‘It’s just thrown away but it’s gold’

Zeeshan Ali has been a drag artist for 10 years and has taken his present throughout India.

Central to his efficiency is a set of round 45 wigs.

“It’s an alter of id, serving to me transition from my on a regular basis self into exaggerated, glamorous or whimsical characters. The appropriate wig makes me really feel extra genuine and empowers me to command the stage,” says Ali, who is predicated in Mumbai.

However getting that look proper wasn’t simple within the early days.

“After I began my profession the accessibility of the wigs was extraordinarily troublesome in India. Most of them have been to be sourced from overseas or I used to make wigs sourced from no matter was out there to me like wool, cloth,” he says.

However issues are completely different now.

“The development is altering. Wigs are now not simply meant for drag or film artists, however many straight girls put on wigs to look completely different. It is now not only a hair accent however a method assertion.”

Indian hair has all the time been in demand for wig-making. The nation is the world’s greatest exporter of human hair, supplying 85% of world demand.

Kolachi Venkatesh, primarily based in Avadi, Chennai, has been gathering hair for 20 years. He began on the backside of the trade as a picker – gathering hair from households and rescuing it from the garbage.

“My dad and mom have been hair pickers after which I began doing the identical,” he says.

Hair collected by pickers from houses, salons and barbershops is named non-Remy hair.

It requires extra processing than Remy hair, which is fastidiously shaved straight from the scalp. Nonetheless, it has worth.

“It’s simply thrown away nevertheless it’s gold,” says Mr Venkatesh.

These pickers usually promote hair to native merchants like Mr Venkatesh for between 10 cents and $1 (£0.80) per kilogram, relying on the standard and size of the hair.

Shorter or broken hair fetches much less, whereas longer strands convey larger costs.

For the person picker, there’s not a lot cash in it.

“A diligent collector would possibly collect 1–5 kilograms of hair in a day, incomes wherever from 59 cents to $6 per day. This revenue stage is commonly beneath minimal wage requirements, significantly in rural areas,” says Mr Venkatesh, who has 50 pickers working for him.

“Whereas our work contributes to a billion-dollar world market our earnings stay meagre. Intermediaries management costs.”

Many of the Indian hair collected by merchants like Mr Venkatesh is exported to China the place it’s made into wigs.

“China has an enormous wigmaking trade which is value 5 to 6 billion {dollars},” says Benjamin Cherian from Plexconcil, the hair trade physique that promotes the Indian trade and liaises with the federal government.

If India needs a slice of the profitable wig market, he says, then it has quite a lot of catching as much as do.

“Once we take a look at China there are a whole bunch of factories unfold throughout the nation which add worth to the hair trade, whereas in India the worth addition nonetheless must be picked up,” Mr Cherian says.

He says the federal government wants to assist promote funding within the hair trade.

“It wants automated sorting techniques, refined hair remedy procedures for the hair collected, progressive manufacturing strategies for manufacturing of wigs which can make India stand out.”

As an alternative of exporting hair for a whole bunch of {dollars}, India needs to be promoting wigs value hundreds of {dollars} says Mr Cherian.

“Now we have began engaged on it nevertheless it’s an extended approach to go. We have to have analysis and coaching centres,” he says.

One Indian enterprise making an attempt to make inroads is Delhi-based Diva Divine Hair, co-founded by Nidhi Tiwari in 2009.

The thought was to create high-quality hair extensions and wigs that will attraction to a broader vary of consumers.

“There’s a rising want for these options because of rising problems with hair loss and thinning amongst girls in India,” says Ms Tiwari.

The corporate has been helped by a shift in perspective.

“As soon as thought-about a distinct segment or taboo subject, wigs and extensions at the moment are brazenly mentioned, because of evolving social norms and a shift towards acceptance,” she says.

Wigs have additionally seen quite a lot of growth making them extra enticing and comfy.

“Applied sciences reminiscent of 3D-printed wigs and digital colour-matching instruments supply extremely personalised choices. Light-weight, breathable wig caps and improved adhesives have given clients to put on it for very long time with out discomfort,” says Ms Tiwari.

On the high finish of the hair market is Temple or Remy hair.

A lot of the availability comes from Hindu temples within the south of the nation the place hair is shaved off in an act of veneration and religion.

Raj Hair Worldwide is likely one of the greatest merchants within the Temple hair enterprise.

Craftsmen on the firm’s Chennai manufacturing facility type and grade the hair based on color, texture and size.

“Remy hair has aligned cuticles, hair flows uniformly in a single path, which results in much less tangling and a silkier texture. That is high-value hair,” says George Cherion, the corporate’s chief govt.

The agency tries to waste as little of the hair as doable. To assist with that it developed a machine to untangle the hair. It is allowed them to work sooner with fewer workers.

“Our mission is to always improve the expertise,” says Mr Cherion.

Enterprise is booming.

“Indian human is in demand globally because of its top quality, pure look, and thinness. The demand is skyrocketing,” he says.

Again in Mumbai Zeeshan Ali needs to see extra Indian wigs available on the market.

In addition to making them extra reasonably priced, he has a design suggestion: “A wig that may create a wow issue.”