Ellen Wille has a collection called "Prime Power". The brand kindly sent me a wig from this collection to try out. Read on to discover my thoughts as a wig connoisseur.
Before I tell you my thoughts on this hair, lets first understand what Prime Blends are. This hair type is a blend of both human, and synthetic fibers. Ellen Wille's pieces are typically a 60/40 blend, meaning that it is 60% high heat defiant synthetic fiber, and 40% human hair.
Why do they combine the two hair fibers?
Each fiber has pros and cons on their own, but when blended together, you get a luxurious combination of them both.
Pros and Cons
The heat-friendly synthetic fibers give the wig style memory, meaning that once the hair is styled with heat, the style will remain until heated again. This fiber also provides vibrant color options, thinner strands, and this hair doesn't react when exposed to environmental factors such as humidity and rain.
Heat-defiant hair fiber on its own tends to tangle and mat very easily. When blended with some human hair, however, that tangling is reduced significantly.
Human hair offers a natural, cool, and lightweight feel to the wig. It makes the hair more versatile when it comes to styling, and adds longevity to the hairpiece.
The pros sound quite amazing right?
There are surprisingly few cons when it comes to this hair type. One down side is that the hair is going to be slightly more difficult to handle. It doesn't curl exactly like human hair, or synthetic hair. It is its own type of hair and it will take some time and practice to understand how to style it. Some frequent 'heat maintenance' is required to maintain the smooth and softness, and rid the hair of frizzy tangles that are bound to come with heat-friendly hair.
Also, human/synthetic blended pieces unfortunately cannot be colored or dyed as the results are unpredictable.
Styling and Care
I mentioned previously that it can be tricky to style blended hair. Keep the heat at or below 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat-defiant fiber has to be 'molded' into the shape you want it. For example, if you wanted to curl your hair, you would want to wrap the hair in the curling iron, then let the curl cool in a coil. This coil can be held in your hand for a few seconds, or it can be secured with a clip. Failing to let the shape cool may result in the hair going stick straight, which can be frustrating the first few times! Be patient and spend some time practicing!
Prime blends are recommended to be washed after every 6-8 wears, with the products and directions from the Beauty Mark Pure Care line. After washing, your wig may be air dried or blow-dried on a medium setting, based on your preference.
My Thoughts on Prime Blend Hair
I was nervous about this hair type, because I typically do not like how heat friendly fibers wear over time. They are hard to work with and maintain, which is why I seldomly work with pieces of that fiber. My friends at Ellen Wille, however, have told me such wonderful things about the blended fibers, and I knew I wanted to try this out.
I was sent a Prime Blend wig, and for the first time ever, I experienced all that the hair has to offer. I was shocked at how good the fibers are! It still doesn't beat 100% human hair, in my opinion, but I have come to the conclusion that Prime Blends are a very close alternative to human hair.
Just by touching the wig I felt a difference from synthetic fibers. This wig felt like a human hair wig. I could not distinguish between strands that were human or not. It does have a slightly more shiny appearance when compared to 100% human hair, but a little dry shampoo fixes that problem.
Feeling it on my head, and wearing it throughout the day was the next test. Again, I was surprised at how natural the hair felt on me. It didn't feel like a plastic bag was sitting on my head (that is how synthetic wigs feel to me). It felt and moved like real hair. It didn't get stuck in clumps as the day went on, and the hairs on the nape did not tangle! Those were the ones I would have expected to frizz quickly, as I wore it out in the mid-summer heat while I played games with my family. It held up very well!
I have only worn this wig for a week and a half, but it has been far better than I expected. I am interested to see how it wears after a few months, and even a year. I plan to wear it often, and report back my experience with it.
Thanks again to Ellen Wille for sending me this wig, and allowing me to try it out for myself!
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