Consumer Reports sent 30 braiding hair products to a lab. Lead came back in 29 of them. The one pack with no lead, no arsenic and no cadmium in any sample is a Black-owned synthetic that costs $10 a bundle. Here is the table, brand by brand, with each brand’s response and its price.

This is a buying guide, not a scare video, and the sequel to the braiding hair ownership video: last time was who owns the pack, this time is what the lab found in it. Every number is Consumer Reports’ own, from its February 2026 results table (90 samples, 30 products, 29 brands), after its 2025 test of 10 packs. Lead is milligrams per kilogram, three samples each, against California’s limit since there is no federal one. Prices were pulled late August 2026 and move within days; check the receipt the day you buy.

THE HUMAN-HAIR GROUP (Consumer Reports: “significantly higher lead levels than the other categories”): • Ywigs, Water Wave bulk: the single highest reading in the test, almost 23 mg/kg in one sample. No retail listing quoted. • Mane Concept, Pristine Deep Bulk: lead roughly 11 to 14. A skip; no reliable live price. • Janet Collection, Wet & Wavy Deep Bulk 18″: lead about 7 to 8. $46.97: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FHBPQDHC • Shake-N-Go, Ibiza Afro Kinky Curly: lead about 6 to 8.5. $28.47: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9NNPXC3 • Sensationnel, Empire Wet & Wavy French Bulk 18″: lead around 6. $45.32: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRW41P4J • Indique French Refined 7 to 8, Zury Ultra Deep Bulk 3.5 to past 6, Outre MyTresses Gold Label about 4.5. All human hair, all flagged.