Bengal Edge Global
Buying guide

Single drawn vs double drawn: what you are actually paying for

If you are comparing quotes from Indian suppliers and one is forty per cent cheaper than another for the same stated length, the draw type is usually the reason. It is the single largest cost variable in a bundle of hair, and it is also the one most commonly fudged.

Here is what each term actually means, what it costs to produce, and how to check what you have been sent.

What the terms actually describe

Draw refers to how uniform the strand lengths are inside a bundle. It has nothing to do with cuticle direction, origin, or whether the hair is Remy — those are separate questions, and conflating them is where most buyers get lost.

Single drawn

Hair as it comes off the sorting table. The stated length sits at the top of the bundle, and shorter strands taper through it. In a typical Indian single drawn bundle, roughly 40 to 50 per cent of strands hold the full stated length; the rest fall away below it. The tip of the bundle is visibly thinner than the root.

This is not a defect. It is what naturally collected and sorted hair looks like, and it is the honest baseline product.

Double drawn

Short strands are pulled out by hand, pass after pass, until the bundle sits close to one length from top to bottom. The result is thick from root to tip. A 20 inch double drawn bundle looks substantially fuller at the ends than a 20 inch single drawn bundle of the same weight.

Some suppliers also offer super double drawn, where the process is taken further still. There is no industry standard defining where double ends and super double begins, which is exactly why you should approve a physical sample rather than a label.

Why double drawn costs what it does

The arithmetic is simple and worth understanding, because it tells you when a quote is impossible.

To produce one kilo of double drawn hair, a worker starts with substantially more than one kilo of single drawn and removes the short strands by hand. That removed weight does not disappear from the cost — it was already paid for. On top of the raw material loss, you are paying for many hours of skilled manual labour per kilo.

If a supplier quotes double drawn at close to single drawn pricing, one of three things is true: it is not genuinely double drawn, the base hair is a lower grade than stated, or the bundle is blended.

Ask them to explain the price. A real producer can walk you through the yield. Someone reselling cannot.

How to check what you received

You do not need equipment. You need five minutes and a flat surface.

  • Hold the bundle by the tie and let it hang. Look at the bottom quarter. Single drawn will taper to a visible point. Double drawn will end in a blunt, even line.
  • Measure the tip thickness against the root. Wrap your fingers around the bundle just below the tie, then around it six inches from the bottom. On genuine double drawn, those two feel close. On single drawn they will not.
  • Weigh a section. Cut nothing — just separate a visible portion and compare density top and bottom by eye against your reference sample.
  • Compare against an approved sample, not a description. This is the only method that survives a change of sorter at the supplier’s end.

Which one you should actually buy

This depends entirely on what you make, and the honest answer is that most buyers over-specify.

Buy single drawn if

You are producing machine wefts where the weft is sewn at the root and density is built through layering. You are selling into a price-sensitive market. You are testing a new length before committing volume. Most weft factories buy heaviest in single drawn for exactly these reasons.

Buy double drawn if

Your end customer sees and touches the ends — clip-ins, tape-ins, ponytails, retail bundles sold loose. You are selling at a premium and the fullness at the tip is the thing being paid for. You are working above 22 inch, where the taper on single drawn becomes very visible.

Four questions worth asking before you order

  1. What percentage of strands hold the full stated length in your single drawn? A supplier who works with the hair will give you a range. One who does not will give you a slogan.
  2. Is the double drawn conversion done in-house or bought in? In-house means the draw level can be set to your standard.
  3. Will the draw type be stated on the invoice and packing list? If not, ask why not.
  4. Will you hold a sealed reference sample of what I approve, and check later batches against it?

We sell both, and we label which one you are getting on the invoice. Our double drawn conversion is done in-house, so the draw level is set to your standard rather than ours.

See the full range and specifications, or send us your spec sheet for a quote.

Sourcing Indian hair?

Tell us the grade, lengths and quantity. We quote in a working day, and we will tell you plainly if we cannot supply what you need.

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