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Hair Trade Route
Pictures and text, © Adrian Fisk/eyevine/ZUMA Press
Recycled as expensive wigs for the West, or sold for use as raw material for the chemical industry, India's human hair trade has grown into a multi million-dollar industry.
Four types of hair are harvested in India: Temple hair, Village hair, Sikh hair and Barber hair.
Given the mass amounts of faithful Hindus, Temple hair is the most abundant source available. Each year, thousands of worshipers make pilgrimages to temples where their hair is cut off as an act of religious sacrifice, devotion and thanksgiving. This custom is lucrative that temples designate certain women to ensure all the pilgrims' hair is properly braided before its cut off. By having the hair cuticles face the same direction, temples are able to sell the locks to wig makers for big bucks. The Balaji Temple in Tirumala--the second busiest in the world--collects tons of hair each week, thereby generating an estimated annual income of tens of thousands of dollars for the temple.
Village hair is regarded as lower quality than Temple hair because it's derived from women's hair combs and brushes. The hair is collected monthly by what is known as a "hacker." The hair is exchanged for sweets, plastic toys and bindis.
Although no faithful Sikh will admit it, Sikh hair is harvested regularly from men who shave the centre of their head to keep it cool under their turban.
Finally Barber hair, or "Thuku" as it is known, comes from the sweepings off the floor from barbershops.
Once collected, cut, cleaned and sorted the hair is exported for different end uses. The bulk of the hair trade is for wig and hairpiece making. Indian hair is renowned for its quality. Generally it is between 30 cm and 70 cm long, and is bought raw for between $2 and $5 a kilo. Once processed, it's sold to wig makers for around $40 per kg.
Hair is used for a multitude of purposes. Men's Temple hair is used for jacket linings, cosmetic brushes, and is also interwoven with other fabrics to make suits. Lower quality Barber hair is converted into amino acids, which in turn are used in food and medicine.
The hair goes through different cleaning processes depending on its final use. Temple and Sikh hair is first soaked overnight in caustic soda and shampoo, and is then rinsed clean the next morning, and put out in the afternoon sun to dry. It is then taken into the combing rooms where large groups of mostly women take bunches of hair and throw it onto upward facing spikes in a pulling motion. By repeatedly doing this the worker is left with a bundle of hair the same length with shorter strands remaining on the metal spikes. The hair is then tied with cord to create thick bunches, and the ends are cut to precise lengths. It is then ready for export.
Village hair, which is also used for wig making, goes through the same process apart from immediately after collection when the hackers rub it in dirt to increase the weight and hence the value. Thus, when it comes to cleaning, the workers have the laborious task of using a metal spike to undo the knots and shake the dust out of the hair. Hair that is used for jacket linings and cosmetic brushes is washed and dried and then roughly sorted into lengths ready for export.
The low quality Barber hair arrives in big piles. It is carefully sifted through by hand to remove debris such as razors. It is then put into a large machine and chopped into little pieces to be sold and converted into amino acids.
The workers employed in the hair trade are predominantly women who earn around 18 Rupees (35 cents) per day, and for a few Rupees more they can work overtime at night. Conditions vary: some factories are open others lock their workers inside all day. Protective clothing is non-existent--not even gloves for workers who remove razors from Barber hair. Women cover their mouths with their saris to avoid inhaling hair dust belched out by the hair-chopping machines. Children are also used as labourers, often at the first stage of cleaning when a child's small nimble fingers are good at untangling the knots.
