When purchasing human hair, many people encounter a common question: how to test if a bundle is raw human hair bundle?
To address this widespread concern, Iqueenla hair conducted a month-long user survey and consulted industry experts with over 12 years of experience.
This research culminated in the following six simple testing methods:
If you're unsure where to start, let's first understand the definition and characteristics of raw human hair.
What is raw human hair? Basically, raw human hair, in short, is human hair that is as pure as possible and has not gone through any chemical processing whatsoever.
Unlike almost all of the hair that is available on the market, raw 100 human hair bundles have not been acid-washed, dyed, or steam-curved.
It has its full cuticle intact and remains in the closest natural state to human hair.
You can think of raw human hair like “fresh fruit” and processed hair as “canned fruit.”
Fresh fruit does not contain any preservatives or processing, while canned fruit may look appetizing but has changed both its quality and viability.
The main benefit of raw human hair is its natural feel and durability. Because of the intact cuticles, raw hair is less prone to tangling and usually lasts longer than average processed hair.
It's also important to note that raw human hair can be restyled like your hair can be restyled: colored, permed, straightened, and so on - all without ultimately damaging the hair easily.
Raw human hair is generally regarded as the highest quality wig material, preferred by consumers who want and expect the highest quality and most natural look.
Please prepare the relevant tools according to the tests you plan to conduct.
First, add some clean water into a bowl and then put a few drops of clarifying shampoo, stirring it gently.
Now, soak a small handful of hair bundles in the mixture and gently work them together. Then, rinse it thoroughly with clean water and lightly dry it with a towel.
If it is real raw bundles hair, the water may barely change color, but it should not smell like chemicals, and the strands should feel soft and natural.
If the water turns a deep dye color or the hair feels dry and brittle, it has been heavily chemically processed and is not raw human hair.
In a plastic bowl, mix a small amount of bleach powder and hydrogen peroxide. After wearing gloves, use a brush and apply the mixture evenly over a small hair bundle.
Allow the bundle to process for 10–15 minutes and determine if the hair bundle colors evenly and gradually becomes lighter.
Normally, it will be common to see raw hair bundles that have intact cuticles behave in this manner.
If strands become brittle, break off or do not take color during the bleaching process, this would indicate the hair is heavily chemically processed.
Take a small section of hair and burn it with a lighter.
If it's raw human hair, you'll smell burning feathers - plus its ash will crumble to dust when you rub it between your fingers afterwards.
Wigs or synthetic fibres, while burning, will also smell bad like burnt plastic, will create dark smoke, and will harden once cooled.
You can tell them straight away!
Heat the flat iron to approximately 180°C, then straighten or curl a small section of the hair bundle.
Genuine raw hair bundles will smoothly withstand the heat without immediately melting or sticking to the flat iron.
If the hair smokes or becomes sticky upon contact with heat, it indicates the raw hair is counterfeit.
Softly glide your fingers from the tips of the hair to the roots. If it's natural raw hair, you will feel some resistance, meaning the cuticles are still present.
If it is totally smooth like plastic, the cuticles have been removed, and the hair has been chemically washed or processed.
Note: You can also use a magnifying glass to take a look at the cuticles on the surface of the hair for confirmation.
Texture testing is the simplest and most natural identification method. You only need your hands, and you could use a comb.
First, run your fingers gently through the hair bundle to gauge the smoothness and elasticity. You could try pulling the fibers slightly or making small loops.
Real raw hair feels soft, yet resilient - it is smooth without being simply slippery.
Second, with a comb if desired, you can gently comb upward from the ends. Typically, chemically untreated raw hair will resist tangles.
In purchase transactions in the United States, most buyers take it upon themselves to perform simple tests when they receive hair bundles to check if they are raw human hair.
Survey responses reveal that over 40% of respondents use the water wash test.
In the water wash process, untreated raw hair will keep its natural softness. The hair does not fade or become stiff.
Second, around 35% of respondents use a burning test.
They notice that real hair burns with the scent of burning protein, and leaves brittle ashes rather than hardened clumps.
Finally, only about 25% of respondents use the touch or pull tests. This method is the simplest, but of course, it can result in a subjective take.
User Feedback:
I was nervous that I had purchased synthetic hair, so I washed the hair bundle as soon as I got it. The water ran clear, and the hair was still smooth and soft, with no strange smell. I was genuinely relieved, which made me that much more confident in knowing this was true raw hair. -- Angela
I've bought a ton of hair bundles, and the easiest test is burning. Real human hair burns with a natural burnt smell and leaves ashes—unlike synthetic fibers, which harden into clumps. It gave me great confidence. -- Amanda
Note: The above data is sourced from how to test if a bundle is raw human hair - Reddit, Amazon and so on.
With a handle on these processes, you will be able to know how to test if a bundle is raw human hair at home, guaranteeing that you get your money’s worth of high-quality quality genuine hair.
But the best method is to use several methods together to prove validity.
Various tests across different processes will give you extra assurance by validating objectively through chemical interactions, heat interactions, and cuticle state!
For more information on raw hair bundles, keep up with Iqueenla hair.com!
👉 Related Reading:
1. What Is Raw Hair Bundles?
