When an oft-photographed pop star sports a mod bob one week, and a long, layered locks the next, it’s obvious that it’s nurture — not nature — that’s responsible.

Time was, celebrities remained mum about their too thin, too flat, or too short hair, and remained in the closet about their dependence on hairpieces for camera-ready looks. Today, stars such as Jessica Simpson and Eva Longoria flaunt their extensions. So too do other women and some men — many who see clipped-on, glued-on, weaved-in or otherwise-adhered hair as a status symbol of sorts.

“It’s become a lifestyle, because fake beauty is better than the ugly truth,” the owner of Xtensions Plus in Manhasset, N.Y., Renee Enea, said. “Everybody who has hair extensions is not ashamed anymore. They look at it as a rich man’s habit.”

That’s because extensions can easily cross the four-figure threshold.

At Xtensions Plus salon, protein-bonded hair extensions, which can last up to six months, cost between $700 and $2,500 — depending on the length and amount of hair being attached. “You can be wearing a $1,000 dress, and if you’re having a bad hair day, it doesn’t mean anything,” she said, explaining the importance of hair in creating a polished look.

Ms. Enea said she works with 100% human “temple hair” from India. There, she said, it’s not uncommon for locals to donate their hair to religious institutions, which in turn sell the hair in bulk.

There are also some less expensive do-it-yourself choices, such as the HairDo line launched last year year by star stylist Ken Paves, together with Ms. Simpson. HairDo prices range from $85 for a shoulder-length, synthetic clip-in extensions to $500 for a longer, clip-in hairpiece made of human hair from India. HairDo extensions are available online at extensions.com, hairboutique.com, and other beauty Web sites.

“It’s an opportunity to play dress-up, and have fun,” Mr. Paves said, adding that hairpieces have become luxury fashion accessories — and are talked about as such.

“I feel like it’s putting on a beautiful piece of jewelry or a beautiful scarf,” a 31-year-old entrepreneur from Port Washington, N.Y., Jennifer Love, said.

She first tried on hair extensions after losing her hair to cancer treatments. Now cancer-free, her hair grown back, she said she has no intention of giving up her favorite fashion accessory. “I’m addicted,” she said. “I get so many compliments. I turn heads a lot, and that feels good.”

Ms. Love said she is not shy about her use of hair extensions. “Our society is so beauty- and wellness-focused that it’s okay to want to be beautiful, and to do things that make yourself feel good,” she said.

Hair loss, often caused by a medical condition, hormonal changes, and hereditary conditions, is the impetus for many women to seek out hairpieces. “It’s a huge psychological and emotional issue for women,” a Midtown dermatologist, Francesca Fusco, said. “They ask, ‘Am I going bald?’ In my practice, every single day, someone remarks that they have some form of hair loss. It can be very scary, very disturbing.”

Manhattan stylist Paul Labrecque said some of his clients seeking hair extensions at Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa are recovering from cancer or have a medical condition that causes hair loss. But most just want “changeable style.”

In the fall, Mr. Labrecque, who has salons on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, launched his own line of human hair extensions that are custom-cut, colored, and styled for clients. “People from every walk of life are wearing them,” he said. “If your hair doesn’t grow thick and long — and you can put in clips to make it thick and long — why not? It’s very accepted. The question is: Can you afford it?”

At Mr. Labrecque’s salon, a haircovered scrunchy retails for $250 and a long wrap-around ponytail piece runs $650. There are pricier, and longer-lasting options, too: Full-head extensions adhered through a process called “nylon integration” cost $3,500. They can last between four and five months, he said.

A 21-year-old Queens resident, Georgia Doukeris, recently had 125 long, wavy hairpieces attached to her head through a process called nylon integration at Mr. Labrecque’s salon, where she works as an assistant stylist. Her colleagues frequently bring clients considering hair extensions to see Ms. Doukeris’s voluminous mane. “I’m not embarrassed at all to tell people I have extensions in my hair,” she said. “You open up celebrity magazines, and everyone is wearing them, and rarely are they embarrassed, either.”