We hear it more and more often that the quality of the hair in the hair systems just isn’t what it used to be. The answer is simple--supply and demand. The demand for human hair in the hair replacement industry started to really increase in the 1980’s and has been taken over by the hair extension industry in the late 90’s to the present. It’s sort of like the oil situation we’re all experiencing. When the demand goes up and the supply goes down the costs sky rocket for the best quality hair available. In the hair replacement industry the wholesaler finds himself in a tough spot, do I increase my cost of goods for better quality and raise my prices or do I keep my prices where they are and take a lesser quality or do I take a lesser quality and raise my prices like everyone else? Any of the above 3 may happen. If your hair system is loosing hair quickly, tangling into a nest or drying out and becoming un-Styleable you aren’t alone.

Here’s what is going on. The old supplies of top quality human hair have been depleted for many years. We saw an influx of hair during and after the ethnic wars of Eastern Europe. (Yes, much of the hair supplied to the hair replacement industry does come from war torn areas and in most cases the hair is taken from the deceased or imprisoned to be sold to hair vendors.) The majority of the hair used in hair replacement production comes from India and China. In India the hair is gathered from the temples where it is removed from the head for religious reasons and in China the hair is easily harvested in regions where girls grow their hair long and have it cut to sell. With the increase in western influence in the world more and more women now cut and chemically process their hair and don’t rely on selling their tresses to help contribute to the family economy. All these little changes will cause the decrease in human hair availability as the years go by.

The good news is that some very smart hair replacement manufacturers started several years ago experimenting with new high tech synthetic fibers. The new synthetics that are in competition with human hair are primarily Nylon or Polyester fibers that have been developed to imitate human hair as closely as possible by having more light reflection due to artificial cuticle and a diameter that more closely resembles “European” human hair. While it isn’t for everyone yet—it is fast becoming the favored blend with the existing human hair for hair replacements. The synthetic fibers are stronger and have better color retention and will effectively buffer the poorer quality human hair it is blended with giving the hair wearer better style retention, color retention and less hair loss in their hair replacements.

If you’re experiencing less wear out of your hair replacement system, you may want to consider adding some of this High Tech fiber to your next system and get used to this new trend, after all it may be inevitable if we continue to use up the human hair sources at the rate we are currently going.