As recent as 10/15 years ago the availability of European hair was in fact a reality. Certain towns in the south of Italy and in certain regions of Spain, not to mention Russia and the emerging eastern countries were good sources of human hair of varying quality.

Russian and Northern European hair was however predominantly blonde and was generally genetically too fine to be of much use in a volumising hair extension application, whereas hair from southern Italy or Spain was much more suitable for use in providing fullness or length in a hair extension service.

To add to this, hair sourced in the above markets would tend to be purchased from people who are forced to sell it in order to provide for themselves or their families. This would conflict with the philosophy and ethicality of Gold Fever.

“Spanish” & “European Hair” – A modern day myth

Things have changed dramatically in the last few years with the advent of the internet and the phenomenon of a celebrity driven society. People are no longer willing to cut and donate their hair as in the old days since everyone wants to look like the latest celebrity sporting long or voluminous hairdo’s. Therefore the myth of large quantities of Spanish or European hair being available for hair extensions is false. Can one imagine queues of European girls or women lining up ready to sell their hair to a hair extension company coincidentally of the right length and colour and in the quantities that would be needed to supply even a minimum quantity of salons on a continuous basis?

The only ethical, feasible and consistent source of hair compatible to the needs of a Caucasian woman is hair from India and this hair is divided into two categories. The first category and that of the highest quality possible is that of the Indian Ritual Hair, cut from willing worshippers who give up their hair in a gesture of faith and who are fully aware that the hair will subsequently be used in the western world in the manufacture of wigs and hair extensions. They know that the money that the Temple receives for the hair that they have donated to their Gods will be reintroduced to their society for charitable purposes. This has been documented time and time again by journalists and investigative television reporting and is an indisputable fact. The second category is mentioned below in “Why we DON’T use Indian Brushed Hair.”

Remis – DON’T be misled

(Read about REAL REMIS in About – Gold Fever Hair ). Unfortunately in the hair industry the word REMIS or REMY is often used inappropriately and to advertise inexpensive brushed hair which is available in large quantities in villages throughout India and Third World countries but to make this hair sound exotic and of good quality.

Imagine spaghetti of different diameters being put in the same boiling water and for the same amount of time. The thin spaghetti would be over cooked and the thick spaghetti would be undercooked. We can compare this to what happens when this brushed hair is put in acid baths. Being of a tremendous variety of diameters a large percentage of the hair will be heavily damaged by the acid baths whereas a large percentage would end up not having its cuticle removed entirely.

Once out of the acid baths the hair would have lost a lot of weight and, since hair is sold by a combination of weight and length hair dealers compensate for this loss by subjecting the hair to a silicone bath. Initially this will look shiny (even if only an artificial looking shine) and feel soft to the touch but as the wearer washes it a few times the silicone gets washed away and serious problems commence. Where the silicone has washed away exposing cuticle not fully removed in the acid bath and facing the wrong direction, tangling and matting will occur. Where the silicone has washed away exposing hair stripped entirely of its cuticle the hair will rapidly become drier and drier and will be extremely weak. This brushed hair quality is extremely prevalent in today’s hair extension market and yet it is passed off to the unwary end user as REMIS hair.

THE CLIENT WILL WONDER WHY THE HAIR WILL LOOK SO GOOD ON THE DAY OF HER HAIR EXTENSION APPLICATION AND YET AFTER A FEW WEEKS STARTS TO ENCOUNTER THE PROBLEMS DESCRIBED ABOVE. The finger will often be pointed at the salon or the client but the problem in fact derives from the quality of this hair which was used to start with.