This post was sent to K-Hair from one of our loyal hair buyers – Ms Sandra Kalenski, the owner of a multi-franchise salon chain in South Africa, wanting to share her earlier experience in the hair industry. And to keep the flow of the story, we will retell the experience through her perspective.
Hi guys, my name is Sandra – the owner of multiple salons and hair stores in South Africa, I am also the writer of the articles comparing other different textures such as Deep wave vs Water wave, Loose wave vs Body wave,… so if you have read those, you must have been a bit familiar with me by now. To continue the series Texture Comparison from A Pro, today we will go into details of the differences between two of the most popular hair textures: Body wave vs Deep wave.
Based on their appearance and outlook, these two hair texture options rarely get mistaken for each other. However, my customers still often misunderstand their hair use, assuming that since they share the same S-line patterns, they can be used interchangeably. This common mistake has led to many of my inexperienced colleagues to buy the wrong item, leading to frozen inventory that loses its value over time. Therefore, I decided to continue writing on this issue to help other misguided, hesitant hair buyers out there to become better-prepared for the decision, and be able to target those textures to the right audience.
1. What is Body wave hair?
Before jumping into conclusion which is better than which, or dig deeper into their prices and benefits, we should work from the ground up and start with describing the outer appearances of both Body wave vs Deep wave hair texture. Let’s get into it, shall we?
First, let’s start with Body wave, one of the most popular and classic hair texture options out there. Some of its physical features might include:
One common trait of most wavy hair textures is that their patterns follow an S-shape, rather than a spring-like, coily shape of the curly hair. This can also be seen for Body wave hair, as the hair texture often features a loose, broad and soft S-shape waves pattern that somewhat looks like the natural curves of a woman’s physique – hence the name. → Delivering a softer, more lightweight and gentle look, rather than a dramatic one. The waves are aligned in absolute uniformity – consistent from the top to the bottom length → extremely uptight, polished and well-kept hair look, which deliver a sense of formality and elegance to the final appearance.
In the market, beside the classic straight texture, Body wave is among the rare hair patterns that can offer the most shine and luster to the final look, therefore, undoubtedly, this particular texture option is extremely popular for clients wanting sophistication and luxury in their hair look. Furthermore, thanks to its looser wave patterns, Body wave represents the perfect salon-made, well-kept hair look that helps its clients to appear more professional and elegant, therefore, for my office worker clients, this is always their go-to hair choice.
2. What is Deep wave hair?
Because of both the textures being wavy hair patterns, between Body wave vs Deep wave, when we look into their appearance, we can still see some resemblances, such as their classic S-wave patterns. However, upon first impression, clients and customers can still see the differences between their wave patterns and appearance:
Deep wave is often considered a more curly version of the Body wave, since their S-shape waves are much tighter, more well-defined and shrinking curls than the loose, relaxed waves seen in Body wave. Furthermore, instead of the flat, 2-dimensional appeal of the Body wave, the patterns of Deep wave are much thicker, more voluminous and 3-dimensional – delivering more volume and thickness to the final hair look. → Making the hair looks bolder, more dramatic and interesting than the classic, elegant look offered by the Body wave.
Much like the Body wave, Deep wave’s patterns are in complete uniformity, with tight waves stretching from the roots to the ends – preserving the polished, well-kept and sophisticated look of the Body wave, while adding more sass and drama to make the look more striking and interesting.
For hair businesses targeting buyers who want a bold, dramatic yet still polished look, Deep wave hair texture is the one for you. Indeed, Deep wave’s patterns offer a safe, well balanced appearance that combines both the elegance and sophistication of the looser wavy style, and the volume, natural look of the curly textures – the best of both worlds, Deep wave has it all! On top of that, for customers wanting more volume to their hair look, Deep wave can also be the perfect candidate, the cream of the crop, thanks to its tight, defined curls.
3. Differences between Body wave VS Deep wave hair
Now this is the part you guys must have been waiting for, when we finally discuss the differences between Body wave vs Deep wave, and dig deeper into their versatility, pattern lifespan, and volume. Indeed, identifying them just based on their appearance is rarely enough, as this can only be at the surface-level. If I have learned anything from my years of trading and selling hair, it is that for us hair entrepreneurs, to stay afloat in this competitive market, we should never stop at the surface-level, and must equip ourselves with more and more knowledge to marketize and sell our products to the right audience and buyers. To better prepare yourself, let’s get into the details of the two wavy patterns here:
| Body wave | Deep wave | |
| Curl patterns | The wavy textures are often more relaxed:
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The waves seen in Deep wave are much more uptight:
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| Ability to hold curls | The ability to hold curls of Body wave hair is not as good as the Deep wave: Being looser, more relaxed also means that the waves are easier to be straightened out over time
→ More prone to lose its texture after styling, washing and using – hence, more compromising and flexible |
Unlike Body wave, Deep wave has an excellent ability to hold curls – offering more longevity for its clients: Tighter, uniformed, and more defined curls → harder to be affected by washing, styling or using
→ Can hold its curls for a much longer, extended amount of time – clients can enjoy the textures without constant restyling and curl revitalizing |
| Volume | Body wave cannot offer the same amount of volume as Deep wave: Having looser, 2-dimensional waves, Body wave lies flat against your scalp – adding only a natural amount of volume
→ Better for length extension than volume extension |
With its signature wave patterns, Deep wave also comes with more volume and fullness: Tight, small, shrinked curls – deliver more volume and thickness to the hair → offering more width than lengths
→ Great for volume extension |
| Natural look | This would highly depend on the end-user:
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Much like Body wave, Deep wave texture also have its own customer base:
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| Maintenance | In terms of maintenance, Body wave is much more easy-going than Deep wave:
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Unlike Body wave, Deep wave is much more demanding in terms of maintenance and hair care:
|
| Versatility | Is much more versatile: Looser, short-lasting curls are much better to work with – easier to straighten, curl or texturize
→ Flexibly switching from different texture – more suitable for hairstylists customers wanting a blank canvas to work with |
Medium-range flexibility:
→ Less versatile and focus mostly on maintaining the wave patterns, rather than styling freedom. |
4. Body wave VS Deep wave: Which is better?
Choosing the better option between Body wave vs Deep wave has always been a lasting issue for many hair buyers out there, as both of them have their own unique features, perks and drawbacks. These differences even make it harder for hair buyers to settle the argument. However, maybe, instead of choosing which option is the superior one, it is better to pick out the more suitable choice and call it a day.
One common challenge for many hair start-ups out there is to decide between either buying Body wave hair extensions or purchasing Deep wave hair texture for their targeted hair market and customer base. Indeed, although the two textures belong to the same wavy hair category, they still have a completely distinct customer base and target market. Based on this hair startups and business owners can choose their stock accordingly, and make sure that the texture they are purchasing are the most suitable for their market and target audience:
4.1. For Body wave hair
If your business targets these following clienteles, then stocking Body wave hair extensions would be the ideal investment decision:
- Clients wanting elegance and class: as a hair salon owner with more than 7 years experience working as a stylist, I would have to say that, aside from the classic, traditional straight hair texture, Body wave is the only texture that can deliver the same luster and hair shine. Furthermore, thanks to their signature, uniform, loose S-shape wavy texture, Body wave hair extensions appear with a sense of elegance, delivering a polished, sophisticated and classy hair look needed for a variety of occasions. For example, if your clients need a hairdo for a formal gathering, or a professional surrounding, or that they are attending a carpet-worthy event, Body wave hair can provide the needed class and luxury for the occasions.
- Clients wanting low-maintenance hair solutions: nowadays, as women are working 9-5 for their livelihood, many hair buyers have less and less time to spend on daily maintenance and hair care. Therefore, they tend to be interested in manageable, low-maintenance hair products that do not require time-consuming and exhausting salon visits or daily care. In such cases, Body wave and its easy-to-maintain hair use are the most suitable candidate – satisfying the needs and demands for modern women with busy lifestyles and tight schedules.
- Hairstylist or clients wanting flexible hair extensions: these specific hair buyers will have a more demanding requirement for their products. In fact, I, myself, as a former hair stylist, would prefer versatile, flexible hair extensions over stiff ones. When working with Body wave hair, hair stylists or clients can have more freedom in styling the hair as they like: they can straighten the hair to create a sleeker look, or flatten it out to make the texture more natural, or even curl the hair to achieve a tighter texture – all is possible with Body wave → allowing more styling flexibility and creativity freedom for users to personalize and transform their look.
- Caucasian hair buyers: Caucasian women often have a signature straight or slightly wavy hair, which can look somewhat identical to the loose wavy texture of the Body wave. Furthermore, they are also heavily influenced by the Western beauty standards, which prioritize natural beauty over anything else. These characteristics mean that, most of these clients would be drawn to natural-looking hair textures that can blend well with their own and elevate their natural hair look – which the Body wave hair texture is best for.
4.2. For Deep wave hair
Similarly, if your business targets these following clienteles, then stocking Deep wave hair extensions would be the ideal investment decision:
- Clients wanting volume: one major benefit that comes with Deep wave hair is its impressive and gorgeous volume. In fact, thanks to having tighter, more well-defined curls, Deep wave hair strands tend to shrink in length and increase in width and fullness. Hence, when using Deep wave, hair users can actually see a huge increase of volume and thickness to their original hair – perfect for hair users wanting that dramatic, natural and voluminous look to go with their personal style. Furthermore, by having more volume, Deep wave can also provide more coverage for the hair flaws underneath, as well as require less bundles to achieve its final thick hair look. Therefore, for clients wanting the ultimate thickness, yet still prefer a wavy, polished and well-kept texture, rather than the free-flowing, coily kinky pattern, Deep wave is the right one.
- Clients wanting long-lasting curls: Body wave is great and all, but its curls are too easy to stretch out and short-lasting to be used for a longer period. In such cases, Deep wave is the better alternative, as the tight, defined and uniformed curls can stay for an extended amount of time, even after multiple washes and styling. As a result, hair buyers can enjoy such a voluminous, gorgeous look without worrying about having to restyle or retouch it every now and then. Furthermore, with such long-lasting hair textures, end-users would not have to spend a large amount of money on curl-revitalizer – saving them from the trouble.
- African American hair buyers: as previously mentioned, Deep wave texture looks quite similar to the coily, curly hair texture seen in African American hair users, hence, it is often their favourite, as the texture can blend in better into their original hair patterns. Furthermore, African American women are often described as out-going, dynamic and full of energy. Therefore, most of them would be interested in hair that can reflect their personality and natural beauty → more likely to purchase voluminous, bold and defined textures, such as the famous Deep wave.
5. How much is Body wave vs Deep wave hair extensions?
Although both the options are completely different in appearance and versatility, all and all, they are still of the same wavy category. Therefore, in the market, both Body wave vs Deep wave still share the same average pricing range.
To create these specific types of extensions, the hair manufacturers would have to collect raw hair from hair donors, process, clean and sort them into bundles of similar lengths, and texturize them into the final look. So, the pricing for these textures would be the price to produce a standard straight extension, plus the labour cost involved to texturise them. And since Body wave and Deep wave fall into the same texture category, the labour cost for them are somewhat similar, leading to both of them sharing the same unit prices. For example, for K-Hair’s standard 20” body wave or deep wave hair bundle, they would have the same price of $42/unit.
6. Factors affecting the final hair price
However, as the hair market continues to develop over the years, efforts have been made in innovating and diversifying the global hair industry, making it as complex and varied as we see today. With more than 10 years of trading and selling hair, as well as working with multiple hair sellers, I have soon come into knowledge that, there are multiple factors that can affect the hair’s final pricing – factors that my fellow hair business owners would have to pay attention to if they want to maximize your profit:
6.1. Hair density & length
The thicker or longer the hair extension is, the more expensive that it is going to be – this is no news in the market. In fact, thicker, longer hair extensions not only demand more effort made into sourcing and processing, but are also rarer to source, due to the shortage of high-quality hair in the market – leading to their higher pricing range. In the market, the three most popular density levels are Single Drawn (40-45% long strands) – the thinnest and the most affordable; Double Drawn (60-65% long strands in the bundle) – the medium-range thickness; and Super Double Drawn (80-85% long strands) – the thickest and also the most expensive. On top of that, extremely rare, hard-to-find hair lengths such as the 38”, 40” hair extensions are also the most luxurious and limited stock, while the shorter 8”, 10” are much more available and affordable.
6.2. Hair types
Over the years, the types of hair used for extension-making have been diversified into different options, with different pricing ranges. The five most widely available hair types that I’ve often seen on the market are:
6.2.1. Raw hair
Sometimes mistaken with Virgin hair, Raw hair is hair directly cut from the donor and tied into bulk – the raw ingredient used for hair production. Therefore, raw hair is only available in hair bulks. It is also highly affordable, in exchange that you would have to sew it into bundles and texturize the hair yourself.
6.2.2. Virgin hair
The highest hair quality in the market, Virgin hair is collected from one donor only, without any chemical treatment, so, Virgin hair is almost identical to our own natural hair – delivering the most natural appeal and durability. Therefore, in the industry, this hair type is always the most expensive and most in-demand.
6.2.3. Remy hair
The more affordable version of the Virgin hair, Remy hair is collected from 2-3 healthy donors, therefore, it is more widely-available and accessible. Despite having less durability and versatility, Remy hair can still preserve many good traits, such as appearance and longevity. Therefore, it is considered as the balance of both quality and affordability – loved by many buyers in the market
(Tips: if you are a hair start-up with limited capital, you can consider jump start your business with Remy hair, and slowly scale up to Virgin).
6.2.4. Non-remy hair
The lowest grade of human hair out there, Non-remy hair is collected from multiple, unsanitary sources such as trash, bathrooms,… Therefore, the hair strands are heavily damaged and cannot be used for a long time. However, thanks to its questionable sourcing method, Non-remy hair is more widely-available and much cheaper than the other high-quality options.
6.2.5. Synthetic hair
The only non-human hair types in the market, Synthetic hair is made entirely with plastic fiber, designed to copy the look and natural luster of human hair. However, much like Non-remy hair, no matter how shiny it may look at first, Synthetic hair cannot be used for a long time. In the market, Synthetic hair is often at the same pricing range of Non-remy hair, sometimes higher due to advanced production technologies.
6.3. Hair manufacturers
The three most popular international hair manufacturers in the market are China, India, and Vietnam, each country have a different pricing range for their products:
- Vietnamese hair manufacturers (This is also my clients’ most wanted hair source): Vietnamese hair has always been considered as the World’s Finest hair – satisfying the strictest requirements for both appearance and quality. This, combined with their rising hair demands in the market, Vietnamese hair is slightly more expensive than the other two options. However, thanks to the rich local hair source and increasing factory scale, Vietnamese hair vendors are able to keep the price at the most stable, reasonable range.
- Chinese hair manufacturers: Chinese hair vendors are the largest in the market, and thanks to their application of technologies and mass-production, they are able to maximize their productivity and availability → offering a competitive pricing range – slightly cheaper than Vietnamese hair and slightly more expensive than Indian hair.
- Indian hair manufacturers: Indian hair industry is home to the largest hair source in the market, thanks to their crowded population and rich local hair supply → offering the most abundant, available and cheapest hair source. However, when sourcing hair from India, hair buyers should be careful, as many Indian hair vendors collect their hair from unsanitized, unethical sources.
7. Final words
In conclusion, I hope this article has helped clarify the key differences between Deep wave vs Water wave, and given hair buyers and business owners a clearer direction when deciding which option to invest in. For clients seeking dramatic hair looks with full, voluminous and of course, long-lasting curls to offer to the African American hair market, Deep wave is definitely the better fit. Meanwhile, for customers who prefer a feminine, classy, easy-to-manage look, or for business owners targeting the Caucasian market sector, Body wave stands out as the ideal choice.
After settling on the hair textures, the next big challenge is choosing the right suppliers. With how competitive and complicated the industry has become, the global hair market is now full of scammers and unreliable vendors waiting to deceive and take advantage of buyers. I was once a victim myself, losing millions of Rands to these traps, so I fully understand how frustrating and confusing it can be for many hair buyers who simply don’t know who to trust.
Right in the middle of all that mess, when I had almost given up on the industry altogether, I decided to give it one last chance, and that was when I found K-Hair. My very first purchase was just a small sample of three bundles, but the moment I received the hair, I knew I had finally found a trustworthy supplier. The hair wasn’t only beautiful and shiny, but also extremely durable and versatile. I confirmed this after running every test you can think of, burning, bleaching, washing… you name it. And every single time, the hair reacted exactly like authentic, single-donor hair should.
I’ve been working with them for over four years now, and not once have their products caused any complaints. Even my VIP clients with the strictest standards are satisfied. Honestly, thanks to their support and consultation, I’ve been able to select the right textures for my buyers and make smarter investment decisions for my business.
If you’re still unsure about which vendors to trust, K-Hair might be worth considering. The sales executive who handles my orders has always been supportive and professional. If you want to give K-Hair a try, feel free to reach out to her. Her name is Cherry, and her contact details are:
- Website: https://khairvn.com/
- Address: 10A, 171 Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Yen Hoa, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Phone: +8492 633 2545 (WhatsApp)
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KHairFactoryVN/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KHAIRFACTORYBESTVIETNAMHAIR
- Whatsapp: +8492 633 2545
