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DEFINING WIGSTENSION TERMS
When it comes to the world of wigstensions, all
that hair jargon can get a little overwhelming. We
consulted our hair industry experts so we could
bring our readers up to speed on must-know terms
that will help decipher all that hair vocabulary.
Remy: Remy simply means that the hair cuticles in
a bunch of hair are all facing the same direction.
One of the problems with hair extensions and wigs
is that hair tends to tangle easily, so remy hair is
less likely to do that. Other than the fact that is
doesn’t tangle as easily, remy has no bearing on
the quality of the hair.
According to one beauty industry insider, Dafina
Nya Smith of Sunny’s Hair in Atlanta, Georgia:
“Remy hair refers to the method of collecting the
hair. It means that the cuticles…are all aligned in
the same direction. The only way to ensure this
is to cut the hair directly from the donor (such as
cutting off a ponytail or a braid).”
100% human hair vs. 100% synthetic: The ad-
vantages of human hair over synthetic are that hu-
man hair can be treated like exactly that—your own
hair. It can be styled, dyed, etc. using any process
you would use on your own natural hair. 100% syn-
thetic hair, on the other hand, may not last as long
as human hair, may become damaged in the sun,
and may not look as natural as 100% human hair.
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But our in-house expert suggests that a mixture
of human and synthetic hair can be another good
option and may even be the optimum choice for
some hairstyles.
Dafina Nya Smith had this to say when we asked
her about human vs. synthetic hair: “It all depends
on what and why you are looking from in your hair
piece. I recommend for avid wig wearers to get
synthetic wigs especially if they are looking for
frosty blonde colors or short spiky styles. Human
hair requires a lot of maintenance and “wiggies”
tend to be looking for a low maintenance style
when opting to wear wigs. For hair extensions,
human hair is usually best. For braided hair
extensions, I usually recommend synthetic hair
unless you happen to have an allergic reaction to
the chemicals used to produce synthetic hair.”
Cuticle Hair: Hair is made up of layers of cuticles.
Cuticle hair means the outer layers of hair have
not been stripped. Another way to describe cuticle
hair is “raw.” Again, it does not really describe
the quality of the hair. It just means that it hasn’t
been processed. Think of this in terms of salad
vegetables. When you first take them from the field
or market, they haven’t been washed and sliced.
They are in a more “raw” state, but that doesn’t
necessarily make them “better.”