African American
Hair
There are
two types of hair that may be used for making a Wig for a black
women; or a hairpiece for an African American man. You have the
choice of using either Human Hair or synthetic fiber.
HUMAN HAIR
All virgin
human hair is pretty much equal, however, how virgin hair is
processed basically determines which should be used for making
a Wig or Hairpiece. All human hair is processed to one degree
or another, however, when processed to completely remove the
cuticle weakens the hair shaft and causes the hair to break more
easily.
When choosing
hair to make a Wig or Hairpiece for a black man or women, or
African American person, choosing an ethnically naturally dark
hair is recommended. You can use black human hair from a Black
person, African American, Italian, Hispanic, Asian, or European
people. Just be sure not to use hair from people who have naturally
lighter colored hair, such as a blonde Norwegian or Swedish person.
It is also important
to try finding a hair supply that closely matches the hair texture
desired for the Wig or Hairpiece be creating. Normally, it is
not a problem finding human hair that is straight or light wavy,
however, finding curly hair is sometimes a problem. The reason
for this is because some suppliers may not have naturally curly
human hair in the color you are looking for and they will restyle
(perm) the hair to be straight, light wavy, or curly just to
complete a customers order.
Using human hair
that has been curled is okay, however, it is commonly known that
permed hair does not hold a set permanently and ultimately needs
to curled over and over again.
SYNTHETIC
FIBER
There
are to types of Synthetic Hair now available from Wig Supply
Stores. The original synthetic hair is heat sensitive while the
new synthetic fiber is not heat sensitive.
Both types of synthetic hair are man-made fibers and they are
available in all natural colors resembling the human hair colors.
Therefore, finding a color to match a black man's or black women's,
or an African American's hair is not a problem.
Unlike human
hair, when manufactured, synthetic hair is always made in a straight
texture. In order to make a Wig or Hairpiece with light wavy,
wavy, curly, kinky, or Afro hair; restyling the factory-made
synthetic hair will be necessary. Restyling straight synthetic
hair is not difficult, however, how this is done is very important
in order not to damage or frizz the fiber.
Heat-Sensitive
Synthetic Hair
Using
a hot blow dryer or a hot curling iron to restyle original heat-sensitive
synthetic hair is NOT RECOMMENDED. The proper way of restyling
synthetic hair is using hot steam. Professional hairstylists
and Wig salons use a large commercial hair steamer to style synthetic
Hairpieces and Wigs, however, a smaller hand-held Hair Steamer
is available from MHRW INTERNATIONAL.
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RESTYLING SYNTHETIC
HAIR PROCESS
Using straight
or light wavy synthetic hair:
Using
electrical tape:
1. Secure
approximately 20 or more hairs to Start end of cloths hanger.
2. Spiral hair
around the cloths hanger towards other end. Tape end securely
to cloths hanger.
Using a synthetic
Hair Steamer:
3. Apply
steam to hair to restyle hair to be wavy or curly. Let hair cool
before removing.
After the hair
cools:
4. Remove
the hair from cloths hanger(s) and use for making or maintaining
your Hairpiece or Wig.
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Non Heat-Sensitive
Synthetic Hair
Maintenance Instructions
for both Heat Sensitive and Non Heat-Sensitive
Synthetic Hair
l .Using a hot blow dryer or hot curling
iron to restyle the non heat-sensitive synthetic ...
hair is okay. Simply follow the instructions recommended
l .It is recommended to
use only a professional hair cutting scissors when cutting either
....Heat Sensitive and Non
Heat-Sensitive synthetic hair. Using a straight razor is not
....recommended.
l .Hair Care for both Heat
Sensitive and Non Heat-Sensitive synthetic hair.
l .Using a quality oil moisturizer
hair lotion is recommended.
l .Always untangle hair
from ends to roots before washing.
l .Careful wash with lukewarm
water and a mild shampoo.
l. Follow by washing with
a quality conditioner treatment.
l .Do not roll or rub hair
together during washing or conditioning.
l. Gently squeeze out excess
water and pat dry using a towel.
l.After hair is complete
dry, comb and style as desired.
l .Do not use a blow dryer
or apply heat over adhesive or bonded areas.
l .Hair dryer may be used
after shampooing and hair is completely dry.
. .(Keep dryer about 4 inches
away from hair.)
Using Hot
Curling Iron on Non Heat-Sensitive Synthetic Hair
l .A hot curling iron may be used for restyling
Non Heat-Sensitive Synthetic Hair only
. .after hair is completely
dry.
l .Temperature of the hot
iron should not exceed 130° C. Damage to hair may result
. .with 130° C temperature
is exceeded.
l .Do not use any hair care
products on hair when using a hot curling iron.
l .It is highly recommended
to use a electric hot curling iron to curl Non Heat-Sensitive
. .Synthetic Hair.
l .When curling using a
hot iron, it is recommended to vent hair end to eliminate frizzing.
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PROCESSED
AND UNPROCESSED HUMAN HAIR
When creating
a custom Hairpiece or Wig using only the highest quality hair
should be considered. The reason why is very simplistic. Hairpieces
and Wigs are simply hair tied to some type of foundation or other
material, however, the type and quality of hair used to create
them is what creates the monetary value of the Hairpiece or Wig.
Naturally, human
hair is the highest and most popular type of hair available and
used for making Hairpieces and Wigs, however, knowing which is
best for making your piece can be very important too. It is essential
that you understand the differences between "processed and
unprocessed' human hair.
Unprocessed human
hair is hair that is in its original natural state. Virgin human
hair is hair that contains its original cuticle layer on the
hairs surface. This cuticle layer is composed of many scales
that are all naturally aligned in the same direction on the outer
hair layer. The existence of this cuticle layer is also essential
to protecting the hair against the elements as well as being
responsible for its shine and resilience. Hair that is damaged
is usually missing some of most the original cuticle layers.
As a result hair breakage, split ends, tangling, and that dull
faded look will all occur.
Hair that contains
its original cuticle is considered to be healthy and beautiful
and of the highest quality. It is also very important to understand
that virgin hair works best for making Full Cap Wigs too and
that is because the hair (call Weft) as a rule is sewn together
at the root end of the hair. To make the Hairpiece or Wig, the
Weft strips are then sewn to the outside surface of the Wig cap
to create the finished Hairpiece or Wig.
Hair that is
used to make Hairpieces with shorter hair normally made by tying
hair to a monofilament Hairpiece foundation "one-strand-at-a-time."
This process of tying hair is called "the Ventilating Technique."
Ventilating is done by first folding the hair together at the
center in order to configure it for ventilating to the foundation.
Once tied to the foundation your results will be two hairs (or
two hairs tied into one know resulting in four hairs coming from
one knot) tied into one knot of which will result with having
the cuticle on each hair strand going is opposite directions.
If you are using virgin human hair you will usually find that
the hair will tangle and matte to some degree.
To avoid tangling
and matting using processed human hair is recommended. In theory
removing the cuticle should work okay to avoid hair tangling
and matting, however, the process used for removing the cuticle
does not always work very well with all human hair.
To remove the
cuticle human hair is soaked in a "muratic acid solution"
for specific amount of time of which depending upon the hair
being treated. Since all hair is a little different, how long
it will take to remove the cuticle will vary depending upon the
hairs thickness. Thinner hair when left in the solution will
start to disintegrate resulting in destruction of the hair, while
thicker hair left in the solution longer will produce better
results depending upon how long it is treated.
Just when you
think you're done - think again! Now what about the hair color
and texture after all you've done to that hair? That's right,
not all hair is the same color and with darker hair like Asian
hair; changing it to a lighter color using bleach it to remove
the color will become necessary.
Now after you've
changed the hair color and you are left with hair that in the
process has become straightened. That's right! Now you must restyle
the hair by giving it a perm; and once that has been done, adding
shine or that natural look back to the hair will require coating
the hair with a silicon layer. The silicon layer acts like a
natural cuticle layer, however, it is smooth and does not tangle
and matte like virgin human hair. But yes, eventually the shine
does ware away and the remaining cuticles on the hair become
dull and brittle and will start to tangle once again.
Do you get the
picture? You can clearly see that finding the perfect solution
to finding the perfect hair for creating a perfect Hairpiece
or Wig is pretty much temporary or impossible, but using unprocessed
hair will provide you the best results. That's just my opinion,
but I have tried it and that is what I learned. Give it a try
and let me know how it works for you.
PLEASE NOTE: We hope that the information
provided on this web page is helpful or useful and that you have
found the answer(s) to your hair care solutions.
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regarding Wig Making and Wig Making supplies, please visit our
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