The Truth Behind The Human Hair Extension Industry Ethic

In 2020, the global hair extension market size was USD 2.35 billion. Many consumers want to covet natural looks by using real human hair. As a result, many consumers are understandably interested in how manufacturers obtain their products. Human hair industry ethic can be complicated due to a lack of regulation in the industry. Although the voluntary sale of hair can be profitable for many poor women. Ethical issues frequently arise when human body products are treated as capital.

1. What is human hair extension?

Human hair extensions are exactly what they sound like. They are made out of real, human hair from top to bottom, collected from a donor. 

Learn more about human hair with Anka Hair here.

The controversy in human hair extensions come from the uncertainty in the harvesting and collecting of hair from donors as the sources for human hair can’t be proceeded in the factories but by collecting from different places. If you still believe they come from dead people. You should probably read this article as Anka Hair to answer all of the untrue myths around this industry. Our mission is to share industry information with the greatest accuracy possible. But we all know that the internet is bustin’ with misinformation and stuff that’s just plain made-up: click-bait.

2. Do human hair extensions come from corpses or patients?

The first myth that people are curious about is that human hair comes from dead people, or people in prison. There are companies known as “hair collectors” who specialize in sourcing human hair.  Despite what you might have read these companies do NOT harvest hair from corpses!  There is an exception to every rule, most human hair extensions come from live human beings. They get it from people who sell their hair. (Just like some people donate their hair.) On the other side, to some wicked hair collectors they would do anything to make profits and maybe even steal hair from dead people.

Hair in Vietnam is not as rare as gold or too expensive to steal therefore getting hair from dead people is almost unnecessary. And if the donors are sick, their hair is too weak to impossibly process finished products such as curling or pressing, or dyeing  since it will cause hair loss or breakage.   

In Anka Hair, we 100% assure that hair comes from Vietnamese women who are willing to donate or sell their hair for economic reasons. Our hair trading process is very strict when it comes to choosing hair, we ensure that the hair is soft, beautiful and healthy to produce products that last for 2-3 years.

3. What makes human hair extensions industry ethic?

Hair can be considered as one of the most lucrative commodities that women in extreme poverty have access to. This participation in the global marketplace increases the sellers’ spending power, feeds local economies and allows struggling populations to provide for their families. Take Anka Hair, for instance, we collect hair from small villages or remote regions as we truthly hope to help improve the lives of the locals. 

In India, they are popular for their “temple” hair. It’s usually cut from the head of a woman or a child in a ritual blessing. Other buzzwords you’ll hear are “Single Donor Temple Remy Hair,” meaning that a woman or child went to the temple as part of a pilgrimage to venerate the Hindu Remover of Obstacles, Lord Ganesh, offering her hair. And again the money goes to support the good works of the local temple. 

Most commercial hair comes from Russia, Ukraine, China, Peru, and India. Russia has modern technology with high prices, 2 to 3 times higher in the current market. While China being the largest hair exporter is slowly becoming scarce in the near future. In India, its hair has big, thick and easy to grow features.    

4. Human hair extensions are cruel exploitation?

They are originally made with good intention but the fact that collecting hair to give a temporary income to help solve a permanent struggle can easily cross the line into exploitation. Human hair industry ethic become more problematic when sellers become greedy and desperate. The economic crisis in Venezuela has resulted in an influx of needy women selling bundles of hair to help support their families. As a result of the country’s rapid hyperinflation, many Venezuelans are turning to the hair industry for extra income. Vulnerable and impoverished women aren’t always able to haggle with brokers and get reimbursed at market rates. Human hair, like other in-demand sources of capital, is susceptible to theft and poor women are forced to cut their hair. 

Anka hopes to give you accurate information to help you gain a better knowledge about the hair industry and create your trust for this special field. In Anka Hair, our mission is to give you clear and concise information about our products. To Anka Hair it is extremely important to the hair’s source as they must be transparent, especially based on the seller’s willingness, without supervision, without taking the hair of the dead or the patient.

Whatever sparked your love affair with hair extensions, please appreciate them and don’t let fake information or uncertain myths decrease your love for it. Every single hair is in good care of hair donors. In fact, they take a long time to nurture such a length. So when you use them, take good care of your hair, cherish it like an important part of your body.