What you don't know can be harmful to your clients and your business. The following is a summary of years of work and research of hair compounds and hair extensions and some of what has been noted throughout that time.

Swelling is one of the most damaging conditions of the human hair. The hair loses flexibility, natural bounce, elasticity, and strength and is much easier to break.

• The acidic-based permanents will swell the hair in a moderate 15%-25%.
• The alkali-based permanents will swell the hair in a whopping 300%!
• On our own normal hair there is a microscopic layer of natural oil. It keeps the hair's moisture at the usual levels (10-11.5%), even though the relative humidity in the air (25-90%) is much higher. The layer of oil guards the human hair from swelling.
• When chemically stripping the cuticles, the oily layer is stripped from the hair and it loses the natural protection. Swelling occurs on a regular basis and is one of the main reasons the hair is so vulnerable to breakage.

Information about hair and hair extensions

The usual normal moisture content of hair is 10% to 11.5% (This depends on many variables, such as moisture in the air, type of hair whether Remy or Non Remy Hair, previous chemical treatment, diet, and much more).

• When moisture decreases, hair becomes straw-like (which is a subject for many jokes and is easy to identify such hairpieces even by cosmetologists and hair stylists or even by nonprofessionals).
• Moisture is one of the most important factors in determining the physical (strength and elasticity) and esthetic properties (bounce, flexibility, etc).When human hair is fully wet, the elasticity may increase in 25%, but the strength will increase up to 300%!

One major reason for human hair breakage is the combing forces applied. While shampooing, towel drying and conditioning the hair, one must stroke the hair in one direction.

• During combing, the hair is stretched and will break when stretched 30%-35% more than its original length. After the hair is stretched 17%-20% longer than the original length, there will be irreversible damage and it cannot bounce back to it's natural length. For hair extensions, the numbers are much higher.
• The ammonium within semi-permanent dyes and similar products do not damage the hair as much as the peroxide, although the experts claim otherwise for their product's safety campaign.

Hair has a negative charge. Manufacturers design their shampoos to have a negative charge, as we do not want the shampoo to adhere or absorb onto the hair. Manufacturers design conditioners to have a positive charge, as we want the hair conditioner to adhere and absorb onto the human hair without leaving deposits.

• A responsible hair extensions products manufacturer will measure the level of charge on the hair and will manipulate the products to match the charge of the hair and the charge of the hair care product. Very few are so responsible for the entire cosmetic or beauty industry, let alone the hair replacement or hair extensions industry. More importantly, do you know a hair replacement or hair extensions company that is aware of the level of charge on extensions' hair?
• Hair Conditioners must reduce the friction between two strands of hair. For treating hair extensions, they must isolate one strand of hair without leaving deposits
• Hair Conditioners do not permanently increase strength or elasticity. It is a common fib that we all take at face value. Temporarily, conditioners will deposit moisture and moisture will temporarily increase strength.
• Regular shampoo must clean the surface of the cuticles, a tough protective layer consisting of 75%-80% protein.
• Regular shampoos on hair extensions act similar to peroxide on an open wound. The detergents burn and dry out the hair from the inside.
• Shampoos for hair extensions must clean the exposed layer usually found underneath the cuticles that are now stripped. The under layer (the "B" layer or exocuticle) is very delicate, which is why regular shampoos fail by cleaning too harshly.
• The surfaces of scalp hair and hair extensions do not resemble each other and the difference between the two can be measured and must be measured in order to even begin discussing on improving the issue of hair extensions.
• One cannot treat both surfaces with the same materials. We do not clean our desks (a smooth surface that resembles the processed hair extensions' surface) with the same cleaner used on our carpets (a scaled uneven surface that resembles the cuticle hair's surface).
• Usually, a processed hair extension fiber appears shinier than regular hair and leads us to believe that it is healthier. The reason is that the smooth and even surface reflects light at a higher concentration and therefore is brighter. Cuticle hair with it's scaled uneven surface scatters the light in wider angle of reflection, thus causing the cuticles hair extensions to appear much duller.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR HAIR SUPPLIERS:

If you want to get your money's worth, you must get involved in the process of choosing and investing money in a product wet line.

Since we are now in a highly developed business and we have a great amount of information available to all of us through the Internet, I can guarantee that everything can be documented. Every proclamation that your vendor makes must be verified in writing.

In order for you to minimize the risk of spending money on useless hair extension and replacement products, I have composed for you a list of questions to ask your hair extensions supplier in order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the hair care product you are using or wish to use.

You will be surprised by some of the answers; "We cannot disclose our formula", "We completed the hair related tests but my dog ate the documents", "We can't remember any of the answers" and "Isaac does not know what he is talking about".

If you send me some of these amusing responses from your suppliers, I promise to post them on my web site to inform other businesses.

1. What is the Surface Energy of hair extensions strands (or the level of the charge)?
2. What is the Surface Tension of your shampoo (or the negative charge of the shampoo)or other hair care product?
3. What is the Surface tension of your conditioner (or it's negative charge)?
4. Why apply regular shampoo on hair extensions as it is supposed to clean a different surface
5. Why use regular conditioners that are supposed to stick to cuticles, while in hair extensions we have anything but cuticles?

Request copies of any and all documents on tests and experiments concerning the products they claim will benefit the hair.