A lot of ladies don’t even know that they get a choice of weft type when first purchasing quality virgin human hair. There are generally two different types of wefts to choose from.
Machine wefts
These normal everyday wefts that you find in most hair extensions from beauty supply stores. As their name suggests, a sewing machine is used to stitch the bulk hair together creating a ‘track’ which is subsequently sewn onto your cornrow base. Machine wefts are the industry standard because they are resilient and popular with customers. Machine wefts can be thick and can sometimes be a bit bulky, having said that a stylist worth their salt should be able to create a flat weave with machine wefts even without resorting to cutting the extensions!
The biggest benefit of machine wefts is that fact that you are able to cut them without the hair shedding excessively. This allows for less margin for error when installing them. You can use machine wefts for a wide variety of weaving techniques including cornrow weaves, clip ins, glued in quickweaves, partial weaves etc.
Hand Tied Wefts
With these, a skilled crafts-person uses a fine thread to tie individual tufts of hair creating a very thin and durable track. Since the wefts are so thin they lay much flatter on your cornrow or net base so they are excellent for straight or wavy extensions where bulky machine wefts may not be appropriate. They also feel much lighter on your head so you get a more natural experience. Another benefit is that they are less prone to shedding than machine wefts which means that they are likely to outlast them.
It is strongly advised that you do not cut hand tied wefts as they unravel very easily. Instead simply fold them over to double up and sew it down until you get to the end. If you absolutely must cut them, do so carefully but seal the cut end immediately with nail or fabric glue to prevent unravelling.
If you are big on glued in (bonded) weaves I would give hand tied wefts a miss. Because they are so thin, it will be a challenge to get glue on just the weft without getting some on the extensions hair itself. Hand tied wefts are best used for sew in extension styles.
So which should you choose?
No doubt machine wefts are the most popular because they are both sturdy and easy to handle by self installers and stylists alike. If you are new to self-installation I would strongly suggest that you start off with machine wefts to get yourself acquainted with handling extension hair. Similarly if your stylist is not familiar with or is not used to handling hand tied wefts, stick with the machine wefts.
If on the other hand you are an avid weave fan and you are ready to appreciate the work of art that is a weave created with hand tied wefts the world of ultra light and comfortable weaves are just a short time away. You won’t be disappointed!
