Many people wear human hair wigs either for medical reasons, fashion purposes or for the ability to change their hairstyles frequently. The market for human hair wigs is enormous however many lack insight into how they’re actually made. You may hear the term ‘finest Remy hair’ or ‘virgin hair from Brazil’ but what does this actually mean?
Our blog will take you through, step by step, how luxury human hair wigs are made, where the hair comes from and finally the finished product, showcasing examples of natural human hair wigs.
The Story Behind Real Human Hair Wigs
The hair from human hair wigs have to come from somewhere; the whole reason real human hair wigs look so natural in the first place. China is the biggest exporter and importer of human hair and harvests large amounts from its own population. Other human hair is often sourced from countries including Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia and more.
Different types of Human Hair used on Wigs
Virgin Hair is hair that’s never been processed or treated meaning it’s totally natural with no alterations. Whereas Remy hair has been chemically processed to achieve a specific colour or texture with cuticles running in the same direction keeping the wig intact and avoiding tangles.
Different hair types originate from different places which alter the texture, thickness, bounce, shine and strength. For example, Brazilian hair is known for its stunning volume, thickness, natural shine and durability often used on wigs/weaves for African American women looking whereas Indian hair is light and bouncy great for straight, wavy or curly styled wigs.
5 Steps: How Your Natural Human Hair Wigs are Made
The following steps reflect the process of creating a fully fitted, hand-tied natural looking human-hair wig.
1. Preparing the Human Hair
Firstly the human hair needs to be prepared, ensuring individual strands are facing the right directing and are combed into an organised pile sorting the "root down" hairs into one pile and the "root up" hairs into another before recombining into a single, organized bunch. Each bundle is washed, combed and disinfected gently to ensure no impurities are left. At this stage, hair is either left natural or permanently style, straightened or curled, to suit the desired wig style. If hair colour isn’t uniform, the strands are coloured to create a more natural look.
2. Developing the Wig Pattern
In order to create a well fitted wig that’s secure, natural looking and not loose, the foundation of the wig is formed to a mould ensuring the wig fits comfortably with no irritation.
3. Laying the Foundations
The edge and the crown of the wigs’ foundation is layered onto the mould with fine mesh silk netting to match the hair colour of the wig and sewn firmly in place together with silk ribbon to match the colour of the foundation. All of which is held together with cotton thread laced through anchor points.
4. Knotting the Hair
Knotting is the process of attaching individual hair strands to the foundation using various different skills. A full wig requires 30,000 to 40,000 knots, which take a total of about 40 hours of tying, which one reason as to why human hair wigs can be a little more costly.
5. Styling the Wig to Complete the Look
The finished wig is then pinned to a soft block to enable styling techniques where the hair is dampened, combed through, dried in an oven and styled whether that be straightening the wig, curling the wig or cutting the wig for example.
Human Hair Wigs – The Finished Product
Once the process is complete the finishing product is ready to be worn. There are a vast array of great examples of human hair wigs such as the stunning Prestige Human Hair wig - Ellen Wille Pure Power, the unique Olivia Human Hair wig - Dimples Bronze Collection or the luscious Kim Human Hair wig - Jon Renau made with the finest Remy human hair creating striking movement with natural authenticity.
Find Your Perfect Real Human Hair Wig at Joseph’s Wigs
Looking to purchase a human hair wig? Joseph’s Wigs have the ultimate selection for you to choose from. With our human hair wigs, you can guarantee unrivalled comfort giving you the freedom to wear your wig daily without any concern. No matter what style you prefer, get in contact and let us help you find the best, most natural looking human hair wig for you.
