Review: Qingdao Sunflower Hair Brazilian Remy ( AliExpress)

Ali Express has become a new hot spot for ordering virgin hair. You can find some great prices and amazingly quick shipping directly from suppliers overseas.  Unfortunately, you can't actually see or feel the hair you are ordering. Reading reviews on the suppliers' storefront websites and watching youtube reviews can be helpful in making a more informed decision. I am going to share my experiences in hopes of helping anyone out there who may be considering placing an order from one of the Ali Express vendors.

I decided to try Sunflower Hair after seeing a picture of some ombre hair they had for sale.  I liked the idea of hair with a little more texture for summer, and I also had been itching to try the ombre trend. A three piece lot of 16-inch ombre Brazilian remy hair  (in 1B, 4, 27) was $192.00 with free shipping.  The processing time took two days and the hair shipped soon after.  It only took two days to reach me; so the entire process took about five days.

This is how the hair looked when it arrived. There was no odor, and the bundles were thick, but I was a little shocked at how blond the bottom portion was. Based on the pictures of the ombre hair they had for sale, I thought each color would transition into the other a little better.  

Ombre Brazillian Remy ordered from Sunflower Hair (AliExpress)

I washed and conditioned the hair after I took it out the package.  A great deal of yellow dye came out of the hair and the body wave pattern washed right out to reveal a tighter wave pattern.  The blond portion did not have as much wave pattern as the darker portion the ends were a lot thinner than the rest of the hair. Before my install, I decided to dye over the blond ends with L'Oreal Feria Professional Hair Color in Candelit Golden Brown.  This was my first time dyeing weft hair so I didn't get the color I was looking for, but I am glad that I was able to tone down the color that it was.

Installed:  For this install I had a horseshoe leave out with side part.

Here are some pictures of the hair.

Sunflower Hair (AliExpress) Blown Straight and Flat Ironed

Sunflower Hair (AliExpress) Curled with a 1" Curling Iron

Sunflower Hair (AliExpress) Wave pattern when wet. 

Sunflower Hair (AliExpress) Air Dried

The Good:

• Hair shipped fast.  
• No Odor
• Pretty wave pattern when washed.
• Thick bundles.
• Minimal Tangling.
• The texture blends well with African-American Relaxed hair.
• Lots of body

The Bad:

• Lots and Lots of Shedding
• This hair was very dry. If I wanted to wear the hair wavy it had to be co-washed every two to three days.  (For those not familiar with "co-washing" it simply means to wash with only conditioner  to maintain the hair's moisture. I use Organix Coconut Milk Nourishing Conditioner.)
• I also had to used a number of products to keep frizzing and dryness under control including: Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Weightless Healing Dry Oil, Organix Curl Defining Cream, and IC Hair Polisher. 
• Very high maintenance when wearing wavy.  
• The blond dye destroyed some of the wave pattern at the ends.  The ends were also thin, and the blonde dye contributed to the dryness and the shedding as well.

Other Observations

I would have liked to wear the wavy texture more often, but after one day of wearing it wavy it would get extremely dry.  Spraying it with water and leave in conditioner only served to make it look even more dry and frizzy. Co-washing is the only thing I found that left a soft wave pattern that was not frizzy.  Perhaps, I just didn't find the right product, but in the end,  I flat ironed it and wore it barrel curled most of the time.

The hair does frizz and swell up in humid weather which is a plus for those who are natural and wear leave out; it will behave similarly to your own hair.  It's a negative for those with relaxed hair that doesn't frizz as much during humid weather.

Final Thoughts:

I would not purchase OMBRE hair from Sunflower Hair again for two reasons:

1. The hair was thin at the ends.

2. The hair was very dry which caused it to shed a lot.

Note* I was accidentally sent three bundles of  18, 22 & 24 inch virgin Brazilian remy in 1B with this order, and it appeared quite nice.  Once DHL figured out they made an error, they quickly came to get the bundles they mistakenly delivered to me, but I noticed that those three bundles of virgin Brazillian hair looked much healthier than the ombre hair I ordered.   If I did consider purchasing from Sunflower Hair again, I would keep this in mind and only purchase virgin remy hair from them; NOT OMBRE HAIR. I would do my own coloring process at home so I could make sure the color is not left on the hair too long. I believe the coloring process they used on the ombre hair I ordered destroyed some of the wave pattern and dried the hair out considerably. Some of this is to be expected whenever bleaching hair, but the blond portion was frizzy, tangling, and shedding even prior to me installing it.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this review is to offer my objective opinion, so the reader can make an informed decision before buying.  Results may vary on all items I review. Please keep in mind I am not liable for any problems that should arise from trying out a product I review here. Please use any and all cosmetics or items featured on my blog with caution and safety in mind. All my reviews, opinions, and everything expressed here are my own and based on my experience with a product. I am not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned on my blog. I paid for this product with my own money. Anything discussed on this site is expressed as my own opinion and I reserve the right to my own opinion when discussing cosmetics,  and/or other products.