Where does the hair for fashion wigs and hair extensions come from? The answer is everywhere, but most of it comes from China and India, where human hair is a big business. In South India, many temples profit from the hair donated by pilgrims as part of religious sacrifices—often without the donors knowing how much money is being made. The donors, many of whom are poor, never receive anything in return. The Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations. It’s also one of the most visited pilgrimage sites, attracting 50,000 to 100,000 visitors daily. Many of these devotees participate in tonsuring, or ritual shaving, as part of their pilgrimage. Every day, 500 to 600 barbers shave over 20,000 heads. The hair is collected in baskets every six hours and stored in a large warehouse, where it’s piled knee-deep. The hair is then untangled, sorted by length, grade, and color, and washed, treated, and dried in the sun. Indian hair is particularly valuable because it’s naturally silkier, and most rural women who donate their hair haven’t used artificial dyes. Some hair has never been cut before. The highest quality hair can sell for as much as $800 per kilo. Shorter hair is used for products like mattresses, oil filters, or even to extract amino acids.
