Human Vs. Synthetics. Please be honest.

[insanityprincess]

I plan to dread my hair, most likely myself, and I'm wondering if getting human hair is a rip off?
Is there any reason (besides the fact that people at salons need to eat) that human hair costs so much more than synthetics? (kanekalon etc)
My own hair is very dead as I can't decide whether I want my hair black or white...so a lot of bleach goes through it. It pretty much doesn't feel like hair anymore, so I'm considering using Synthetics for my extensions.

Any major reasons besides texture to not do this?
p.s. if there are answers supporting my synthetics, any ideas for sealing without killing myself?

[VixenSingsBlack]

I'm not even sure what you're asking. Could you restate the question, or maybe give a list of questions your asking.

[insanityprincess]

Sorry... simple version: I will be dreading my hair, I want extensions for my dreads, I don't really want to pay for human hair, will synthetic hair work? (Permanent extensions)
And if not, why?

[VixenSingsBlack]

Invest in human extensions. I can't tell you why exactly, leave that to an expert, but you need human. Human is WAY more expensive because... well because it comes from a human! I mean synthetic is just plastic, manufactured plastic. Human hair is hard to obtain, then has to be processed to holy hell, then sorted/packaged/etc, and finally sold to you--hence the expense.

I'm moving this topic away from Synthetic Dreadlocks to the Natural Dreads section--you'll have more luck over there with an answer.

[insanityprincess]

I appreciate the move, and I understand the price difference in that respect, but I'm not so well off for money right now, the only human-hair I've seen is about $70/package (about 4 of those would do my head), so I definitely want all the opinions I can get on this topic.
I would like to hear all the major reasons you all have for human hair being better than synthetic

Side question: Anyone have any suggestions for cheap human hair in Toronto, Ontario, Canada area? And what would be a good price for human hair?

[NeonAddiction]

You would be doing dreads, by dreading your actual hair, and adding in either synthetic/human hair to make them?

Or you would be dreading your actual hair, and making the dreads longer by attaching human/fake hair to them?

If you are doing anything permanent, it generally is a good idea to invest in the more expensive thing you want, rather than the cheaper alternative ie. synthetic hair. Specially if you are going for straight up natural dreads. Synthetic dreads start to unravel and fray over time and need resealing, while natural hair will stay in tight dreads as long as you properly dread em up. Plus, you can use products such as dread wax for upkeep on natural hair.

Natural well formed dreads look completely different than synthetic dreads, so it would be visually different also. Roving/wool dreads look more like natural dreads than synthetic in my opinion!

If price is the main problem, try looking all over the internet! Its probably gonna be the cheapest place to obtain the materials you need.

[sammu]

Another thing to note about synthetic hair, is that after a while it will just stop reacting to any heat source you use to seal it.

I'm not exactly sure what else to say, apart from look at tutorials for "Dread Extenders" and stuff... Most people have had great success with human hair.

[..::AtomicLox::..]

As explained above, human hair costs so much more because it only grows naturally. Synthetic hair is made of teeny tiny plastic fibers and is extremely easy to mass manufacture, therefore it can be sold to you at a much lower price.

If you're going for a natural look, I'm going to echo everyone else and tell you to splurge on human hair. The two textures are completely different, and will not match up to create anything close to a natural look. Also, especially if your natural hair is super fine and/or damaged, adding too much synthetic to the ends might be too much weight for your roots to handle and could cause some nasty breakage.

The good news is that if you're using the human hair for dreadlocks, you can likely get away with buying a lower quality (ie: less expensive). Shop around online for the best prices. I've had great luck with the DoctoredLocks brands.

Another option is felting wool roving into your hair, though I couldn't begin to tell you how that's done.

[dare2wear]

definitely human hair! it will worth the extra cost.

[kaytedies]

Human hair!
Try ebay. You may be able to find cheap-ish packs.

[starlight]

somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but since it's being dreaded I'd guess you could use lower quality human hair.. it wouldn't need to be remy or anything, since the idea is you want to tangle it but yeah, just for the sake of matching the feel of the dreads better, and for them to blend better with your natural dreads, I would use human hair. I'd guess it would hold up better over time than synth too, bearing in mind they'll be permanent extensions.

[Cherries]

as for putting it in without destroying your own hair, i suggest the micro rings rather than the keratine glue!
and i go with the others: natural hair is the best!

[insanityprincess]

Alright, human hair it is, I'll probably get med quality, and microrings... are they permanant?

[starlight]

Alright, human hair it is, I'll probably get med quality, and microrings... are they permanant?

microrings are usually used to install streaks of loose fiber, and not permanently.. I think Cherries may have missed the fact you're making dread extenders

[vibrata]

I've been adding human hair to my dreads for, oh, about 8 years. Here's what I think: Human hair is to synthetic hair as leather is to vinyl. Not only will it last considerably longer (perhaps a lifetime!) it will look great, whereas synthetic is likely to break down from heat and light, become dull from using soap etc. and generally wear out before your real dreads do.

So I guess it depends on whether you see your dreads as permanent or as a fashion whim. Since I don't recommend taking on real dreads as a whim, I don't recommend synthetic extenders.

I've never spent more than about $40 for human hair. You probably won't use as much as you think and it doesn't need to be top quality - BUT don't buy the cheapest you can find or you'll likely find horse hair mixed in there - no f'ing kidding. Try to match it to the texture of your own hair and it will be indistinguishable once it's all dreaded up together. I've never bought it online.... I need to feel it with my fingers first! Otherwise you have no idea what you'll get.

Good luck!

[earthymamawitch]

I second what vibrata said. Synth hair will not match up to human at all and the line where one ends and the other begins will be VERY obvious.

Good luck w/your dreads!!! When are you dreading up?

Jenn

[insanityprincess]

I second what vibrata said. Synth hair will not match up to human at all and the line where one ends and the other begins will be VERY obvious.

Good luck w/your dreads!!! When are you dreading up?

Jenn

I've actually already got them in, they're knotting up slowly...but it's only been 3 weeks.
Took 16 hours 0.0 (80 dreads)
I'm going to use one synth dread to test the fake hair for a bit
It's not all that shiny so I figure a one-dread-positive test will tell all.
We have some high quality synth hair MADE for dreading into real dreads (for extensions)
Coolest texture imo.

Anyways I'll be posting a few pics of my babies (dreads) soon =3

Thanks for the info everyone, but since trying all different techniques, I realized I should just do what I feel works.
Oh and the livejournal stuff really helped!