What do human hair extension grades mean?

History of The Human Hair Grading System

Human hair grade is a rating system that can help you, in theory, to determine if the hair is of good quality or not. The first Human hair grading system was created in the early 2010s by some Human hair extension suppliers.

It was built to help suppliers to set their products apart from competitors or those who have been selling low-quality Human hair. As for consumers, a Human hair grading system is supposed to make choosing human hair extensions and wigs easier and simpler.

What are the human hair grades?

The human hair extensions business has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, there are so many different types of human hair extensions and marketing terms to quantify hair quality.

Chinese manufacturers and Chinese trading companies created the 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A grading systems as an easy way to explain to their clients how good the hair is.

• From 2010 – 2011, just 12 years ago, 3A Grade was the best human hair extension grade on the market worldwide.
• Two years later, in 2012 – 2013, just nine years ago, the "4A and 5A" human hair were so amazing as the best grades of human hair extension.
• In 2014, there was a "6A" human hair extension. Of course, that was then the best human hair extensions grade.
• In 2015 we were introduced to the "7A" Brazilian human hair extension which was then considered the new top grade.
• The unique "8A" virgin human hair was popular in 2016, and later in 2017, the "9A" human hair extension was the best.
• In 2018, you would see trading companies trying to say their "10A" Remy human hair extension was the best.
• In 2019 and 2020, Remy human hair extensions "11A" and “12A” were the new high-grade human hair extension.
• In 2021 and 2022, we are looking at all sorts of numbers,13A, 14A, 15A, and no one knows if it will ever stop.

Does anyone want to predict what the "Top Grade of Hair" will be in 2030? Probably 20A grade or 30A Remy virgin human hair extensions. 

Do you see the trend here? Every year Chinese hair manufacturers add "A" to their Human hair to stay competitive. It is all just human hair extensions marketing. Remember, it's all fictitious anyways!

What does the grading system mean for human hair extensions?

There is no best human hair grade on the market. A grading system for the quality of human hair extensions does not exist.

If you are new to the industry these grades can be very confusing, as hair can be listed from anywhere between an “A” grade to an “AAAAAAAA” grade or a 3A grade to a 12A grade. The more "A" is listed, the more confusing things become.

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.

For those unfamiliar, many new hair companies and Chinese vendors have begun labeling their hair as AAA, AAAAA+, 4A,5A, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A leaving consumers confused as to what those letters indicate. 

Technically the higher the letter rating, the better the quality of the hair. So, 12A would be considered “best” while AAA or 4A is “mediocre”. It is nonsense and false. It is a good idea in theory, but that is exactly what it is: “a theory”.

The human hair extensions grading system is one of the most confusing and frustrating measurements of quality for human hair extension buyers worldwide. 

There is no governing body that regulates these ratings, nor is there a standard set of requirements that need to be met to give your hair a certain rating.  

Is it possible to determine human hair extension quality from the grading system?

It is always such a challenge to choose a suitable human hair extension when it comes to deciding by hair grade.

Despite all the information available, as many suppliers still opt to list human hair extensions with a grade associated, you may still be wondering if it is possible to gain any information regarding the quality of the hair from the grade it is listed.

Currently, there are no standards for grading hair. Every year Chinese hair manufacturers add “A” to their hair to stay competitive. It is all just a marketing tactic.

Is it possible to compare 3A, 4A, 5A to 6A, 7A to 8A, and 9A to 10A? Technically no. It is impossible.

Are 10A human hair extensions better than 8A hair extensions? It's a tough call because technically, you could call your hair any "grade" you want.

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 wearing them for a long time.

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on the hair extensions they buy. Your view of what's the best human hair will be different than the person next to you. The goal is to find great hair at an affordable price. If it's labeled 7A, 8A, 9A, or even 10A it doesn't matter!

When choosing hair extensions most people go by the grade. Most people would say 10A is higher than 8A quality. Well, the truth is no.

The hair grading system is nothing more than a marketing tactic that came out of China. It is unregulated and they judge themselves.

The history of hair extension grading can be attributed to the Chinese manufacturers who used it as an easy way to explain to their clients “how good the hair is.”

Each year, they add an extra “A” to the previous “A” to distinguish the newest and top-quality ones from the others. The most popular hair grades available today range from 8A to 12A.

The grade that you purchase does not necessarily mean that you have the best hair. The quality of the human hair extension you purchase is also determined by the factory that manufactures the hair you buy.

Some may focus on quality and source beautiful and quality hair from donors, while others may focus on cost and source low-quality hair and provide it at a lower cost. But from these two factories you will get the same grade hair extension, but with different quality and pricing.

So, unless a store can assure you about the quality of the hair you would like to purchase, you can never be sure whether the high grade you purchase is worth it.  

Conclusion

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

What 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 outpassed by its followers. 10A was created in 2018 and now it goes all the way to 12A. 

Since there is no formal regulation on how to grade a type of hair, every company can define its hair grading system and use it 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 why grading hair on a scale from 3A to 12A is no longer optimal, even confusing for consumers.

Human hair extension grading is outdated

Contrary to popular belief, the grade of hair does not reflect the de quality of the hair extensions. 

A few years back, when there was less information available regarding the quality of human hair extensions, grading systems were used to help entice customers to purchase what would seem like a higher quality of hair by listing it as AAAAAAAA grade.

However, due to the confusion caused by the system and a lack of understanding available, many vendors now refer to the terms "single drawn" or "double drawn" instead, as this is a much clearer and more accurate way to describe human hair extensions. 

Hair listed as double drawn is now considered the higher "quality" in terms of a grading system, as it means that each bundle purchased will have a high proportion of longer hairs, resulting in thick hair extensions from root to tip.

Is human hair extension regulated?

A universal human hair grading system does not exist, there is no organization, even an informal Association, to regulate human hair standards.

No international or local body is responsible for measuring and upholding the industry standard for hair wholesalers or companies to adhere to.

A rating system is only helpful if there is a regulatory organization and/or requirements that must be met for each grade. Otherwise, anyone can label their product with whatever grade they want.

Sadly, many dishonest companies have continuously misrepresented the grading of their hair as there is no authority to check or verify the quality.

Many sellers can call their hair any grade they choose without fear of consequence, and this is the reason why so many customers have been misled into buying hair that was called grade 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, or higher and quickly realizing that the quality of the hair was grossly misled.

Some vendors may promote higher grades than they should be, such as a 7A Remy hair advertised to a 10A virgin hair. As a result, more money you pay, which does not always mean more quality hair you get.

Well-established, reputable companies do not even bother with this nonsense.