There is no doubting the facts, over the last few years hair extensions have dramatically increased in popularity. More than 79,000 tonnes of human hair was imported last year, and that’s just into the US. A very popular type of hair which is used for adding human hair extensions is Indian hair. Which leads us to ask the question:
Where does Indian hair come from?
The obvious answer is India. But who are these people that are providing the hair? Indian hair comes from two sources:
Sources Of Indian Hair:
1. Source 1 – Hair Tonsuring: Hindu devotees offer their hair to temples throughout India. An example is the Venkateswara Temple in Southern India, where on average 50,000-100,000 pilgrims visit daily (more than the Vatican and Mecca). From this temple alone, 1 ton of human hair is offered EVERY DAY. The practice of tonsuring doesn’t provide any money for the women offering the hair, instead they hope to be repaid with blessings.
The temples sell the hair to wig and hair extension companies around the world. The profit the temples make from the hair is used to fund charity programs and improve local infrastructure such as improve roads to the temple.
2. Source 2 – Dead Hair: Only 25% of Indian hair comes from temples. The rest comes from salon floors or hair brushes and is referred to as dead hair or non-remy hair. Local Indian women will comb their hair 2-3 times a day and collect the hair. They can then sell this hair to help pay the bills. To give you an idea of what they make from their hair, about 60 women who combine their hair will make about $2.50 a day. This hair is considered very poor quality because the hair cuticles are all messed up and face different directions. The hair is non-remy and if you ever have extensions that matt within a few days and are completely unmanageable, the chances are you’ve had this hair added to your head.
Unfortunately there is also a dark side to hair offerings in India. Some women are forced to cut off their hair so that it can be sold for a profit. It is difficult to get an accurate idea of how much hair is sourced in this way.
So is it ethical for Westerners to add hair extensions knowing that they could have come from unethical sources? I think that is up to the individual to decide. My opinion is that if no-one bought hair extensions or wigs made from Indian hair, the effect on poor Indian communities would be far more severe. Going back to the Vankasatwara Temple, they make 6 million a year from selling hair. Think what would happen to this temple and it’s community if these funds were stopped. My hope is that developing countries like India will get to the point where they don’t need to resort to drastic measures like cutting off other women’s hair to make a few dollars.
Tags: indian hair, temple hair
