Artificial hair: pros, cons and recommendations for care

The tradition of using artificial hair goes back centuries. For men, wearing wigs was a reflection of their strength and power, and for women, beauty. Now, artificial hair is popular again. How to understand the proposed range of synthetic strands, read the article.

You can distinguish artificial hair by a number of characteristics.

• Natural hair has a natural shine, artificial analogues have it too, but too glossy, they seem to be covered with some kind of film.
• To the touch, natural strands are soft and silky, artificial ones - hard and elastic.
• Natural hair easily tolerates the impact of a curling hair dryer, hair dryer or ironing, artificial hair - not all, only with the mark "heat resistant". However, this will succeed only after purchase.
• Synthetic hair is much thinner than natural.

• High-quality natural curls are practically not confused, and artificial ones can become tangled after tampering or wetting.
• When placed in the sun (not under direct rays), natural hair remains “cool”. Artificially quickly heated and cooled depending on the temperature of the room.
• Synthetic strands are lighter than natural.
• Low-quality products (artificial strands) sometimes have a peculiar smell of melted plastic or dyes, while natural hair hardly smells.
• Artificial strands are distinguished by a light creak when they come into contact with each other, which is not the case with natural hairs.

To make artificial hair, use such types of synthetic polymers such as nylon and vinyl, and acetate, but it is less. Another known material for the manufacture of artificial strands related to modacrylic fibers is kanekalon. Such products were invented recently by Japanese scientists, but immediately gained popularity. It is hair from Kanekalon that tolerates heat well and is generally better in quality than other artificial curls.

Later from viscose, filtered through a fine sieve, curls are obtained for Barbie dolls. It is no secret that the quality of such strands leaves much to be desired.

Of the benefits worth noting the following.

• Acrylic and nylon hairs are quite light, due to the fact that polymeric filaments are 80 times thinner than a natural hair.
• One of the most important advantages is the low price compared to a wig made of natural hair.
• Other hair structure: they do not exfoliate, do not break. Such curls retain the relative "constancy" of the structure. Wigs are especially good in this respect.
• Able to maintain its original shape even after washing. And it is necessary to carry out this procedure with special compounds and carefully.
• Big choice. On sale now there are many wigs and overhead strands of artificial hair of very different lengths, colors and even thickness. Thanks to this you can pick up curls for any girl. There is even hair glowing in the dark, which looks spectacular in nightclubs or bars.

Artificial strands have some obvious flaws, which sometimes greatly exceed their advantages.

• Unnatural appearance. Such hair is characterized by artificial shine. Have a different structure from the usual hair. This can be a problem if, for example, a hairpiece of artificial curls is attached to natural hair. In this case, the synthetic will be very different from the natural curls as shine and thickness, and the appearance as a whole as a whole.
• Hard to lay. Such hair is harsh and elastic.
• Often confused. With their improper washing with ordinary shampoo, the likelihood of entanglement and even nodule formation is very high.
• You can not paint the usual paint for hair. The result in this case can be unpredictable.

• Short service life. This is usually a few weeks. After they lose their original appearance.
• Suitable for the case of "one time." Not recommended for daily wear.
• Poor tolerate the constant action of sunlight may fade.
• They can not be dried with a hair dryer and laid ironing, heated hair curlers or curling. Such hair spoils from any hot exposure, ranging from loss of structure to strong tangling and even melting. This applies to strands of nylon and other synthetic materials.
• Kanekalon gets very heavy when wet which can be a problem when wearing dreadlocks or afro-brass with its use. Under their weight can begin to break off their own hair.

There are only three types of false hair: a wig, a chignon and hair for extension in the form of overhead strands. Chignons can be produced in the form of braids, tails, beams, and many other options. Artificial hair can be mounted on large rubber bands or hairpins and imitate a bezel. Laid on strands are available in the form of ribbons and bundles. The latter can be increased by any means.

All the abundance of products on the market of artificial curls is also divided by the country of manufacture. Wigs and linings from German manufacturers showed themselves best of all. Models from China and India differ in average and poor quality.

You can wear a wig of artificial hair or make extensions with their use. But to increase such strands is not recommended in many cases: problems with hormones, poor appetite, which affects the quality of their own hair, thin, easily confused, weak or rare their own curls. Strengthen on such hair artificial strands should not be categorically because of their own weak fixation on the skin. But in all other cases, bright or fluorescent curls can be used to emphasize in your image.

To increase the volume of a high ponytail, you can fasten artificial strands on barrettes. If you attach a bundle of synthetic strands on the top of the head, it will help to visually increase their volume and quantity. This option may be suitable for women who have sparse hair. The main thing is to find in this case the very "golden mean".

It is necessary to dwell separately on the care of the extended artificial curls. Such hair should be washed with special shampoos, it is necessary to use balms after washing. You can comb these curls only after complete drying. It is recommended to use a spray to improve combing hair. And when you visit a bath, a sauna, you must wear a thick hat so that the attachment points are not affected.

Wig or chignon need to be washed with a special shampoo for synthetic hair and dried on a special stand or loosely and unfolded. Such curls are capable of “remembering the shape,” and if they are dried up in a crumpled form, then creases may occur. In addition, after the strands will be hard to comb. The temperature at which it is necessary to wash artificial wigs is 15-20 degrees.

For this you need to use special formulations for artificial hair. They are much more concentrated than for natural curls. Otherwise, you can get an unpredictable result. The choice of composition depends on the material of manufacture. It is best not to engage in painting yourself.

Need to remember that even with the right care over time, artificial curls will become less and less likely to unravel. At the same time, the quality will deteriorate, so it will be more difficult to put them in order each time. Rare washing and caring attitude will help to preserve the original appearance of the curls as much as possible.

To remove shine from artificial hair, it is necessary, as mentioned above, to wash them with a special shampoo, and also wash them well with a composition of a liter of water and a few teaspoons of soda. But after this procedure, the hair may not be very soft.

You can restore only artificial strands of Kanekalon. Straightening and returning them to their previous form is quite simple - you need to completely immerse them in boiling water for a few seconds, and then immediately pour cold water on them. This method is especially effective if you decide to braid your hair, and later, after a long time, wear it.

It is easiest to curl or straighten hair when heated, but in this matter it all depends on the material of manufacture. Curls from Kanekalon can be curled with a curling iron, they are well tolerated by heat. They can also be screwed on curlers. They are amenable to installation, but only with the additional use of special tools.

It is important to know that before straightening or curling hair, it is necessary to dry them completely and process them with a thermal protective compound.. If products from Kanekalon can be straightened with a ceramic iron at the lowest temperature, then this method cannot be used for hair from other materials. Such strands can be straightened with a hairdryer and a wide round comb using cold air. You can also note straightening using smoothing creams. But it is worth knowing that all these methods of straightening artificial curls are quite risky, so it is best to purchase a wig with straight hair or even flat overhead strands.

In conclusion, I would like to give a small recommendation - a wig or false hair from artificial strands should be acquired only for a special occasion (event), but for everyday wear it would be better to spend money on a counterpart from a natural material.

About what to do if artificial hair is spread out, see the next video.