Can Kate Gosselin Afford to Maintain Her New Hairstyle?

According to Ted Gibson, the man behind Kate Gosselin's new hairstyle, the going rate for hair extensions of this magnitude in his salon would cost approximately $7,000. TLC covered the cost for Kate's new hairstyle this time around, but will she be able to afford it now that Jon Gosselin effectively pulled the plug from Jon and Kate Plus 8?

The time that goes into getting extensions, especially when they're done right, is considerable. It took the What Not to Wear hairstylist 20 hours to turn Kate Gosselin's reverse mullet into her new long, layered 'do. In the days following her hairstyle's debut in People Magazine, Kate was seen sporting a black baseball cap hiding TLC's $7,000 investment. So, what gives?

First of all, going from short hair to long hair in one day is crippling. A few years ago I got extensions after being tired of keeping short hair for so many years. I went for the glue-on method because of time, money, and the fact that I was unsure if extensions were a good idea. When I left the salon, my gorgeous new strawberry blonde mane was turning heads, but after my shower the next morning, and the revelation that my glued-in hair was naturally wavy and not at all straight, the honeymoon phase was officially over. I had no idea what to do with my new hair. I was never good at styling my hair when it was long, and now it was not only long, but thick for the first time in my life. One can of oil sheen spray later and my hair was back to its short, albeit greasy glory.

Maintaining a weave takes a lot of time, money, and dedication to styling. Think back to Britney Spears post- meltdown, where every photograph showed her with her new hair tied up, showing hundreds of tell-tale clasps that make up the top of the weave. Granted her case was a little more severe than Kate's spiky reverse-mullet, but at least Britney could afford the maintenance until her hair grew out.

In the People Magazine article, Kate Gosselin admitted to being in debt. If she's having money problems, there's no way she can keep a hairstylist on retainer, and it's not likely that TLC will be willing to help maintain the new style until her real hair has the chance to grow out. All things considered, how long do you think Kate will keep this new hairstyle?