Yes, it’s that time again when we do a versus post and compare virgin vs. Remy hair extensions, and here is what you need to know. First, we understand that all those different hair types may be confusing, and it’s hard to determine what you are buying.
Quick Access
– What Are Virgin Hair Extensions?
– What Are Remy Human Hair Extensions?
– Comparing Remy vs. Virgin Hair Extensions
This is to remove any doubts and provide you with a better understanding of both Virgin and Remy extensions. Both are quite similar and have almost the same quality, but there are some key differences you should be aware of. We will also discuss the main advantages and disadvantages, which might help you choose between the two.
– Non-processed hair from the same donor means virgin. Most people in the industry (at least in the marketing department) classify virgin hair as the highest possible quality hair. To be classified as virgin hair, strands must not be dyed, bleached, or modified in any other way (chemically or mechanically). And come from a single donor. That’s it. You cannot call that hair virgin if any of those terms are unmet.
Another thing to keep in mind is that 100% virgin hair has never been mechanically processed or manipulated. It comes from one donor, and the cuticles must remain intact and run in the same direction. You must meet all these requirements to be a valid 100% virgin hair manufacturer.
What’s a Cuticle?
The cuticle is the outermost part of the hair shaft. It is a hard, shingle-like layer of overlapping cells. It acts as a protective barrier for the softer inner structure of the hair, including the medulla and the cortex. The cuticle is responsible for much of the mechanical strength of the hair fiber, and it also represents the structure that holds the water content of the fiber. Much of the shine that makes healthy hair so attractive is due to the cuticles. The cuticles must be aligned and intact for the hair to be 100% virgin, and the hair company should check that. However, since no one is forcing manufacturers to any standard, stores often sell fake virgin hair.
So, what happens when dyeing virgin hair extensions? They become non-virgin.
Virgin Hair Extensions Advantages
- As we have revealed the disadvantages of virgin hair extensions earlier, the biggest advantage is that the hair was never processed. Some women love purity.
- More often, virgin hair tends to be softer than regular Remy hair. AiryHair Remy products are as soft as virgin hair due to a special formula.
- Since virgin hair comes from a single donor, all strands will look identical and have the same quality.
- Because manufacturers do not process virgin hair, these extensions tend to last longer than other hair types.
- Virgin extension will usually blend better if color matches.
Virgin Hair Extensions Disadvantages
- Costs more than Remy hair. Since Virgin hair is so pure, it is always more expensive, which is not good news for women on a tight budget.
- Unless you are rocking color #1B (the most common color for virgin hair), you are out of luck as you will still have to dye or bleach them, which pretty much eliminates the point of virgin hair.
- You’ll have to buy a ridiculous quality virgin hair with a price tag of more than $700 to make a match (but not surpass) Remy extensions thickness.
- Virgin extensions are not processed and cannot be as tangle-free as Remy hair.
- While you pay a lot more for virgin hair, chances are no one will ever tell the difference compared to regular Remy extensions.
- You can still damage virgin hair if not handled properly, despite high quality. The maintenance is identical to your own or Remy’s hair. Unfortunately, there is no magic hair that will stay perfect forever.
- No one controls labeling. You can buy regular hair marked as a virgin for triple the price without knowing.
How to Catch Fake Virgin Hair Sellers?
Five critical stages determine the quality of virgin hair extensions.
- The collection and gathering of strands from the hair donor.
- How does the hair blend, and how it’s matched to create wefts.
- Fabrication and the process they use to sew the wefts.
- Sanitization and the removal of impurities from the hair.
- Another aspect is nits (see the Remy hair part below to better understand). Real virgin hair suppliers remove nits without using any chemicals. It’s that simple!
– Cuticle alignment defines Remy’s hair. What differentiates virgin hair from Remy’s hair is chemical processing and cuticle alignment. Remy’s hair has the cuticles intact and aligned, but it may have gone through some steam processing, even though it might not have been dyed or permed. That means it is not 100% pure virgin hair.
Cuticle alignment is important because if the cuticles are not aligned, the hair will tangle and mat since cuticles protect the hair. The cuticle is like skin to your body; it keeps the moisture in and keeps the shine. After removing the cuticle, silicone, which is an artificial cuticle, must be added. You can tell if the hair is non-Remy after a few washes. Silicone will wash away or be damaged.
Then you get tangling and matting. Since no one is regulating the industry, some manufacturers will mark hair with no cuticle or even hair mixed with synthetic hair, so be aware when purchasing your hair.
Remy’s hair is high quality, 100% human hair, so it’s going to last you a long time. If you properly care for extensions, they will last and still look fresh months later. However, it does require some care, just like the 100% virgin hair, so follow the guidelines with the package.
You can professionally dye high-quality Remy hair if you choose to. If you want your hair extensions to last for months, have a choice of various colors, and not see them tangle or mat, Remy’s hair is the way to go. It has a natural look and feel and is the best type of hair you can buy after virgin hair.
Remy hair is the most common choice for women who buy extensions since there are many advantages. Let’s go through some of them.
Remy Hair Advantages
- One of the main advantages of Remy hair is that it is much cheaper than virgin strands. Remy extensions are affordable for almost everyone, regardless of the application method. For example, you can buy gorgeous Remy clip-in extensions from AiryHair for just $30. That’s a pretty good deal.
- The quality of Remy extension is high, and hair tends to last for over six months.
- AiryHair Remy extensions are as silky and sleek as virgin hair.
- Higher color and style vary. This is another huge advantage of Remy hair extensions since most women want to choose from different shades, textures, and styles, which makes extensions fun! There are no color limitations, and you can match your natural shade perfectly. AiryHair also offers Ombré Remy extensions, elevating the color game to a new level.
- Our Remy hair extensions are usually better quality since we can use multiple donors to make perfect, thick, and even strands. Remy extensions will always be thicker than virgin hair extensions.
Remy Hair Disadvantages
- Some suppliers will label any hair Remy, which can be misleading since no official institutions control labeling. The same applies to virgin extensions.
- The only disadvantage of Remy’s hair is that it has been processed, i.e., dyed or curled. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but still worth pointing out.
These are all the questions you can ask your hair company. If the company is selling virgin hair, it should have plenty of knowledge. A respectful seller needs to ensure quality and must know the answers. Otherwise, consider it a sham.
How to Catch Fake Remy Hair Sellers?
One way to test if you bought real Remy hair with the cuticles intact is to dip your hand in the water and run it down the hair. It should feel smooth. And if you do that again, but going up, it will feel rough, and that’s what you want. If it feels smooth going down and up, the cuticles have been removed.
Suppliers may use insecticides and then wash the hair to remove nits, or they’ll use an adhesive dissolvent, but both present challenges. If you have ever experienced severe or persistent itching after installing your hair extensions or if you have ever had an allergic reaction, insecticides are to blame.
On the other hand, dissolvent damages the hair cuticles. Both methods are insufficient. Such practices don’t apply to real virgin hair or Remy’s hair.
– Unless you are a purist, get Remy extensions and save hundreds of bucks. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the size of your wallet and your taste, but for the 99% of women, we would still recommend Remy human hair (even though we sell both). The reason? It’s simple: both Remy and virgin hair are of the highest quality possible, but Remy’s hair is more affordable, comes in dozens of different shades, textures, and styles, is much easier to blend, and lasts almost as long as virgin hair.
While virgin hair extensions are unprocessed and pure, you can usually get them in one shade only, and most women don’t have natural pure black strands. If you have the budget to afford it and your natural locks are black, go for it, but we would advise Remy’s hair for all other girls.
Conclusion
And here you have it. If you are interested in weaves, see our virgin hair extensions page and for everyone else, see our Remy hair extensions page. Due to a popular demand, we have extended our hair extensions stock and now carry 200+ new hair extension models, including virgin hair! And for a limited time only, we have slashed hair prices by 50%.
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