Much Ado About Hair Ties

The originals.

I had to see what the hype is all about. Kknekki. I'm out of hair ties anyway. The cheapo ones are too cheapo and they spoil within months. Hair ties simply disappear as well. I have no idea how they do that. Then I'll need new ones. 

Bought a bunch of hair ties from Kknekki. The thing is, these woven hair ties were originally developed and manufactured by Dooji in South Korea. Then the brand was bought over in 2015 and now distributed by Bon Dep, a Scandinavian design brand. That was a standard licensing contract. Then in 2023, Bon Dep and Dooji entered a new partnership agreement. So Bon Dep owns the global Kknekki trademark, and Dooji continues to be Kknekki's exclusive manufacturer.

To that, I giggled. If it's manufactured in South Korea, then we all know how the quality would be like. All our hair things literally come from South Korea now, aside from the usual Chinese suspects. Unlike hair clips which could vary in terms of quality across manufacturers, hair ties are slightly more uniform. And currently, even the fakes try to match the quality of the originals.

Kknekki explains its
branding for AW26.

I also bought a random cabbage brand (山寨貨) to compare. These are like S$4.50 for a stack of eight hair ties. It wasn't at all surprising that the quality is similar. Short of sending these ties in for a lab test, to the naked eye and feel, the fabric, elasticity and all are pretty much the same. 

The plastic bead joints on both were equally smoothly held and didn't 'kiap' any strands of hair. Now the weave. I’m no weaver or fabric expert. The weave is slightly different in its angles. I don't know if the cabbages will hold up in salt water or sweat, or if they would fray quicker. Kknekki apparently holds over 60 individual threads. The cabbages might hold fewer. But both held my hair fine, and both didn't break my hair.

At €3.50 each; €14 for six, and €28 for a box of twelve ties, Kknekki has superb marketing and a credible and fun brand story to price their products as such. Kknekki imprinted its brand name on to the joint. That's the only discernible difference as of now, before any hair tie frays. 

The cabbages vs the originals.