How hair, cut off and sacrificed at Indian Hindu Temples are being sold as expensive Human hair extensions.
It is very important that users of hair extensions are educated on where these hairs really come from. Though some hair extensions come from animals and others are synthetic, a lot of higher-end or more expensive hair extensions from companies such as Great Lengths, actually come from religious temples in India.
According to a documentary 'Hair India' , Hindu pilgrims have donated their hair at Holy temples throughout Southern India for centuries in an attempt to purify themselves and repay debt to their gods.
When companies buy hair from the temple for as much as $700 per pound, it contains sweat, blood and lice.
At the temple, some 650 barbers sit in lines on the concrete floor and tie the women's hair into ponytails before cutting it off. Once large portions of hair are removed, the barbers use a razor to shave each pilgrims head before dousing their head with water to wash away any blood.
The women do not know that their shaved hair is later sold.
A temple in Tirumala made £22 million in a single year from the 'mountains of black gold' it received from local women.
Once hair is collected, bought by companies, it's transported (rolled up in large bales like hay) by road and plane to factories and distributed to workers as many as 350 per site to be processed.
There's a lot of secrecy in the trade. Obtaining hair is not easy, and there's a risk of it being stolen while on transit.
Hair is worth a lot of money. It is known in the industry as 'black gold'.
The first stage in the extension making process is to separate each hair, with women in a factory in China, pictured, taking on the painfully slow and poorly paid job.
The next part is soaking the hair. The cheaper waste is soaked in acid to remove germs. High quality hair is placed in osmosis bath, the exact composition of which is a closely guarded secret.
A mixture of chemicals slowly removes dark pigments without cutting the cuticles, this would otherwise leave it dry and brittle.
The locks are then soaked in a mixture of chemicals making them shiny and, elastic and ready to be dyed, with up to 20 days needed to achieve the right colour.
The hair finally end up in salons all over the world. In Britain, An average client pay between £790 and £1200 for them depending on length and volume.
It is also very expensive in the African market.
So this is it. Next time you fix that bouncy, wavy and curly 100% human hair, have it in mind that it is really Human hair.
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