Feather hair extensions: A hot trend

"Flyaway hair" has new meaning this summer as women flock to feathered hair extensions, from subtle to brazenly wild.

While celebs like Miley Cyrus and Steven Tyler pioneered the look, the trend has taken on mass appeal. Teens are wearing them, but -- surprise -- so are their moms, maybe even their grandmothers.

"It's a way to be creative without a permanent situation -- it's not a haircut, it's not color, you can make up your own look," says Stephanie Pohl, Steven Tyler's hairstylist. "It's really the evolution of the Bohemian look . . . and it exploded on such a crazy platform," says Pohl, speaking of "American Idol," where Tyler often donned feathers.

At Salon Blue in Mineola, co-owner Lisa Abbey says the look is, well, flying along. The investment is fairly minimal at the salon, which charges $10 per feather (putting one in takes about six minutes). The extensions last from two to three months and are easy to maintain, she says. "The hair feathers can be washed, blown out, curled, flat ironed and styled, just like your own hair."

Stylist Renee Enea, who owns Xtensions Plus in Manhasset, has seen her feather extension business surge. "Everybody wants to be like Steven Tyler, from girls who are 10 to women in their 70s, as bizarre as that sounds," she says. In her shop, Enea charges $25 for four feather extensions. And recently, she worked a bat mitzvah where she and her team wove feathers into the hair of some 85 girls.

Heather Muir, Allure magazine's beauty editor, tested a subtle, hand-painted rooster feather cluster back in November. She wanted it to "appear like a highlight and just peek out." As summer hits, she says, women are wanting "brighter pops of color." And she's loving the more temporary clip-ons. "You're not making a commitment but still showing off an edgy personality, even if it's just for the night."

While feathers are the thing for summer, the jury's out on whether they'll last. Pohl thinks "the novelty may wear off." So what's next? "I've been thinking about using those macramé friendship bracelets," she says.

Fishing feathers

Among the last people you'd expect to be affected by the feather-in-the-hair trend are salty fishermen.

But it seems fashionable types have discovered a great source of high quality feathers -- bait and tackle shops, where they're used to tie flies.

"It's a huge problem," says John Thomson, owner of Atlantic Outfitters in Port Washington, which is completely sold out. "It's just the hugest headache. The problem is that fly fishing is a small industry and now we can't get them." The trend, says Thomson, has pushed the prices way over the top, from a whole pack of feathers (about 100) that used to cost $5 to $5 per feather.

At The Camp-Site Sport Shop in Huntington, Richard Siberry, who runs the fishing department, says one customer bought as much as he would have normally sold in three years, adding that the store's supplier, a Colorado chicken farm, doesn't expect to catch up until 2013. "If I knew about the craze and what people would be willing to pay, I'd be raising chickens now," Siberry says. "Apparently you can wash and blow dry them with your hair."

Yes, we know.