How Much Does a Human Hair Wig Really Cost?
I am sure you have wondered what the truth is about the prices
of wigs made from European human hair. From shop to shop you
will find a huge variation in prices - anywhere from 300 USD to
as high as 10.000 USD (!). So let me take you through each step
of the process of producing high quality handmade wigs, and show
the real costs.
Firstly, take the acquisition of hair. The cost of hair for one
wig (0,2 - 0,4 kg) varies from 30 to 40 USD throughout most
Eastern European countries. There is little variation there, but
an important additional cost is incurred by high-quality
wig-makers who collect hair in an appropriate and
well-controlled way. The best wig-makers visit hairdressers and
care for the hair themselves, using no middleman. They do not
buy hair from wholesalers because wholesalers blend hair,
because it is so time-consuming to acquire really good hair. One
simply has to find a girl among hairdresser's clients that has
beautiful, healthy hair and who wants it cut.
The hairdresser can offer a free service to such a girl and
actually pay her for her hair - and clearly both sides benefit
from such a transaction. But this shows that, by its very
nature, acquisition of good-quality hair cannot be a simple
large-scale automatic process. That explains why outside of
Eastern Europe the price of acquiring good quality hair is
skyrocketing - not because the hair in itself is expensive, but
because of its rarity. It is difficult to imagine a large-scale
cheap process of acquiring high quality human hair in European
countries.
Second, take the other materials used in making wigs. These are
not expensive and their costs do not exceed 50 USD for a typical
wig. These are the materials used to produce a cap. More and
more wig-makers are now buying ready-made caps, so called
"monofilament", which are gaining popularity and their cost is
not very high.
Third, take the labor involved in making high quality handmade
wigs. This is the main cost factor. Handmade wig needs at least
a week to be produced by an experienced expert worker. It takes
a week of hard work, with each hair being knitted to the cap
with a very small crochet-needle or glued with a special glue.
In the case of long hair, the production time could be two to
three weeks. Reliable wig-makers knit hair with a double-knot
which makes the construction much more durable but needs some
extra work-time. Depending on the type of wig, length of hair
and type of cap the cost of labor is from 150 to 300 USD.
Finally, you cannot forget other typical business costs -
investment's amortization, management costs, taxes, insurances,
rent, and profit. Altogether, the price of a handmade human hair
wig made from European hair cannot be lower than 500-600 USD
even for the shortest hair. There is no upper limit and it only
depends on how much a customer is willing to pay, but before you
pay 1000 USD or more for your wig remember the real costs of its
creation.
And now for a real mystery. Why are European human hair wigs not
made in China where labor costs are much lower than in Poland,
Russia, or the Czech Republic? The main reason is no good
quality European human hair available in large enough quantities
to make profitable large-scale production in China possible.
This is because wig-makers in Eastern European countries are
buying all of the available hair for their own production.
Surprising? - but that is how it is. And that is why most of
wigs produced in China are made of Asian hair or blended hair
widely available on a wholesale market.