Choosing Quality Hair: What to Look For

By Kelly Maxwell, Founder and Master Extension Stylist at Kelly Maxwell Hair Extensions. Meet Kelly.

I have installed a lot of hair in nearly twenty years behind the chair, and I have learned the hard way that the hair itself decides most of the outcome before I ever pick up my tools. You can be the most talented stylist in your city, but you cannot make bad hair behave. So let me tell you exactly what I look for, because it is the same standard I held every supplier to before I gave up and built my own line.

What actually makes hair extension quality?

Quality hair extensions come down to three things: the hair is 100% human Remy with the cuticle intact and running one direction, the density is true double drawn so the ends look as full as the mid-shaft, and the color is done well enough to blend without a lot of extra work at the chair. Miss any one of those and the install looks good on day one and falls apart by week three.

Why Remy and cuticle direction matter

Remy means the cuticles are all facing the same way, root to tip, the way hair grows out of your head. When a supplier collects hair without keeping that direction, they strip the cuticle chemically to stop the matting, then coat it in silicone so it feels soft in the package. That coating washes off in three or four shampoos and then your client is back in your chair with a matted mess, blaming your work. I will not touch non-Remy hair, and neither should you.

The density trick the industry plays

Here is the one that makes me the most upset. Almost everyone advertises double drawn. What most of them actually sell is around 30% density, which means only about a third of the strands run the full length of the weft. The rest taper off short. It looks full in the package and full for the first couple of weeks, then the ends go wispy and stringy. My wefts are 60% true double drawn, which is double the industry standard, because I got tired of watching ends thin out on my own guests. Hold any weft up to a bright light and look at the bottom two inches. If light streams through, you are looking at cheap density.

Color and rooting

Quality hair takes color evenly and holds it. Cheap hair grabs unevenly and fades fast, especially in the coppers and reds. All of my wefts are custom rooted at the factory, so you are not spending an hour of chair time rooting hair yourself before you can even install it. That is time and product you are giving away for free with most suppliers.

What quality costs, and what cheap really costs

Good hair is not cheap, and it should not be. But do the math the way I finally did. A budget weft that needs replacing every three months costs you and your client more over a year than a quality weft that wears beautifully for six to twelve. Cheap hair is the most expensive hair you can buy, because you pay for it twice.

If you take one thing from me: buy hair you would put in your own head, and hold your supplier to the light test every single time.

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Everything I mention here is part of the line I built for licensed cosmetologists. Approved stylists get access to all of it.

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