First, let's talk about the most important aspect of the hair, which is the cuticle. When buying human hair what you really should be the most concerned about is the cuticle.
What is the cuticle anyways?
The cuticle is the protective layer of the hair & it needs to stay intact in order to preserve/protect the hair. It's made of protein scales that overlay on top of each other to keep the hair within the hair shaft.
When these scales rise due to chemicals & ingredients that pass through the cuticle layer. In order, for color or relaxers to take, they need to get past the cuticle, which damages the hair.
Keeping the cuticle intact/closed is the #1 way to preserve the hair, prevent breakage and keep moisture in.
Now, let's go over the hottest buzz word remy human hair.
Remy vs Non Remy human hair, does it matter & what is it?
Natural growing biological hair grows with the cuticle running in the same downward direction from root to tip.
When sourced hair is cut for wigs or toppers it's sold in bundles. These bundles must be kept with the cuticle running in the same downward direction to be considered remy hair.
Non-remy hair is hair that is collected from multiple sources can not guarantee that the cuticle is running in the same direction
For this reason, the hair is treated to partially remove the cuticle. If this process is not done correctly, the hair will matte and inversion will occur.
Now let's go over the main origins of human hair.
Human hair is sourced from three origins
The main difference between the three origins is in the denier (thickness of the hair stand) & the texture .
1) Chinese hair is the strongest of the denier & can withstand lots of processing. For clients, it requires the most work maintaining because of it's thickness
2) Indian hair is also known as temple hair because during the Mundan ceremony in Hinduism women, men & children shave their heads in order to purify their souls.
3) European hair is the most difficult to source for the following reasons:
- The denier of European hair is the most similar to caucasian hair
- Only hair that be can sourced in other colors than black so less processing is needed leaving the cuticle partially intact
- Finest texture - feeling silk like
- Requires the least amount of styling maintenance
And finally, Virgin human hair?
It's a super hot buzz word in the industry but the reality is that it is extremely difficult to find. The true definition of virgin human hair means:
- Remy hair (meaning cuticle goes in the same direction)
- Cuticle is 100% intact meaning no processing or bleach has been done applied to the hair
- In a perfect world, the hair would be sourced from one person, but the reality people do not donate enough hair to support what is needed for a full wig, so, if we want want to keep the cuticle intact we must source hair that is a similar color and denier.
Your hair loss bestie,
Allison
