Are you looking for a weave 101 crash course? Then you are in the right place. In this article, you will understand the meaning of weaves, their types, how to choose good weaves, and their techniques, styles, tools, processes, and maintenance.
What Is A Weave?
A hair weave is a type of artificial or human hair extension in weft that is sewn, bonded, or applied on the hair after the hair has been put in cornrows.
Hair weaves originated from ancient Egypt where people placed sheep wool on their heads with Resin or beeswax, and dyed their hairs with color.
Types Of Hair for Weaves
There are several types of hair used for weaves, these hairs are classified according to their origins, if they had industrial processions, their durability, patterns, maintenance, versatility in styles, cost, etc.
They are: Human hair, Raw hair, Virgin hair, Synthetic hair, and Remy hair.
Human hair:
This is hair that is taken from human donors, it is processed to make wigs, weaves, and extensions, it isn’t altogether easy to maintain, but this is the most popular among people, it can be dyed, washed frequently, permed, styled in different ways and it can come in various textures example straight, wavy, curly, etc.
Because this is human hair, you should treat it as so; so it is prone to get poofy in cold weather, tangled in a way that won’t look like a bird nest, and you can just run your fingers through like you would your natural hair to detangle, it is also prone to damage from excessive heat and chemicals.
This is the most expensive option, and it could be tasking financially and energy-wise to maintain, but it lasts longer than the rest.
There are two types of human hair, raw hair, virgin hair, and remy hair.
Raw hair：
Is the purest form of virgin hair, gotten from a single donor, it is unprocessed and not refined in any way, the cuticles are still intact, and it also comes in its natural texture; either straight, wavy, or curly, as it was naturally on the donor and it has no chemical or heat treatment.
Virgin hair:
Is not typically sourced from the same donor, instead, it is gotten from different donors, the strands are meticulously selected in a way that the cuticles will align, and it has no chemical treatment, it is blended carefully so it would be uniformed in color, texture, and quality, this at times is less expensive than raw hair, and its purpose is to meet the high demand of hair and maintain consistent supply.
Remy hair:
Remy hair is also human hair cut in a certain direction, usually in a ponytail, so that the cuticles are in alignment from root to tip to avoid tangles, it undergoes minimal processes to preserve its qualities and it avoids harsh chemicals.
Synthetic hair:
Synthetic hair is made from synthetic fiber like acrylic or nylon, this is highly processed in factories and is made to imitate human hair, in the way it moves, texture, and pattern, but it cannot be dyed, styled with heat, or chemically treated without damage, they are easier to maintain and they don’t last long compared to human hair.
So, with the different types of hair, which should you choose for a weave? Which brings us to our next subheading.
How Do You Source Good Weaves For A Sew-in?
When you are sourcing for good weaves there are so many things that should be taken into consideration, from the type of hair to the status of the hair, to the looks of it, your budget, your natural hair type, your lifestyle, the hairstyle and so on, all these information could be overwhelming, so this article will make sure to break it down in bits.
1. The type of hair
The most important thing to take into consideration is the type of hair because it determines how the hair behaves, you should consider these three things.
Hair shedding, hair tangling, and hair shine that doesn’t match your natural hair, these hairs are sold in different places entirely.
Processed hair like synthetic is found in the local beauty store and unprocessed hair is found online, this is not to say that processed hair isn’t found online, so you should take extra precautions when you source your vendors.
2. Your purpose
If you want to wear a style for max two weeks, you can source for the cheap weaves. They will blend seamlessly, but in a few weeks, you will start to notice tangles and hair shedding, while the intermediate and advanced can be worn for much longer without having the same issues.
The unprocessed hair from online vendors is advised when you have a long-term goal with your weave, if you want to reuse this for a month and dare I say a lifetime, look into finding human hair weaves, but to add they’re not cheap; they could be way over your 50 dollar budget.
PS: Maintenance for synthetic hair could be easier than for human hair, as sometimes, you would need to run through the human hair with a flexi rod, or flat iron, you would have to spray some water to redefine curls, and your hair and the weather would interact a lot, compared to the synthetic hair that stays as it comes, you can’t change its texture, but you wouldn’t have to do all that maintenance, and curling and stretching especially if you’re too busy, or you do not have either the skills or the tools.
Different Weave Techniques
I will only give a brief explanation of it, they are as follows: Sew-in weaves, clip-in extensions, lace front, bonded weave, and crochet braids.
Sew-in weaves: This is when your hairdresser or you, use a thread and a needle to sew in the weaves on either the wig cap or directly on the cornrows.
Clip-in extensions: These are weaves that are made easy to install with the clips that are inserted in them.
Bonded weave: This is the type of weave where you use wig bonds to glue the hair on the wig cap, this is even easier than using the sew-in method.
Crochet braids method is a method of crocheting braids or attachment into the corn rows, and crotchet can be a very good option for the people for who the crochet hair pattern fits their weaves to use instead of opting for a leave-out, in other words, you don’t need to leave out or get a closure, because you can use a crotchet. This option is for those who do not want to damage their natural hair by constantly manipulating the leave-out but cannot afford the closure option.
Types Of Closure You May Need For Sew-In Or Quick Weave
Speaking of Closures, there are different types of closure, they are determined by their length and width.
1. There is the 2*6 (2 by 6) closure where the length is 6 inches and width is 2 inches, this can only contain a middle parting, the wider and longer a closure is the more versatile, costly, and scarce.
2. There is the 4*4 closure, the 5*5, 6*6, and 7*7 closure, the wider the closure the more options for parting it gives, and the more complicated it is in application.
3. There is the lace frontal too, where it starts from one ear to the other, this gives more versatility.
Tools Needed For A Weave
These include a wig cap, a closure (optional), a needle or a bond, a thread, a flat iron (depends on the hair you bought), wig foundation, hot comb, styling wax, tail comb, detangling comb, and finally your weave.
How To Install Hair Weave?
So now we are clear on that, let’s talk installation. The hair is made into cornrows before the weaves or put on, but something you should take note of is that your natural hair should not be crisp dry. Natural hair should be cleaned, conditioned, and moisturized before it’s put in a sew-in; make sure whoever is doing your sew-in is reliable for better results.
Then the installation process: sew in or glue in your weave. Now we come to the blending process. You can either curl your hair to fit a curly weave or flat your natural hair for a seamless leave-out, another option is using closures and frontals, as I mentioned before.
Things You Should Keep In Mind When Using Hair Weaves
- If you use wet hair under a wig cap, it may cause mold.
- Be careful of your wig glue or bond as it could damage the extensions and encourage hair shedding; source for quality ones.
- Before you use pantyhose as a wig cap, you should understand that if the wig cap is weak, the glue can stick through the wig cap and damage your natural hair.
- Depending on the hair quality, you shouldn’t leave the weaves in for more than it’s supposed to, at most do not leave it in for more than 6-8 weeks at least for the health of your natural hair, because if your natural hair loses hydration because of poor maintenance, it is highly prone to more than normal split-ends.
- When you use a leave-out for your sew-in, you should be mindful that when you wash the leave-out, you don’t use too much product on the weaves, if not you may end up speeding the damage process on the weave, only wash the weave with products suitable for it and when it has a lot of product build-up on it.
So, I hope this article has given you the essentials on weaves. If not, ask me and I will always answer, now go forth and make your crown mesmerizing.