Why Are Most Human Hair Wigs Made of Asian Hair?
At first sight the answer seems very obvious - they are cheaper.
And of course that is true. But in fact Eastern European hair is
not that much more expensive - the amount necessary to make a
good wig is about 30-50 USD in Poland or Czech Republic. That is
not a fortune if you are going to spend a few hundred dollars on
a wig. So what is the catch?
The problem is on the supply side. There are over 2 billion
people in Asia and only 200 million in Eastern Europe. Most of
people in Eastern Europe have no need to sell their hair for
economic reasons. Moreover, I don't have to emphasize how rare
it is in rich Western European countries to sell one's hair.
That is what makes European hair rare and explains why local
wig-makers purchase only the amount necessary for their own
production. Outside of Eastern Europe, due to its rarity, the
price of the best European hair (so called "raw virgin hair") is
skyrocketing.
Hence 99% of human hair wigs are made of Asian hair. This hair
is marked by such trade names as "human hair" or "remy hair". If
the producer or a sales person does not state directly that the
hair is exclusively European, you can be 100% sure that you are
dealing with Asian hair.
Asian hair is by nature very dark (black), very straight and
thicker than European hair. Subject to a complicated process of
a pigmentation removal, the hair looses its natural shine and
resilience. Before it finally gets to you it will be dyed
several times using synthetic chemical products, which no one
would use to dye their own hair. Such a hair has a tendency to
show a ting of a dark or red color. This is why it has to be
dyed several times and go through a bleaching process. That way
any color can be obtained, but hair structure gets damaged
during the process. It is not pleasant to the touch anymore and
even after as little as twenty weeks it will loose its shine and
become dull.
Another issue concerns the manner in which the hair is obtained.
It is not planned from the start with the thought of creating
wigs. Hair is cut in random hair salons. Part of the hair also
comes from ritual ceremonies of cutting of the hair as a sign of
entering into adulthood. Such hair in the fervor of the ceremony
falls to the floor and is gathered from there and placed in a
great pile. In the process the hair is turned against and
opposite to each of its strands and not layered in the same
direction. Although it may not seem so at first, this does
change the fundamental significance in the quality of your wig.
Every strand of hair has a coarse cuticle, which clings to the
cuticle of the neighboring hair if they are layered in the
opposite direction. In effect hair is twisting and intertwining
into a hair clump so difficult to comb out. The only method for
solving this problem is to completely remove the natural
cuticle, which is then replaced with a silicon one that gives
the hair its shine. It is a brutal and destructive process -
such a wig will maintain its sheen no longer than for a period
of 4 to 12 weeks. After that time hair becomes dull and
unattractive.
The best Asian hair comes from India and Pakistan. In reality,
it is not much better than hair described above. The advantage
is that this hair is less stiff and may have a natural tendency
to from slight waves. For that reason, many producers claim that
it has the same qualities as European hair, which is not true.
If only there were more Eastern Europeans, life of wig-makers and their clients
would be simpler, heh?