If you are new to the world of wigs and toppers, it can be difficult to understand the lingo. Here are some common phrases you might come across and what they mean. Understanding these phrases can help you to understand which wig or topper is right for you and why some pieces are more expensive than others.
Synthetic fibres
Standard synthetic fibres are made from man-made acrylic fibres or various types of plastic. They can often be called kanekalon, modacrylic or polyester.
Standard synthetic pieces mean that the hair will stay in that style and cannot be changed using dry heat (such as a hair dryer, curling iron or straighteners). In fact, these fibres do not like getting near any kind of hot heat source and can frazzle when put near to dry heat. Avoid open fires, hot ovens and overhead patio heaters when wearing a standard synthetic wig or topper.
Georgina says: “I once wore a synthetic topper to a hen do and was cooking food in a large industrial oven. When I opened the doors and the hot air came rushing out, the fibres at the front of my topper all curled up and disintegrated when I touched them. Lesson learned!”
It is possible to style standard synthetics with a steamer (wet heat), but there is a risk of damaging the fibres if this is not done properly. The benefits of standard synthetics is that they are low maintenance and do not need to be styled, so you can throw them on and go. Plus if they get wet they will keep their style. This can be beneficial for people who like one set style or have mobility issues and struggle to style their own piece.
On average, with daily wear, standard synthetics will last for 6 months. This is because the fibres get friction from your clothing and can become frazzled. This happens less so in shorter pieces and so they can last for longer (we have customers who have worn shorter synthetics for 1 year) and is more of an issue in pieces that are shoulder length or longer.
Heat-friendly or heat-defiant synthetic fibres
Heat-friendly (HF) or heat-defiant synthetic fibres are similar to standard synthetic fibres in that the piece will keep its style if it gets wet. However, these can be heat-styled using a hair dryer, curling iron or straighteners up to a certain temperature. Each brand differs on what is the maximum temperature that can be used on them, but it is usually around 130-180 degrees C. As an example, if you bought a HF wig that was straight and put curls into it, the curls will stay in until you next heat-style it, even if you wash it.
All synthetic fibres will get friction from your clothing over time and after prolonged wear the fibres can appear frazzled. This is more so in longer styles. HF pieces can be heat-styled to remove these as you are essentially moulding the fibre back into a smooth style, which can extend their lifespan.
On average, with daily wear, HF synthetics will last for 6-9 months. This is slightly longer than standard synthetics as the fibres can be heat-styled to remove any frazzled lengths or ends.
Top tip: when heat styling a HF piece, spritz a little bit of water onto the fibres first (yes, we know this goes against what you would do with human hair!). Also, allow the fibres to cool in the new style, so for adding curls, once you have heated the fibres with a curling iron, remove the iron and hold the curl in your hand (use a protective styling glove to avoid burning your hand) until the fibres have cooled rather than dropping them as soon as you remove the curling iron.
REMY human hair
REMY means that the hair has been carefully sourced so that all of the hair cuticles are facing the same way, so it will behave like normal hair and won't tangle when washed, styled or brushed.
If you were to zoom in on a strand of hair, you would see tiny little barbs that stick out from the hair and these are called cuticles. From the top of your head to the end of the hair, these will be pointing down. So when you brush your hair you are smoothing the cuticles flat.
Non-REMY hair is usually cheaper and can tangle and matt easily as the hair has been collected from multiple sources and the cuticles may not all be facing the same way. This means when you brush the hair, you might be brushing some of the cuticles the wrong way. We always advise buying REMY human hair.
With daily wear, REMY human hair should last for at least 1 year, if not longer, if it is well looked after.
We will post a separate blog post on the different types of human hair, such as Indian, Chinese, Burmese, Mongolian, Slavic, European and Brazillian.
VIEW our in-stock REMY human hair wigs here
VIEW our in-stock REMY human hair toppers here
