I have extensions in now, and I LOVE them! I had them in for about a month already and really had no problems. They're supposed to last 4 to 6 months. So far, not a single strand fell out! :-) It's real hair from Great Lengths, and I got it professionally binded (not really glue, but binding that is applied with heat). I have thicker hair as well, and I find that I only need to shampoo every 3 to 4 days. I shampoo like normal, and have no problems styling afterward. You can flat iron/curl iron it like normal hair. I find that it's easier to style, since the extension hair is really nice in texture and masks my own (naturally frizzy) hair. Hope this helps!