If an A-list celebrity is the basis of your hair inspirations, you might be surprised to learn that it might not be their own!
Don’t let the tabloid scandals of receding hair lines and hair loss scare you away from instant and infinite hair styles!
If it’s a hairpiece, extension, or wig that you’re after, you’ve gotta know what you’re looking for! This is your ultimate guide to having the rebirth of your mane of glory!
What is Remy Hair?
“Remy Hair” is one of the most over-processed terms in the hair industry. It can be difficult to determine its definition when many manufacturers are becoming so lax about its description. We’ll lay it out straight without any curves and waves to confuse you!
Remy hair is considered one of the finest, high quality grades of human hair in the industry. It should be sourced from a single donor with all strands in a unidirectional form and the cuticle intact. This provides you with the ability to achieve the most natural look possible without tangling, matting, and snags ruining your do!
Originally, true Remy hair was akin to virgin hair. However, various shades like blondes and brunettes, various hair styles, and a more cost-effective price became the high demand. These demands reformed the definition for manufacturers to provide a variety of grades of Remy hair to include several processing methods. This includes chemically processed dyed shades of hair, perms, chemically-straightened, single drawn (various lengths), and double drawn (same length) Remy hair.
Despite these methods, Remy hair can be colored and styled and can last up to three to six months with proper maintenance.
When buying Remy hair, be sure to watch out for companies that are putting in 10-40 percent of non-Remy hair into the packet. Remy hair should be expensive, so don’t be fooled by low costs!
What is Virgin Hair?
Have you ever wished you could have your childhood braids back or the thick, uncolored, and unadulterated coif that was so ever naturally strong and shiny? We all do! Virgin hair gives you that chance!
Virgin hair is the creme de la creme of the hair extension industry. It’s never seen a salon for a perm, color treatment, or any chemical process to alter the hair. These standards can even include using heating tools such as blow dryers or exposing the hair to harsh environments like cigarette smoke and the like.
It should be sourced from a single donor, cuticle should be intact, and all strands must be unidirectional and one length from root to tip. Virgin hair is healthy, strong, and unprocessed at the time of collection. After collection, minimal processing is required to prepare for retail and use, however, you’ll want to buy from a company that’s transparent about its processing methods and any eco-friendly ingredients used.
If you want the chance to give yourself a stunning hair rebirth, virgin hair extensions are well worth the investment!
Where Does Virgin Hair Come From?
It’s typically sourced from countries in Asia, India, and Europe. Virgin hair in high demand can be sourced from India, Malaysia, Brazil, and Russia. Sounds exotic doesn’t it? However, virgin hair can come from anywhere and from any person as long as it meets the rigorous standards of virgin hair and remains intact during manufacturer processing.
Virgin hair often comes from young adult women with long hair. Because of the age and unprocessed health of the hair, there isn’t any graying strands or split ends.
How to Tell if Hair is Virgin
Getting burned on a fake virgin hair buy can leave you with a singed ego and a deficit bank account. Try these tests before you fork over hundreds of dollars into your hopeful investment!
A sample of virgin hair can cost anywhere between $5-$100 depending on the company. With this sample, you can perform a few tests to determine if you want to invest your money in this specific manufacturer. Refunds and returns of virgin hair extensions are a no-no in the industry, so if they don’t offer samples, you might want to look elsewhere.
Use a very small sample and set your hair on fire – literally! Virgin hair should burn with a small flame, white smoke, and turn to ash. Synthetic hair will cause a bonfire, not really, but quite a large flame and will result in a sticky substance that will cool and set after being burned – ew!
This test isn’t 100 percent fool-proof but it’s something. Take a small sample and lather some neutralizing shampoo into it. If the foam turns pink, you’ve got chemical residue! You could also give it a bit of a rinse and if a colored dye runs from the hair, it’s a fake!
Checking for minor irregularities might seem contradictory, but virgin hair has just been clipped off a real person who has never chemically processed their hair. Natural hair can be lightly highlighted from the sun and shades and textures may vary slightly. If the hair seems too uniform in color and too silky to be true, it’s probably a fake.
Virgin hair is soft and silky but so is silicone hair! Running your fingers down the cuticles should feel smooth and soft, but running it up the cuticle in reverse should feel a little course or you should feel some slight resistance. This means the hair hasn’t been dipped in an acid bath and been stripped of its cuticles.
You’ll want to put hair to the test when it comes to styling, especially if you want to curl it. Give it a test drive with a curling iron to ensure it will hold a curl. If you’re looking for more natural, voluminous, and low-luster waves, you might want to explore Brazilian virgin hair. If you’re after a natural, low-maintenance, straight weave, Asian virgin hair might be worth a shot. Know what you want before you buy!
Benefits of Virgin Hair
It doesn’t really matter what your reason is for searching out a weave and extensions. What does matter is what will it do for you? Here’s our top reasons of why virgin hair has the best benefits!
The hair is completely human hair and natural. If you want to be discrete about your weave, no one will know the better expect you now have an awesome mane of glory!
Virgin hair is completely untouched by any chemical process, so you know you’ll find consistency in quality when you buy virgin hair from reputable manufacturers.
It’s like starting anew with a great head of healthy hair. It hasn’t been damaged in any way making it a perfect, clean slate for any styling process you wish to do. Be it coloring, perming, or daily straightening, it’s more susceptible to being styled because it hasn’t been damaged in the past.
Shine and luster shouldn’t be confused. Synthetic hair has high luster because of its chemical additives. Virgin hair has a natural shine because it’s healthy and cuticles are intact and strong. This makes it a reflective surface to maintain a shiny appearance that’s low-luster. In English? Natural sleek and shine without looking fake!
The cuticle, the key component in virgin hair, has been kept intact. Several depths and overlapping layers of cells create this hard structure that protects the hair from environmental and styling damage. It’s stronger and more durable versus synthetic and cuticle-stripped hair. With proper maintenance, it can last a lot longer!
Can Virgin Hair be Straightened?
The short of it? Yes! Virgin hair can be styled in various ways including being straightened with either a straightening comb presser and hair dryer, straightening hair brush, flat iron, or chemical relaxer.
However, if you’re considering the chemical relaxer, you should probably look for virgin hair that’s relatively straight to prevent the damage associated with relaxants. While straightening hair causes harm to virgin hair as it would your own hair, it can be done. Don’t forget to always use a heat protectant on your hair!
What is Non Virgin Hair?
When discussing human hair, non virgin hair is any weave and extension that doesn’t meet the standards of virgin hair. Typically, we’re talking about temporary hair that’s not reusable.
This is usually garnered from sources like salons where left-over cuts are saved, processed, and put together as packets. Because it comes from many donors with various textures, colors, and lengths, the cuticles and form are multi-directional. Manufacturers will then dip the hair into an acid bath to strip the cuticles and then process it with tons of silicone to provide a uniform, sleek, and soft look for extensions suitable for retail.
Non Virgin and Non Remy hair can be difficult to style, prone to damage, cheap, short-lasting, and susceptible to tangles, snags, and matting after a few washes.
What is Yaki Hair?
Yaki hair is for those who are after the natural look. It can resemble chemically-relaxed, Afro-Caribbean hair or it can be course and wavy. Yaki hair can be bought as Remy, Non Remy, and Synthetic.
It’s typically categorized into four styles.
The first is a the chemically-relaxed and straight look.
The second is a regular Yaki that seems like relaxed hair but not quite like the first.
The third type of Yaki hair is more natural-looking with its thicker volume that looks like it’s been blown straight.
The last type is untreated Afro Caribbean hair that may be wavy, course, and curly.
Shizzalin Hair!
You don’t need someone else’s hair to compensate for something you feel you lack! But, if you’re up for an A-list makeover or something with a little more oomph, getting the right hair can make all the difference!
If you’re shy, shizzalin hair mightn’t be as theatrical as you think! So, what’ll it be? Remy, Virgin, or ya-ya Yaki?
