When you are buying a wig or extensions, there is one big choice you need to make: human or synthetic hair. Both have their advantages, but many people are prepared to pay a higher price for human hair since it often looks more natural. Here are the most effective ways to identify real human hair and make sure you are not being duped!
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1. Touching
When you have physical access to the hair you want to buy, you’re in luck, because there are several ways to identify real human hair by touching it. First, human hair is softer to the touch than synthetic hair and has a very natural, soft shine. Moreover, genuine human hair has cuticles. When you run your finger down the hair, you won’t feel anything, but when you run it up, you will feel tiny bumps known as cuticles. Those are never found in synthetic hair and it’s very smooth to the touch in every direction. Finally, even the highest-quality human hair will have some imperfections, such as split hairs or varying hair lengths. This is not something you will see with synthetic hair, which is usually flawless.
Read more: Effective Natural Remedies To Boost Hair Growth
2. Examining the colour
When you buy a synthetic wig, the hair is usually coloured very evenly in dense shades, such as black and very dark brown. Virgin human hair rarely comes with an absolutely flawless colour. Even if the hair has never been bleached or dyed, it’s still going to have some discolouration, for example, from sun exposure. However, you can always dye human hair into any colour you want and expect a consistent result, which is usually not an option with synthetic strands.
3. Bleaching
After you’ve brought the wig or extensions home and are still not sure whether you’re dealing with real human hair, there is an easy bleaching test. Pour some hydrogen peroxide into a shallow bowl and dip the hair strand into it. Human hair will quickly lose its natural pigment and will become yellow or light brown. Synthetic hair will not lose its colour and will instead produce a burning smell and will change its texture.
Read more: How To Know Quality Hair Wigs
4. Burning
One of the most effective ways to tell whether the hair is genuine or synthetic is to use a lighter. The smell of burning natural hair is hard to mix with anything, and after it’s burned, human hair will turn into black ash. Burning synthetic hair will produce a strong chemical smell. Once it finishes burning, it will form a shiny hardened ball that looks and feels exactly like plastic.
5. Research
A good way to buy genuine human hair is to ask your friends or your hairstylist for referrals. You can also research trusted sellers of human hair, especially if you want to buy a wig or extensions online. Finally, you can always compare the prices to see how much a human and a synthetic wig can cost. If a price for a human wig or extensions seems too good to be true, it probably is, as no one will sell quality human hair at a disadvantage for themselves.
Read more: How To Make A Wig At Home
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