QuoteReplyTopic: remy = cutically aligned or not? Posted: July 20 2008 at 10:17pm
About two weeks ago I ordered two custom LF's (separately) from reputable vendors in BHM and latterly here. But suddenly I've come over all worried. I have heard only positive things
about these women so it's not their credibilty that's in question.
What I'm
worried about is that I forgot to say I wanted cutically aligned hair
as well as it being as close to virgin remy as possible, and I just
remembered what one vendor told me after my custom made wig - remy
indian - started tangling from the first day that I wore it: that if I
didn't specify EXACTLY what I wanted in EVERY MINOR DETAIL - in my case
virgin remy cutically aligned Indian hair - wig makers would use my
naivete against me (for want of a better, less harsh sounding phrase)
and give me 'fallen' hair. He said that if you don't specify precisely
what you want, you only have yourself to blame if the manufacturer uses
fallen hair to make your wig, and that this is standard practise for
many wigmakers.
I know there are plenty of unscrupulous manufacturers
and vendors out there, or even simply ones who follow 'standard
practise' and are unrepentant about it, and NO WAY do I believe that the women from who I ordered the customs are like this.
What I'm asking is, should I have specified that I
wanted cutically aligned hair? I would assume that the vendors in question, being LF wearers themselves and members of BHM and HB, would
consider cuticle hair a given when I said I wanted remy. Or, is it, as the vendor said, simply standard practise for all vendors to assign you fallen hair unless you specify that you want cuticle correct hair, and there's nothing unscrupulous about this at all? Until he (the vendor) told me this, I honestly thought that I was at least well informed about the type and quality of hair that i was ordering, and that when I ordered remy hair it would naturally be cutically aligned. I'm panicking now because I've found out this may not be so.
Can anyone help?
*~!wa-ah-ow!~*
sexibeach
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Remy does mean cuticle aligned hair, and if they are claiming its remy then that's what it should be.. with that being said I always put that in my measurement form as a precaution so there is no misunderstanding.. but anyone claiming they have remy hair should be cuticle aligned.. otherwise they should label it non-remy or non-cutlicle hair.. the thing is if your ordered from chinese vendors, single orders are likely to get non-cutilce hair as they save their best hair for bulk orders.. the other thing is once it hits the fall they can't determine if the cuticles are mixed up.. but you shouldn't have to tell them you want aligned cuticles if they advertise as remy..
I've often said that "remy/remi" is one of the most MISUSED terms in the hair industry.. It is supposed to mean cuticle aligned.. But the truth of the matter is that what a vendor means when they use the term really depends on the vendor you are dealing with.. We had a pretty good discussion in the weave section of BHM on this very topic..
Not all vendors mean the same thing when they say remy.. You have to ask them specifically if they mean cuticle aligned and intact hair. For some vendors that is what they mean by remy, but for others remy means something else entirely to them.. So IMO you have to ask to be absolutely sure..
Check out the 5th So Cal offline luncheon?? For more info: divahairtalk.overthehillweb.com/lunch.html
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Thanks sexibeach and Divavocals. sexi, I thought the same thing; that if 'remy' hair was not cutically aligned then it should be classed as 'non remy'. I honestly thought there was an international standard of 'remy', which was why I never did any investigation prior to ordering my first custom wig or latterly my LF's. I just assumed it would be a given that remy meant cutically aligned. Thanks for the heads up, DV. It's certainly a shock but not surprising when you think about it.
My further question is: I now have a $1000 20" wig on my hands, that is not going to last me more than a few more wears. Other than a bleach bath, what can I do to prolong its already limited life?
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sexibeach
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Thanks sexibeach and Divavocals. sexi, I thought the same thing; that if 'remy' hair was not cutically aligned then it should be classed as 'non remy'. I honestly thought there was an international standard of 'remy', which was why I never did any investigation prior to ordering my first custom wig or latterly my LF's. I just assumed it would be a given that remy meant cutically aligned. Thanks for the heads up, DV. It's certainly a shock but not surprising when you think about it.
My further question is: I now have a $1000 20" wig on my hands, that is not going to last me more than a few more wears. Other than a bleach bath, what can I do to prolong its already limited life?
Just do the bleach bath and condition it, since i assume its straight you shouldn't after doing the bleach bath need to do it ocntinually.. usually with straight one's they usually try to behave..
I had some "cuticle hair" and found out that to some that means that the cuticle has been removed with acid. I just asumed it meant that the cuticles were aligned which was not the case. From now on, I will take Sexi's advice and specify a little better what I want.
sexibeach
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I had some "cuticle hair" and found out that to some that means that the cuticle has been removed with acid. I just asumed it meant that the cuticles were aligned which was not the case. From now on, I will take Sexi's advice and specify a little better what I want.
yes i always say cuticle's must be aligned and going in the same direction for tangle free HAIR!
Here's some information i put in the newbie thread about the acid wash:
Human hair extensions are made from genuine human hair that is paid for and harvested from people, usually young women, all over the world. Human hair extensions can vary broadly in quality.
On the low-medium end of the scale, hair is chemically stripped of its cuticle so that it can be machine processed without regard for direction or root-tip alignment. If the cuticle were left in but the root-tip alignment mixed up, the microscopic scales that form the cuticle would be opposed and snag on each other causing tangling.
The negative effects of stripping the cuticle are brittleness, reduced protection from sunlight, dryness, salt, chlorine and pollution as well as a tendency to absorb liquids and swell or matt. It is not advisable to colour or heat-style this hair.
Remi [AKA Remy] hair refers to hair that has not had its cuticle stripped and has at least been partially hand-processed to maintain root-tip alignment. This hair is more expensive but will remain in good condition for much longer than stripped hair. It can also be heat styled and coloured.
Most commercially processed hair is from China and has been processed with a type of acid to remove the cuticles. One of the reasons cuticles are removed has to do with how the hair is collected. Another reason acid is used is to thin out each hair strand. At this time Caucasian hair is the most popular in extensions, and wigs. By removing cuticle the hair strand becomes finer resembling Caucasian hair.
The hair is then sorted into lengths, colored, and usually permed. In the factory it will pass through a lot of hands from start to finish. When hair is passed on from one person to the next without strict quality control some of the hair can easily become inverted. It's extremely easy to turn the hair, even for professional wig makers, there is always that possibility. When working with hair you cannot tell which way the direction is by looking, all the hairs look the same. This is where strict quality control, and continually testing the hair with each step, from start to finish comes in.
In the long run it takes more time for quality work, but is well worth it. The amount of companies who are offering custom hand tied wefts are diminishing quickly. Assembly line hair is made on industrial sewing machines and will always be less expensive, sacrificing quality for profit. Some companies claim their hair is the same cuticle direction but they strip the hair anyway. This doesn't make sense, and is counterproductive. If the hair is truly all in one direction why strip it? The only reason is poor quality control. Removing cuticle will make the hair useable for a few weeks although the process to remove cuticle makes the hair lose its luster, and compromises the hairs natural beauty.
Once the hair has been processed it will need a silicone layer to bring back shine, and keep the hair from feeling scratchy. This silicone layer does wash off in time, meaning generally you must buy all new hair every 8 to 12 weeks. Human hair growing from the scalp is always roots to ends in the same direction. The type of hand tieing we do is from roots to ends, and only done on the best quality unprocessed human hair.
In processed hair the silicone layer wears off, and you will notice the hair becomes dull and tangles easily. At approximately 1 to 2 months time the tangles form into mats at the top of the weft. You will never see processed hair in actual custom made hand tied wefts. There's far too much work, and time involved to custom make wefts with a lesser quality of hair.
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