How we test hair

The method, the passport and your own checks

Where we are today

We do not sell hair today, and we have not photographed, tested or weighed any. We plan to sell our own hair later. Before we do, this page fixes the method in writing so that you can hold us to it. Everything below that says we will do something describes the future. None of it has been done.

Why a hair passport

Online, hair is sold by labels: origin, virgin or raw, drawn type, length. In the price read we did on 6 Oct 2026 (27 South African stores), our software classified around 1,360 product variants as bundles. Of those, about 96% gave a length in inches in the details it read (names, options and tags), and about half named an origin such as Vietnamese, Brazilian, Peruvian, Malaysian or Indian. Only 7 gave a weight in grams. A weight may sit in a product description, which we did not count.

Weight tells you how much hair you are paying for, and a label cannot show you how the strands were sorted. That is the gap the passport is meant to fill.

What a hair passport will contain

Each batch of our own hair would carry a hair passport, a page for that batch. It will hold six things. Any field we could not fill will say not measured, and will not be left out.

• Origin: where the supplier says the hair comes from. A bundle cannot prove its own origin, so the passport will say the supplier states it, and will show what paperwork the supplier gave us, if any.
• Supplier: who we bought the batch from.
• Drawn type: how the hair is sold, such as single drawn or double drawn, and the share of the strands we check that measure full length.
• Measured length: relaxed and stretched, in inches, with the number of strands measured.
• Measured weight: in grams, per bundle, next to the weight on the label.
• Photos: of the batch, with a ruler and the scale reading in the frame.

How we will measure: weight

We will weigh each bundle on a digital scale before it is opened, and record the weight in grams next to the weight on the label. If the two differ, the passport will show both numbers.

How we will measure: length

We will measure strands with a ruler or tape. We will record the relaxed length and the stretched length separately and say which is which, because a bundle can read longer when pulled straight. We will take a set of strands from each bundle, measure them, say how many strands were used, and show the longest and the shortest.

How we will measure: drawn type

Sellers describe drawn hair in different ways. Shara Hair, a South African store, says double drawn hair has 85% of its strands the same length. Another seller, Hermosa Hair, says about 70 to 80%, sometimes up to 90%. Because the numbers differ, we will publish the share of full-length strands that we find among the strands we check, not only the label.

How we will check that it is human hair

Human hair is a keratin protein fibre. Sewing guidance on burn tests describes protein fibres such as wool and silk as smelling like burning hair and leaving a bead that crushes easily, and synthetic fibres such as polyester and acrylic as melting into hard black beads with a chemical smell. That chart is written for fabric, not hair, and it cannot identify blends. So we will treat a burn test on a few strands as a screening check and say so in the passport.

We will do it outdoors on a calm day, with long tweezers, over a non-flammable dish, with water close by and our own hair tied back, as the guidance advises.

Origin and processing words

Words such as virgin, raw and remy are used differently from one store to the next. The passport will record what the supplier says, in the supplier's own words, and keep it apart from our own measurements.

What we will not claim

We will not call this laboratory testing or certification. It is weighing, measuring, sorting a set of strands and a screening burn test. We will not publish a passport for hair we have not handled, and we will not give a batch a score. We will show the supplier's claims and our measurements side by side, and if they do not match, the passport will say so.

What you can check yourself, today

You do not need a passport to check hair you buy now. These checks cost nothing and work on a bundle, a wig or a pack.

• Before you buy: look for a weight in grams and a length in inches in the listing. If the store gives neither, ask for them in writing.
• Read the returns page before you open, wash or cut anything. Under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, a buyer in an online sale can cancel within seven days of receiving goods, and the only charge allowed is the direct cost of returning them (section 44). That right does not apply to goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised (section 42(2)(f)), so check whether the store treats a wig or a custom order that way.
• When it arrives: weigh the whole pack on a kitchen scale, measure a few strands against a ruler, write the numbers down and take photos before you open or use it.
• Look at the ends. Shara Hair says double drawn hair does not thin out the way single drawn hair does. If a bundle sold as double drawn thins towards the tips, tell the store.
• Burn a few loose strands only if you are not planning to return the pack. Follow the safety steps in the previous section. Protein fibres smell like burning hair and leave a bead that crushes; synthetics melt into hard beads. Human hair is a protein fibre, so expect it to behave like that, and treat the result as a hint, not proof.
• Watch your scalp. The American Academy of Dermatology lists tightly braided hair and hair extensions or weaves among the styles that can cause hair loss from pulling, advises wearing braids for no longer than 6 to 8 weeks, and says weaves should come out immediately if they cause pain or irritate your scalp. The British Association of Dermatologists says traction hair loss caught early can regrow completely if the tight style is stopped. If you notice thinning or sore patches, see a doctor.

If the hair is not as described

Section 24 of the Consumer Protection Act says a retailer must not offer or supply goods if it knows, reasonably could determine or has reason to suspect that a trade description on them is likely to mislead. Section 41 prohibits false, misleading or deceptive representations about a material fact. Section 56 lets you return goods that fail the quality standards in section 55 within six months of delivery, at the supplier's risk and expense, and the supplier must repair, replace or refund as you direct.

Keep your proof of purchase, the listing as you saw it, your weights and your photos. Start with the store. If it does not put things right, sections 69 to 71 of the Act set out where a consumer can take a complaint. Luxora cannot settle a dispute with a store.