Hair extensions - Virgin Hair vs Non-Remy

My earlier blog on hair extensions makes it amply clear that many sources of virgin hair are just brand names and not real sources. Indian Remy hair is largely sourced from temple auctions. Each year the temple sells around 30-40 MM US$ worth of hair. Hair companies purchase the hair in bulk at the temple auction, clean it and wash it to sell as hair extensions in the market. The bulk of high-quality Indian hair is imported in the USA and Europe. As a buyer of hair extension, this information is very valuable. As I connect the dots, the hair sold at source is only 30-40MM $ where total hair product import of US alone is upwards of 1.5 BN $.

Where is this additional hair coming from? It definitely is not temple hair as the total quantity of temple hair is limited and cost of temple hair at the source itself is expensive. Very few other countries export virgin hair. It is not even in 10's of millions. While India has the largest sources of virgin hair,the source is only producing part of total hair production in India. India exported 317 MM $ of raw hair in 2015. A large part of the hair comes from the export of raw hair which is non-Remy and is processed in China. The non-Remy hair becomes part of cheaper hair extensions which are sold in different geographic names like Brazilian Hair Extensions or Peruvian. Thus, it is very critical for the buyer to realize that reliable and accurate testing of hair extension is important. Prarvi has been working on developing few methods for testing hair extensions with scientists and experts.I will provide details on them in later blogs. Meanwhile,if you are purchasing hair extensions with a particular geography name,be cautious and check it against the data. Does this country really export hair? Also, if you have any ideas on scientific thoughts or ideas on testing, please feel free to write to me at preeti@prarvi.com