So what is so special about Kanekalon Jumbo Braid anyway?
So, Jumbo Braid… Why is everyone so into this stuff? What is it? Quite simply is a type of synthetic fibre first invented and produced in Japan. It’s loved for its variety of colours and the fact that it shrinks, curls and seals in heat. These factors make it the perfect braiding and synthetic dread making material. Its texture is slightly crimped, which means that it grips well to the hair when braiding, and can also be backcombed and will hold styles very easily.
Every large company producing hair, has their own Jumbo Braid, and we stock some of the most favoured brands. Jazzy being the favourite for its ease of use and range of colours, closely followed by LA Trend and Sensationnel. All brands providing Kanekalon Jumbo Braid that is lovely to work with.
There is also Lexy, a type of Kanekalon PP Jumbo Braid that is mostly shiny in texture and has a higher heat resistance than the other brands. It is often bought in from china by smaller companies and rebranded as their own, but we like to label it as its original brand to avoid confusion, as the hair is a slightly lower quality than the other brands we carry.
There have been varied reports from customers about Lexy hair not sealing. So to clarify this, a comparison:
- Jazzy, LA Trend, Sensationnel – Backcomb easily, twist and shrink into place when heat is applied.
- Lexy – Backcombs slightly harder due to the shiny texture, twist and seals without shrinking. The heat will set the hair in place, but will not shrink tighter. This can seem a little off putting when making dreads, but it is perfectly usable and has some lovely colours.
It is best to invest in a hand held steam cleaner/steam gun for making dreads, as this will have a high enough heat to seal all brands of hair without any problems. You can pick one up for about £30 from Argos or Halfords.
One thing that has always been an issue with Jumbo Braid, is the range of colours. Over time, some will be discontinued and customers miss those colours. Due the popularity of the fibre, the demand for more and more colours is high. As a result of this we have spent a significant amount of time sourcing factories, buying in samples, getting fibre made, sending it back, getting it made again etc… until finally we were happy with the result and now have a range of over 120 colours to produce for our own brand. The first one was OLIVE, which is available to buy already and has had great reviews so far.
The texture of our hair is mostly matt and feels quite heavy, it’s slightly crimped and backcombs beautifully. It also has a similar heat resistance to Jazzy, so is easily sealed and will shrink into place like you would expect with a high quality 100% Kanekalon fibre.
We have two more colours on their way to us at the moment, and we would love to show you a preview of what is to come, but unfortunately due to the nature of the internet and prying replicating eyes, we need to keep this to ourselves until they arrive and are up for sale. We are sure you can all understand that a lot of extremely hard work has gone into getting this right and having it produced, so we are very proud of it and are doing it so you lovely braiders and dread makers can have more colours than you ever imagined!
