Methods of Hiding the True Nature of Hair
There are many methods used by hair extension/weaves manufacturers to mislead you into believing you are buying true top quality Remy Human hair. The following are just some of the more commonly used tricks of the trade:
How can one tell the difference between true "Remy Human Hair" and a cheap imitation? Here's a chart to help show you the differences:
1. Stripping the Cuticles - many times when the hair is bought cheap in bulk, hairs from different heads have been mixed together and have had their cuticles inverted. Once inverted, the cuticles cannot be realigned. Therefore manufacturers will buy this hair at a fraction of the price of true Remy Hair and soak it in harsh acid baths to strip the cuticles from the hair so it will not tangle. Once the cuticles are gone, they then wash the hair and treat it with various forms of silicon that give the hair a "shiny" or "waxy" appearance, that to the touch feels "very smooth". However, this silicon layer will prevent the hair from properly accepting hair color and wears away after a few weeks, exposing the hair to the elements, causing it to become dry, frail and uncontrollably frizzy, rendering the extensions useless.
-
To test the hair quality: Take a strand of hair and pull it tight with your fingers, then rub your fingers from the bottom to the top of the hair. If it is true Remy hair with a healthy cuticle, the hair will "tease" as your fingers will be running against the direction of the cuticles.
2. Coloring - many times when a company has purchased low quality hair that they want to appear to be quality hair, they will apply cheap dyes to create a more uniform look to the hair. True Remy Human hair should show some variation in color among the many strands found in your hair extensions/weaves. From a distance these variations cannot be seen, but upon closer inspection you will notice. This variation stems from exposure to the sun that the long hair was exposed to prior to being "sacrificed" to the temples.
-
To test for dyes: Take your hair extensions/weave and wash them prior to installing them. If the water you are washing the extensions in becomes a dirty, light or dark brown color, your extensions have been colored to create uniformity and hide defects.
