Finding good human hair extensions is a tough job. Especially when there are so many hair companies that sell different qualities of human hair out there. Whether you want to find great quality virgin hair to wear yourself or to start a hair business, you should know how to test human hair quality so you can never get scammed by “fake” virgin hair.
1.Burn Test
It might sound crazy to set your weave on fire, but burning hair extensions is the most traditional way to detect if the hair is mixed with heat-resistant, synthetic hair strands. Dishonest vendors would mix synthetic hair in real human hair extensions. Synthetic strands will cause your hair to melt and tangle.
You can take out small strands of hair and burn it with a lighter. If the hair melts and produces black smoke with a chemical smell, the hair is mixed with synthetic hair. If the hair instantly sets on fire with an orange flame then turns into a ball of ashes. It’s real human hair. The protein in hair will also produce a burnt hair smell instead of a chemical smell.
2.Bleach Test
Burn tests can help you differentiate synthetic hair and human hair. But bleach test can help you recognize good human hair and bad human hair.
To do the bleach test, you can take out small strands of hair and get a L’Oreal lightening kit or any hair bleach at a beauty supply store. Apply the bleach on the hair extensions tips and wrap it in thin plastic wrap. Wait for 30 to 40 minutes. If the hair starts turning orange/yellowish within the suggested bleach time frame, it is virgin hair. Chemically processed hair might have been bleached or dyed before, therefore making it difficult to bleach the hair again.
3.Observe The Color And Shine Of Hair
If you receive hair that has abnormal shine and appears to be jet black, the hair is not virgin hair. Dark color could mean that the hair has black hair dye. Abnormal shine indicates the use of a silicone coating. This kind of hair will become a waste of money after a few washes. When the silicone is washed away, the hair will matt excessively.
4.Washing Test
If you wear your hair extensions every day. Your hair can get dull after a while. You can wash the hair to redefine its patterns. This is especially true for wavy and curly virgin hair. For example, you can straighten our virgin Deep Loose Wave wig to wear it silk straight. If you want the wavy texture back, you can simply wet the hair and the waves will come back.
If your hair extensions look a bit different after the first co-wash, that shouldn’t be a problem. But if the hair falls flat and becomes straight after one wash, the hair is definitely not high quality.
5.Shedding Test
The greatest hair in the world will still shed. Even your own hair sheds too. But when your brand new bundles shed excessively and you see all the hair balls on the floor, kitchen, class, etc, the hair is probably a bad batch.
To test straight hair’s shedding, you can co-wash the hair, air dry it then use a wide-tooth comb to brush the hair when it’s dry.
To test curly and wavy hair, you can deep condition the hair and brush through the curls while the hair is saturated with conditioner.
It’s very normal to lose a few strands through this process, just like your own hair would shed if you wash, dry and comb it. But if you lose balls and balls of hair after washing and combing, that is problematic.
Sometimes great hair can shed too due to poorly constructed weft. You can use weft seal products to secure the tracks and prevent excessive shedding.
6.Tangling Test
It’s normal for any hair to tangle. But if your hair extensions tangle excessively after washing, it could be chemically processed hair. This kind of hair is collected from dirty sources and is bathed in acid to strip off the dirt and cuticles. Without the cuticles, the hair will tangle excessively.
7.Observe The Volume
A standard bundle is 3.5oz or 100g in weight. Great hair would have smaller tracks and fuller body. As the quality reduces, the weft gets bigger and the hair gets thinner. It’s normal to see short lengths in a bundle. But if a bundle has big weft and super thin tips, then the hair is probably mixed with a lot of short lengths.
Conclusion
Many online hair companies don’t offer returns on their hair extensions because hair is a hygiene product. If you have doubts about a company’s hair, you should look up return policy. For example, Branded Hair Extensions as a wholesale hair supplier, offers 4 grades of bundles. Many customers would ask what’s our best hair before they purchase. If they bought something wrong and want to exchange or return, they can just sen the hair to our address. If you are a first-timer hair buyer, we do suggest going with a company that offers returns and exchanges. You can also lookup hair samples of the company to test the quality first before you purchase the hair in bulk.