By Richard Millstein, Hair Extensionist since 1989
President, Extend USA, Est. 1999
As someone doing hair extensions since 1989, I have learned much about the truth behind hair.
I always get emails from sources claiming to have "Virgin Remy Hair." But when I buy a bundle of hair to test it out, it often turns out to be something else entirely.
They might say it's Indian Remy, but it is Chinese hair that has been processed to feel like Indian or European hair that is either Indian or Vietnamese hair.
When you buy shampoo, you can read the ingredients on the bottle. But when it comes to hair extensions, it's a different story.
The hair extension industry is not regulated, meaning anyone can sell human hair and call it "Remy" without any proof of quality or origin.
But what does "Remy" even mean? It refers to the hair's cuticle, which is how hair grows from your head. The better the source of the hair, the more likely it is to be what it claims to be.
Regarding hair extensions, the better the hair, the better the results. But clients only know what their stylists tell them, and stylists only know what hair they buy from the extension company they learned from. Each extension system offers different hair, but the better ones use Indian Temple Hair.
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about "Keratan Tipped Extensions." But when I sent a batch of the tips to the company that manufactures my resin, they told me that all the pre-bonded tips are synthetic and that adding Keratan wouldn't make a difference. So, even if some companies claim to use Keratan, it might not be accurate.
That's why I started looking for a better source of hair. I came across the Russian Hair Club and purchased almost a kilo of their naturally wavy hair. I know for a fact that it is virgin hair, which means it has never been chemically treated.
Once you use virgin hair, you'll never want to use anything else. There is no color ring for virgin hair. You can see photos of the available hair to choose the color and texture that's right for you.
At Extend USA, we believe in educating our clients about different hair types so that you can choose the best hair for each client. In addition, we're the only hair extension system that allows you to use whatever hair you like.
So, if you want to give your clients the best possible results, purchase your hair from a reputable source. We teach using Chinese hair, but we sell European and Russian Virgin Hair.
I have been doing Hair Extensions for a long time, and I highly recommend the Russian Hair Club.