Hair grades: Is 9A, 10A or double drawn hair better?

It is always such a challenge to choose a suitable human hair extension when it comes to deciding by hair grades. Is 9A or 10A the best hair extension? What about other grades such as AAAA, single drawn or double drawn? Hair grades are hard to master, even with someone who has been using many types of human hair extensions or wears it for a long time. If you are so confused right now and do not know how to get a high quality human hair extension, remember you are not alone. Anka Hair is here to help you out!

I. Understanding hair grade

1.What is hair grade

Hair grade is a rating system which can help you, in theory, to determine if the hair is in good quality or not. The first hair grading system was created in the early 2010s by some hair extensions suppliers. It was built to help suppliers to set their products apart from the competitors’ or those who have been selling low-quality hair. As for consumers, a hair grading system is supposed to make choosing human hair extensions, wigs and weaves easier and simpler.

2.What are the grades

Initially, when the concept of hair grade first appeared on the market, people only used a rating system with the letter A, starting at 3A and then gradually increasing the grade to 10A or higher. Currently, people often use another simple and more useful rating system including 3 grades: Single drawn, double drawn and super double drawn.

II. How hair grades have changed over the years

There is no formal regulation for the hair grading system. That’s why it keeps changing and adding more grades over the years.

1. From 3A to 12A

In early 2010, the term “3A” came to the hair market. After that, the hair extension market had a new grade of hair almost every year. Each grade was the best when it first came to the market and is out-passed by its followers. 10A was created in 2018 and now it goes all the way to 12A. 

This grading system was built based on the hair’s origin, thickness and fullness. Lower grades such as 3A or 4A is usually cheap, thin, low-quality hair which sometimes is processed by chemicals and will shed and tangle easily. Grade 6A or 7A is often remy hair with cuticles aligned and a shiny look. However, the lengths of hair strands are not uniform, making the hair not thick and bouncy. According to this system, 9A, 10A and higher grades are the best, often raw hair or virgin hair with all cuticles aligned, ideal thickness and are super healthy. 
Since there is no formal regulation on how to grade a type of hair, every company can define its own hair grading system and use it as a way to describe the quality of hair or set prices for it. As a result, one company’s 9A grade hair may not be equivalent in quality or price to another company’s 9A grade. This is the reason why grading hair on a scale from 3A to 12A is no longer optimal, even confusing for consumers.

2. The appearance of single drawn, double drawn and super double drawn

Right when the market needs a simpler, easier and faster hair grading system, the concepts of single drawn, double drawn and super double drawn appear. Human hair products are clearly divided into remy hair or virgin hair, grading according to 3 levels of hair thickness. It is very easy to grade just by looking at the hair. 

• Single drawn hair is mixed from 30% long hair and the rest 70% is shorter hair resulting in a thicker and fuller look at the top but thinner at the ends.
• Double drawn hair bundle or weft, there will be 60-70% of long hair mix with 30% short hair. The hair looks thicker, fuller even at the ends.
• Super double drawn hair contains 80 to 90% of long hair and only 10-20% of short hair. The hair is full and thick from top to ends.

3.How to identify good quality human hair

Originally, hair grades were created to help people choose suitable hair extensions easier and simpler. However, the old-fashioned way of grading hair as 3A or 12A has caused more confusion than helping. Nowadays, many hair suppliers use the terms “single drawn” or “double drawn” instead as it is a much clearer and more accurate way to describe hair. However, to determine if a hair extension is of good quality, you should consider other factors besides hair grades.

• The hair type: Synthetic hair is artificial and tends to be worn out and frizzy after 3-6 months while human hair is natural and more healthy. Human hair extensions are always better than synthetic hair extensions. 
• The hair origin: Remy hair and virgin hair are high quality hair with cuticles intact and unidirectional, meaning less shedding and tangling. However, remy hair is collected from mixed donors while virgin hair is from one single donor and can be used for up to 3-4 years. That’s why virgin hair is the higher quality type of human hair. 
• Chemical treatment: The best quality hair is one that has never been through any type of chemical treatment. 
• Cost: No good quality hair extension is cheap. There are only reasonable prices. If you see a hair extension advertised as high quality virgin human hair which is surprisingly cheap, it’s definitely a lie. 

Based on these factors and our modern hair grading system, you can easily identify high quality hair or low quality hair. For example, if you are looking for good hair extensions, never go for cheap, synthetic, chemicals processed types as it is a low quality hair extension and can not last long.  To be sure, come to Anka Hair. We are committed to providing only hair extensions made from real human hair, 100% unprocessed, with single drawn, double drawn or super double drawn quality at the most reasonable price. You can choose your desired type of hair extensions according to the length, thickness and texture you want, Anka Hair can definitely help you get the best. Contact our sales team to get the fastest support and preferable discounts.