How Important Are Your Roots?
How important are the roots on your hair?
What makes for an outstanding root?? For me, it starts at durable lace, strong knots and how well the roots are colored!
Let’s do a little educational post haha. Y’all know I LOVEE this part!
Lace-
There are many types of lace that are offered on wigs. I'm going to cover the common ones you will find right now.
HD( high definition)-
Thinnest with smaller honey combs(these are those tiny holes on the lace). This makes for an amazingly undetectable blend. More fragile, so it will need to be replaced or repaired more often than Swiss.
-Transparent-
NOW there are 3 types of transparent lace! Yelp! It’s getting deep!
-Swiss-
This is the most commonly used on wigs, also the most commonly mislabeled as well. Swiss lace will have a tint of pale blonde/ nude. This is going to blend with your natural skin tone BUT not everyone has the same skin tone, so some may find that Swiss lace doesn’t blend as well as another person.
-French-
This isn’t a common one but does get used never the less. You can feel and see the difference between Swiss and French lace. French has a rougher texture, it’s going to be a little thicker than Swiss so your able to rub it between your fingers and feel it more distinctly. It’s also more commonly going to have a tint to it, not always but light, medium and dark browns are the most common tints you will find French lace to have.
-Korean-
Cheapest and most commonly used on synthetic or lower quality wigs. This is going to stand out when it comes to blending and will more often than not come in a darker brown tint but not always.
Let’s talk about those knots!
Most commonly used hair on the market is what?! Brazilian!
Most expensive hair on the market?? Virgin! True VIRGIN hair is going to be the most expensive and I'm going to break it down and tell you WHY and the benefits of both Brazilian and Virgin hair.
Brazilian-
Most commonly used as well as the most affordable. But what is Brazilian hair? This is simply a name/label that is placed on hair to DESCRIBE the hair's texture. You have sub-labels such as Malaysian, Indonesian and Mongolian, but let's focus on Brazilian for now.
So, Where Does Brazilian Hair Come From?
Brazilian hair is not sourced from Brazil. It is most often sourced from either India or other manufacturing giants of the world, like China and certain countries in Asia.
"Brazilian Hair" Is Characterized by the soft feel, medium luster, and thickness with a natural durability that holds well under various temperatures and conditions. It is also a deep natural black color (1B) and is colored and lightened to match other shades. To make "Brazilian" hair, hair is collected from donors and sorted based on similar traits such as lengths, color and texture. While "Brazilian" hair is still high-quality hair, it is chemically processed hair and most usually not VIRGIN hair.
Why is this information important?
Processing hair consists of washing, Coloring/dying, chemically processing hair for a special pattern such as straight or wavy, also some bundles of Brazilian hair are chemically processed with an acid bath to remove the cuticles of the hair for fewer tangling. These chemicals can weaken the hair, and with such, we come to the importance with knot strength. When hair is weakened, the knots also are weaker, which leads to shedding, the knotted hair breaking! This is not to say that Brazilian hair isn't great hair, it is the most commonly used hair, has lots of life left in the hair, if well taken care of you can get 1-2 years of use with high quality Brazilian hair.
Virgin hair-
Highest quality of hair but also the most expensive. True virgin hair is completely unprocessed hair. Collected straight from a younger donor, banded and sent to a sourcing factory for sorting, washing, sanitizing, drying, banded and then for sent for wholesale. This hair is going to be the strongest hair since it has not been altered in any way other than normal washing and collecting. Seeing as this hair is stronger than Brazilian hair, the knots are going to last you longer, meaning not as much shedding.
How long does Virgin hair last?
Virgin hair will last you 3-5 years. Now this isn't to say that it won't last you longer or shorter, that totally depends on the person wearing it. While Virgin hair can withstand more than Brazilian, you do need to take care of it. Maintaining proper care, regular washes, using higher-quality shampoo and conditioners, as well as hair serums will lengthen the life of your Virgin hair. I will go into care in another section.
What types of Virgin hair are out there?
Slavic The term “Slavic hair” usually means “virgin Slavic hair”. This is natural undyed/untreated hair, which is collected from children and girls in Ukraine and Russia. You may find the names European or Russian attached to these wigs as well as "Virgin Hair" with no origin listed.
Which type of hair is going to offer the smallest knots?
Virgin! Unprocessed hair that is of Eastern Europe origin is going to offer thinner hair, therefore the knot will be smaller. Brazilian hair can and does have small knots WHEN tied tightly.
Now onto coloring the roots!
This one is specifically skill originated, maybe even a little more about raising standards, also reflects personal opinion.
I've been offering repair services for a while now and have noticed that many pieces that are sent in have over-bleached knots, over-processed knots, or roots that were not colored to the lace. This results in an unnatural appearance. It's easy to fix, but it does require skill and patience to color the roots without staining the lace or coloring down to the knots. The goal is for the hair to appear to grow from the customer's scalp. I've had to try many different products to protect the knots, but it's not yet a universal standard. This is something newer wig stylists may still need to perfect, but it should be a standard that doesn't require extra payment or additional fixes. When starting with blonde or lighter hair, the color needs to be brought down to the knots but not touching them. Otherwise, the scalp may appear thinning or the parting space may look unnaturally wide. This may not be important to everyone, but finding a brand that cares about the fine details is important.
Choosing between Brazilian hair and Virgin hair is based on the customer's budget. There are pros and cons to both options. However, labels are often misunderstood, causing confusion for customers. They may wonder why the hair is shedding, tangling, or unable to be colored. The wig industry has a lot of information, and this article aims to clear up some myths and misunderstandings. It's important to consider the roots, lace, knots, and hair type when selecting a wig. If you need help to find your perfect piece, please reach out to me.
So how important are the roots to you?
"When the customer is informed, it leads to better and easier decisions " -K&S