Human Hair Sources - Let's Go Deep!

This is a touchy subject for some...
There are two major sources for human hair...100% human hair, not horse tail, synthetic, grave yard or chop shop hair (my own coinage for hair picked off floors of salons), and hair gathered from questionable sources like goats/sheep, etc.

 I hope you are not surprised, because this is indeed a THING.

Before starting my hair business, i had no idea that these funny hair sources existed! I mean talk about GRAVE YARD! floors of salons!! goats/sheep!!! HA!!!

At least i knew about horse (tail) hair. I had no idea that people gather such hair and treat them with all sorts of chemicals to manipulate the texture...They become the human hair that people spend a small fortune on! In some cases, only time can tell the truth about those hair stories. Even though i have heard people having mild to severe adverse reactions immediately after installation.

So the major sources are India and China. There are other sources, but they don't churn out the volume that India and China churn.
Now this is not saying that every hair that comes from India and China are genuine though. You still have to be weary, do your research.

Genuine hair merchants in India trade temple hair mostly.
Temple hair refers to hair that women donate to their temples, as a form of sacrifice/surrender to their god.

Before now the temples burnt these hair offerings, but have now started holding auctions. They auction the hair for bids, and it has become a multi million dollar venture.

I remember my conversation with an Indian hair merchant, and he hinted about the secrecy the bidding involved, and how he felt Chinese companies were also involved in the bidding.

Another interesting thing i noted was the debate of 'taking advantage' vs 'free will donation'.
A school of thought supports the idea that these donors are being taken advantage of, seeing as they are usually from the 'have not' spectrum, while their humble offering has exploded to mega industry proportions.
Another school of thought feels the donors are exercising their free will, without expectations. "They are simply offering up a priceless gift." In addition, the temples claim to use the proceeds of the auction to build hospitals,schools, etc, which benefits not just them but the masses.

You can make your own inferences, however i have had some clients who prefer Indian/temple hair, because its comes in its raw state, without steam or chemical treatment.

Some others aren't as comfortable with the backstory, no  matter the quality.
I also need to note that not all Indian sourced hair are got from temple donors, but independent donors in exchange for a fee.
Some genuine Chinese hair manufacturers also source hair from temple auctions (very few), a lot,  from indie donors (for a fee).

They then treat the hair with steam, others with chemicals.  This births the different curls/styles you see around.

Most even add polymer bonds, which mimic the molecular structure of real hair.
Therefore, a lot of the human hair people buy, (Malaysian, Russian, Peruvian etc.) are from one and the same source! Also, the grading you see...the higher the grade, the more the treatment.

When purchasing your human hair, do you bother about the backstory?

xo.

Photo credit:various internet sources