1. Directional friction test
Hold a dry strand between finger and thumb and slide root-to-tip, then tip-to-root. Cuticle-intact aligned hair feels smooth one way and slightly resistant the other. Hair that feels identical in both directions has had its cuticle removed or reduced. Heavy silicone masks this — wash first.
2. Silicone strip and wash cycles
Wash with a clarifying shampoo and no conditioner, then repeat the wash five to ten times, air-drying between cycles. This strips the coating that makes processed commercial hair feel premium in week one. Watch the mid-lengths and the last two inches: knotting that appears at a consistent point on the shaft indicates mixed direction.
3. Float and porosity check
Drop clean, product-free strands into a glass of room-temperature water. Heavily porous, chemically stripped hair absorbs water and sinks quickly. Healthy cuticle-intact hair remains suspended noticeably longer. This is indicative, not conclusive — treat it as one signal among several.
4. Burn test
A few strands to a flame: human hair burns to a fine grey ash with a distinctive protein smell; synthetic melts into a hard bead and smells of plastic. This distinguishes human from synthetic or blended fibre. It says nothing about Remy status.
5. Colour lift test
Lighten a small section on the same protocol you would use in the salon. Even, predictable lift indicates consistent porosity across strands. Patchy, hot-rooted or uneven lift indicates mixed sources or prior chemical processing that was not disclosed.
6. Reorder test
The test most buyers skip and the one that matters most commercially. Order the same specification twice, ninety days apart, and compare. Consistency between orders is the difference between a supplier and a trader, and it cannot be faked with a good first sample.
Buyer Questions
Which single test is most reliable?
Repeated washing without conditioner. It removes the coating that hides everything else.
Will RemyPatra samples pass these tests?
Run them. Our trial kit exists precisely so a buyer can test on their own bench before committing to a production order.