If you have long wanted to try Human Hair Extensions, before you go out and spend all your savings you should consider the following research that we have undertaken to avoid disappointment.
Hair extensions are methods of lengthening ones hair by incorporating artificial hair or natural hair collected from other individuals. These hair techniques are advanced and are used to change the hair drastically without looking unrealistic.
Unfortunately there are no laws governing human hair extensions or application in Australia. If tomorrow you go out and purchase a set of hair extensions where the packaging states 100% human hair yet you go home to find it was in actual fact mixed with 50% synthetic hair, your argument would not hold in the court of law. That is because there is no criteria to be met for human hair extensions except that the product is not to be made defective for consumption. So we urge everybody to do their own research as every hair type is different and therefore the needs from each person is different.
Hair can be sourced for several different nationalities/ countries. You will find that due to the cost of manufacturer however that most hair extensions are put together in China (hence, including label Made in China). These are the main ones that you will come across.
Asian Hair - Thinnest of them all. Only suitable for those with very fine, wispy hair. Will knot significantly after wash. Be prepared to have a fantastic conditioner/ treatment after every single wash. We don't recommend Asian hair at all. We find it is cheap and nasty of them all. Feels very synthetic.
European Hair - VAU Beauty sources only European hair extensions. After years of research we believe that European hair is suited to most people as it is strong and healthy and after washing remains thick, shiny and also knotting is kept to a minimum. See below our hair compared to others on the market.
Indian Hair - The Indian Hair is more often than not used for those who wish to have long, thick, sleek and straight hair. This type of hair can be easily straightened and usually comes in dark colours.
The quality of the hair is often specified.
- Virgin hair is hair that hasn't been coloured or processed in any way. The "virgin hair" is collected by tying off the hair to maintain the direction of the cuticle and then cut. After the hair is cut and collected it can be sewn on a weft, pre-bonded, made into wigs or left in bulk form.
- Remy is when all of the hair is human plus when 'close to' all of the strands (e.g. in one weft) are strictly organised with the roots in one direction and the tip to the opposite end. VAU Beauty uses Remy hair only.
- Single drawn is of a slightly lower quality than double-drawn hair. The hairs will have up to a 2" difference in the tips; that is, some hairs will be up to 2" shorter than their original lengths. VAU Beauty hair extensions are all single drawn to keep the costs down for our consumers.
- Double drawn indicates that the collected hair of a certain length has all of the shorter hairs in the bundle manually removed twice, hence the 'double' drawn. This means that hair extensions that are double drawn will have (nearly) as many hair strands at one end as the other and appear much thicker and not wispy at the ends. This process is very laborious, and therefore makes the extensions very expensive.
Most human hair extensions can be treated as real hair, albeit more gently. Since human hair extensions are usually heavily processed to achieve uniform colour and texture, a mild shampoo is recommended, along with a heavy conditioner/ treatment to reduce tangling. When shampooing it is suggested that a sulfate and alcohol free product be used, since those contents cause frizz and dry out the hair. Cool water is also recommended when shampooing, to reduce or prevent matting and excessive tangling. Having to remove snarls and tangles loosens the foundation of the integrations and further damages the hair.
How can you tell the hair synthetic?
Start by looking at its texture. Synthetic hair has a very high shine/ gloss that you will notice when you look at it. When you run your finger nails down a strand of synthetic hair you will notice it is very smooth and would not have cuticle like bumps which natural hair will have.
Expose a strand of hair to flame. If the hair is natural, it will immediately catch fire and burn nearly instantly, curling into a ball. It will also have a strong, somewhat unpleasant smell. Synthetic hair, on the other hand, will slowly melt rather than burn, and will have almost no smell.
You can also test by trying to dye real hair against synthetic hair. Synthetic hair will not take to the colour as well as natural hair.
For any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We value all of our customers feedback and have been a hair extension distributor for numerous years with lots of happy returning customers so we look forward to answering any questions you have.
