The Wig Industry: A Hairy Reality
- Kavya Reddy
- Oct 28
- 6 min read
Writer: Kavya Reddy, UG 2024
Editor: Krithi Kankanala
Most of us fidget with our hair and absentmindedly run our hands through our locks, hardly noticing the strands that fall onto the floor, stick to our clothes, or cling to bathroom tiles. Even when we visit the salon, we see floors covered in hair, and after our haircut, we see the hairdresser sweeping it up in a dustpan, sparing no thought for where it goes afterwards. But what if you were told that your discarded hair is highly valuable? The global hair industry is valued at over $10 billion, and India plays a major role in this market. In 2022, India’s hair exports were valued at USD 144 million, up from USD 15.3 million in 2020–21. However, the hair industry in India is rife with unethical sourcing practices, gendered labour disparities and the involvement of organised crime. This article explores the unregulated nature of this industry and how its exploitation continues to exclude marginalised communities.
Significance of Indian Hair in the Industry
Indian hair is commonly referred to as “Black Gold” due to its fine texture and compatibility with European hair textures. Most Indian hair is also “virgin” or “remy” hair, which refers to hair that has not been chemically treated and is highly sought after. Although hair offerings collected from temples are better suited for wigs, stray hair from combing makes up the bulk of India’s hair exports.
India’s large market share in the hair trade is mainly due to its religious practices, which involve devotees offering their hair at temples as a sacrifice. This hair is particularly prized in the wig industry as it is remy hair. One of the key sites for this Hindu hair tonsuring tradition is the Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati. Both men and women donate their hair, but hair from rural Indian women is highly sought after for its length, natural shine and texture. To deal with the massive global demand for the same, the Temple holds e-auctions of collected hair. In 2019, the temple generated a revenue of over US$1 million (7.94 crore Indian rupees) by auctioning 4,300 kg of hair.
The increase in demand for aesthetic enhancement, cultural identification, and medical applications is one of the major drivers for this growth across geographies and demographics. The rise of social media has also greatly contributed to the popularity of wings, with users mimicking celebrity hairstyles and using wigs for creative expression. There has also been a growing societal acceptance of wearing wigs. This has led to an increase in demand for wigs from people with alopecia, chemotherapy-induced hair loss and hormonal hair loss. Wigs have become a symbol of self-expression and confidence, which has greatly fuelled the hair industry.
Exploitation of marginalised communities
Waste hair collection is a systemic issue, often taken up by poor and ostracised communities that have no other job opportunities and receive no assistance from the government. There are two main ways in which these communities gather hair. These communities gather hair through external means and accumulate their own hair strands that fall out during combing. They comb and sort through discarded waste to find disposed hair, which they then sell. For example, the Waddar community makes a living off selling discarded hair in Ganganagar, Nagpur.
The women from these communities also accumulate their own hair that falls during combings and sell it to make ends meet. One to three days of combing yields a 500-gram ball of hair that could bring in 500 Indian rupees, or almost $7. These women, along with their children, are also forced to move around frequently, in the hopes that they can collect hair from new, untapped residential areas. Their lives are highly unstable, as they have no steady income and often live in makeshift homes to avoid harassment from the authorities.
The worst part of the hair industry is that these communities are unable to fully reap the benefits of their hair, an intrinsic part of their bodies and identities. The value of hair increases as it moves up the supply chain, and thus, they have no inkling of how valuable this commodity becomes. The market value of hair can rise dramatically along the waste chain, sometimes by 50% or much more. It is usually the middlemen and the wig factories that hold a bulk of the profit. This is because the market price of finished wigs and hair extensions is extremely high. Since these marginalised communities are just trying to make ends meet, they are desperate to earn any money they can, and are willing to accept lower prices for their hair. In addition to this, they also have no alternate source of income, which greatly reduces their bargaining power, forcing them to choose between having food on the table and starving.
Illegal smuggling in the human hair industry
The hair trade is also a largely unregulated industry and acts as a hotspot for criminal trafficking networks. Trafficking involves unregistered traders, under-invoicing exporters, and smuggling syndicates operating across borders. A smuggling network connecting Champhai (Mizoram), Aizawl, and Hyderabad was uncovered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which enabled hair shipments to China via Myanmar. The rerouting of shipments and undervoicing are just two of the main ways in which hair is trafficked in India. China is one of the main recipients of trafficked hair, and it is estimated that it processes over 80% of India’s total hair exports. The rise of hair smuggling has led to huge economic losses, job losses and reduced the competitiveness of exporters that follow rules.
According to a CNBC report, the Human Hair & Hair Products Manufacturers and Exporters Association of India (HHHPMEAI) estimates that over 4,10,000 direct jobs and another 1,50,000 indirect jobs have been lost due to smuggling and under-invoicing. The illicit trade in human hair is valued at approximately INR ₹8,000 crore ($964 million USD), severely affecting business in the legal hair market. As a result, the earnings of more than a million families have dropped from INR 12,000 ($140.53 USD) to just INR 6,000 ($70.27 USD). Smuggling has also affected the normal functioning of legal hair factories, which has reduced pay and profits for every stakeholder in the hair industry. There is also a disparity in the effect of the price mechanism on each worker, wherein low-income female workers are hit the hardest.
Lack of regulatory frameworks
Most of the human hair trade acts in secrecy, as it relies heavily on underpaid labour, who often work in hazardous environments, and have no job security.
Hair collectors often avoid disclosing details of their work for fear of being replaced or penalised, which significantly weakens their bargaining power.
Recognising these issues, the Indian government has introduced interventions to combat the issue of illegal human hair trade. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) revised the export policy related to raw human hair (HS Code 05010010). In February 2025, the DGFT reclassified raw human hair from the ‘Restricted’ to the ‘Prohibited’ export category. In addition to this, the government had introduced export licenses for human hair. These measures were implemented to create a licensing trade and reduce illegal trade. Customs authorities have stricter surveillance methods in order to prevent under-invoiced shipments from exiting India. In 2021, Kolkata Customs seized consignments worth approximately INR 7 crore ($0.82 million USD) that were being undervalued for export to Myanmar.
These regulatory efforts have had a positive impact on the hair market, and between 2020 and 21 and 2022–23, the reported value of raw human hair exports rose from INR 123 crore ($14.41 million USD) to INR 1,429 crore ($167.35 million USD), with the average per-kilogram price increasing from $5 to $69.
Conclusion
Despite successful attempts to regulate the human hair industry, bombshell wigs and thick hair extensions come at a cost. A human cost, one that is paid by the blood, sweat and tears of marginalised workers. If we cannot gain control of the reins of hair supply, governments must try to push for demand to be rooted in awareness and ethics. This could come in the form of educating the world about where this glamorous hair truly comes from. It could also involve raising awareness about exploitation in the hair industry and creating a system in which wigs can be ranked according to their origin, with higher ratings given to factories that follow labour laws and regulations. This would provide consumers with transparency, allowing them to make more informed decisions.
But until then, the hair industry will continue to grow roots underground, fed by ignorance, a lack of accountability and concern for the well-being of entire communities.
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