The idea is to make the hair look longer because traditionally having a full head of long glossy black hair was the ultimate in beauty. I buy mine from the Hare Krishna temple in Los Angeles. When I used to dye my hair black I would add in the false braid about half way down so that my own hair had room to blend in and then the lower portion didnt look so fake. I wrapped the end with black thread. I tried clear rubber bands but it was too hard to get them over the tassle portion at the bottom. Bharatnyam dancers wear theirs hanging down the back ind tucked into their waistband. I started making my own when I changed hair color. I used burgundy thin yarn mixed with some embroidery thread and took the tassle off of a purchased extender. Works great.