Smart Hair Buys: Understanding Hair Extension Grades 3A, 5A, 7A...etc

3A? 5A? 7A? 10A?

A majority of hairnistas who buy hair have had to contend with this confusing grading system. The aim of this post is to demystify this letter grading system, highlight the problems associated with it, and finally opine on what to expect from different grades of extensions.  

First, grades such as 3A, 5A or 7A are actually short-hand for AAA, AAAAA or AAAAAAA respectively. These grades were designed to describe the quality of hair extensions on the basis of durability¹, hair flexibility ², bundle composition³. In the logic of this grading system, hair extensions that are of lower quality, that are less durable, less flexible, and that are composed of non-human hair materials such as synthetics and animal hair carry would be tagged with lower grades—usually 4A or less. On the other hand, hair extensions of the highest quality with high durability, high flexibility and made with purely virgin human hair would be tagged with higher grades—historically 5A or higher. Hence, the A-grading system intended to provide buyers and sellers with a straightforward measuring stick—which would eliminate any guess work surrounding what prices should be charged or paid for different quality hair bundles. Buyers, specifically, should find it easy to navigate the hair market and find the type of hair they wanted with the aid of this nifty A-grading system.

 

Problems with the Letter Grading System.

Despite the straightforward design of A-grading, its practical use has been problematic. Although the system is almost universally adopted, the A-grading system is not regulated. There are no laws, no governments, nor governing bodies that regulate how manufacturers grade hair extensions. Hence, the result is that the hair market is flooded with subjectively graded hair. That is to say, Manufacturer A might label one hair bundle as 5A while Manufacturer B might choose to label that same bundle as 3A.

Many crooks and fraudsters have taken advantage of this unregulated situation—marking up low grade yaki and synthetic extensions as quality high grade hair. Unfortunately, many get away with it because these fraudulent vendors can sell with impunity. Only defrauded buyers who raise their voices in complaint on YouTube or on review sites can check the actions of these suppliers. Even then, there's not much these complaints can do as sly manufactures have been known to change their company name in order to shed any associated negative baggage.

Getting the Most from the Grading System.

Despite being problematic, the use of A-grading does not seem to be waning for the foreseeable future. Hence, we recommend that you know what to roughly expect when purchasing different grades (given the assumption that you are dealing with an honest supplier). Here's brief guide:

 

A to 4A: Mixed Composition Hair

For hair bundles ranked as 4A or less, the general expectation is that these bundles will contain a mix of human, animal, and synthetic hair materials. Examples of mixed composition hair includes yaki 'pack hair' or the 3 for $100 bundle deals found on e-retail sites. These mixed composition hair extensions will tangle within a few weeks—if not a few days—of installation because they contain synthetics and animal hair. They are also likely to bleed dye and will be difficult to curl. If you are on a budget and are willing to try the mixed composition hair, opt for 4A grade which is typically the highest grade among mixed combination bundles as it contains more human than non-human hair content.

5A-6A: Multi-Donor Hair

For 5A-6A ranked bundles, the general expectation is that these bundles will contain only human hair but they will be sourced from multiple donors and will contain 'fallen hair'. (Fallen hair describes hair taken up from factory floors and used to fill out the hair curtain on the wefts.)

5A Bundle

With these multi-donor hair bundles, a significant portion of the bundles will be made up of short hair strands – which results in the bundles having thinner ends and inconsistent thickness throughout the hair curtain. We've attached a photo example of a 12 inch 5A multi-donor bundle in which the thinness of the ends is apparent due to the short lengths of hair strands in the bundle.

6A Bundle

For hairnistas who are exasperated with hair bundles with thin ends, we recommend that they opt for the higher grade 6A multi-donor varieties which in our experience is characterized by comparably thicker ends .(See attached photo of 6A bundle). If thin ends are still problematic, it would be best to go further and invest in 7A or higher graded hair varieties.

7A and Above: One Donor Hair

The expectation for these hair bundles is that they would have been sourced from one donor. The hair curtain will be thick and consistent while the ends will be full. The hair should also be soft and flexible: able to be dyed, bleached or flat-ironed without permanently ruining the integrity of the hair follicles. 

In this two-part Smart Hair Buy post, we set out to clarify some common place terms in the hair market. In part one of this post, we looked at definitions of remy hair and virgin hair.  

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(1) Durability refers to the longevity of hair bundle given normal wear and tear.

(2) Flexibility refers to how well the hair takes to being chemically manipulated (bleaching, dying, other chemical processes) and mechanically manipulated (heat styling). Flexibility is important because this property determines, for example, if your extensions will be irreparably damaged and unwearable after bleaching. Flexibility also determines how far up the color chart your hair can be bleached (which shades of blonde can you achieve with your extensions?).

(3) Bundle composition refers to the type or types of hair (human, animal, synthetics) that are used to make up the hair curtain. Bundle composition determines if the extensions are considered Yaki (consisting of human and animal hair), Virgin Human Hair, Synthetic, or Human Compatible Hair.