale.
The Philosophy Behind Glamour Locks: Why Method Matters More Than Trend
The hair extension industry is driven heavily by trend — new methods emerge, gain popularity, and then fade as their limitations become apparent. Tape-ins were revolutionary when they were introduced, then their damage profile became well documented. Keratin bonds followed the same arc. The Glamour Locks founder’s approach was different from the start: rather than following trends, she set out to solve the underlying problem that made all the trending methods eventually fall short. The result is a system built on principles that don’t go out of style.
The Problem Paula Set Out to Solve
After years of working as a master hairstylist and watching clients return with damage from every popular extension method, Paula identified a pattern: every method in common use transferred the weight of the extension hair to the natural hair at the attachment point. The damage was the inevitable consequence of this weight transfer, not a flaw in execution. No amount of better training or gentler technique was going to fix the fundamental physics of a system that hung extension hair from natural strands. The only solution was to redesign the system so that the extension hair was supported by something other than the client’s natural hair. The Tension Strap was the answer — a structural element that bears the load of the extension independently, completely decoupling the weight from the natural hair below.
Why the Patent Matters
The Glamour Locks system is patented — and that patent represents more than a legal protection. It represents independent verification that the system is genuinely novel. The patent process requires demonstrating that an invention is both new and non-obvious — that it solves a problem in a way that wasn’t already known or apparent. The Tension Strap and beaded track combination met that standard, which means the core innovation behind the Glamour Locks system has been independently evaluated and confirmed as a genuine advance over prior art in the field. Clients who choose Glamour Locks aren’t just choosing a brand — they’re choosing a method that has been verified as structurally different from everything that came before it.
Training as an Extension of the Philosophy
Paula’s founding philosophy extends to how Glamour Locks trains its stylists. Rather than teaching general extension techniques and adding the Glamour Locks method as one option among many, every stylist at Glamour Locks is trained exclusively in the patented system. This creates depth of expertise rather than breadth — stylists who perform the Glamour Locks installation hundreds of times develop a precision that can’t be replicated by someone who also installs tape-ins, keratin bonds, and micro-beads and switches between them based on client preference. The outcome for clients is a higher floor on installation quality: every Glamour Locks stylist at every location performs the same method to the same standard, which is why results are consistent across the client base regardless of which stylist or location a client visits.
The Role of Hair Quality in the Founding Vision
From the beginning, Paula insisted on using only single-donor European human hair — a decision that was more expensive and more logistically complex than using commercially available alternatives, but that she considered non-negotiable. Her reasoning was straightforward: if the installation method is doing its job perfectly but the hair itself deteriorates within weeks, the client’s experience is still poor. The full vision required both a non-damaging method and hair that lived up to the same standard of quality. The cuticle-aligned European hair Glamour Locks uses lasts 9 to 12 months with proper care — long enough for clients to experience the full benefit of the patented system without the disappointment of hair that fails prematurely.
What Sets Glamour Locks Apart in the Orange County Market
Orange County has no shortage of hair extension salons, and clients in the area have access to virtually every method on the market. What Glamour Locks offers that no other salon in the region can is the combination of the patented Tension Strap system, single-donor European hair, and stylists trained exclusively in the method. Any salon can offer extensions. Only Glamour Locks can offer the specific system Paula developed — because the patent ensures it remains proprietary. For clients who have tried other methods and experienced damage, or who are doing their research before a first extension appointment and want to get it right from the start, that exclusivity matters. There is one place to get the Glamour Locks result, and that’s Glamour Locks.