How to distinguish human hair from synthetic?
- That being said, there are in fact some passable fake and synthetic hair wigs out there, and it is possible to get fooled into purchasing something for an outrageous price when you are unknowingly getting a very low- quality product that will not last you very long and will be very difficult to take care of and maintain its look. So how can you tell the difference for yourself when looking around and shopping for a new wig.
- First, there is the issue of the purchase price.While in general,
real human hair extensions can cost $300-500, synthetic wigs generally cost less than $100. However, there are two things to keep in mind here. First, as mentioned above, don’t judge just by the price tag, because it is possible that synthetic wigs could just be being sold at human hair wig prices. That being said, the second thing to keep in mind is that it is not necessarily required to spend a fortune to acquire a top- quality wig shop around and compare brands and prices. Just like with clothes, beauty products, jewelry, and anything else you can buy, there are always going to be different price options for the same or similar products, so take a look around and see what your options are.
- Second, there is the element of color. Everyone loves having the freedom to change up your look with new colors to express your personality and mood as it changes through the months or years, or if you have had the same color for a long time and are getting bored with it or just want to switch it up. This is also an area in which huge differences lie between synthetic hair wigs versus those made out of real human
remy hair. It goes without saying that natural human hair can of course be dyed and colored – we do it all the time! Synthetic hair, however, cannot be dyed, at least not with a very good result. Coloring and dying hair is a chemical process, and while natural hair is more durable and able to take it, synthetic hair wigs are not so competent in this category. To start, when colored with chemical dyes, natural hair absorbs the color, similarly the way your skin can absorb lotion or other products. Also similarly to how your skin sheds cells, your hair does this also, and in a lot of cases the color will eventually fade or become darker after a number of washes due to the pores in your hair opening up and letting the color out. This is not the case with synthetic hair, as it is not porous and instead is coated or solid, making it nearly impossible for the strands to absorb any color; it simply will not work. Therefore, if you buy synthetic hair wigs, yet another drawback is that you are limited to one color choice, being the one you bought it in. If you want more colors, with synthetic wigs, you will actually end up spending more money to buy more than one wig, but with real human Remy hair, you have yet again countless options when it comes to color and can change it up if you do wish, which also is cost- efficient and saves you money in the long run.
- With regard to coloring your hair or wigs, bleaching is especially imperative. Depending on the grade of hair, real human hair wigs will, as expected when bleaching your hair, lighten quite quickly and gradually into the desired shade, depending on how long you leave it in for. With synthetic hair, this is not the case; it actually will generally negatively react with the chemicals in the bleach and it will most likely burn! Obviously, this has negative effects for a variety of reasons, including a destroyed, unattractive, and unwearable product, not to mention the loss of your money. As mentioned above, some synthetic wigs can actually be rather expensive, but it is clear that shelling out a little bit more cash has a ton of benefits and will guarantee that you get the most bang for your buck and do not end up disappointed or wasting your money or time.
- Going back to the subject of burning – this time not as a result of the chemical process of dyes and bleaching – there is yet another easy test you can do to be able to tell the difference between a synthetic hair wig or extensions or those made from real human Remy hair. This involves real, actual burning with fire. To carry out the burn test, simply cut a single strand of hair (this is very important, make sure it is no longer attached to the product as this can obviously end very badly and is unsafe!) and hold it over an open flame, for example with a match, lighter, or candle. Real human hair, as we all know, has a very distinct (and rather unpleasant) smell when it is burned, and this fact is no different when the real human hair is on a wig. If it is real human hair, the strand will immediately catch fire and burn nearly instantly in its entirety from tip to tip, quickly curling into a ball and letting off the well- known smell of burning human hair. If it is synthetic hair, however, and you perform the exact same test on a single strand of hair no longer attached to the wig or extensions, the outcome will be instantaneously and obviously different. Synthetic / fake hair, even though it also curls into a ball upon being exposed to the open flame, will actually slowly melt instead of burning and will produce black smoke. The synthetic hair will also produce a strong and unpleasant odor, but not the trademark scent of burning hair, but rather the other well- known smell of burning rubber – after all, it is a synthetic material.
- our advice you should go to a Quality hair extensions store to buy hair or wigs to confirm the quality and what you paid for.