‘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 identification, 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.

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

However issues are totally different now.

“The development is altering. Wigs are now not simply meant for drag or film artists, however many straight ladies put on wigs to look totally 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 largest exporter of human hair, supplying 85% of worldwide 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 mother and father have been hair pickers after which I began doing the identical,” he says.

Hair collected by pickers from houses, salons and barbershops known as non-Remy hair.

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

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

These pickers sometimes 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 deliver larger costs.

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

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

“Whereas our work contributes to a billion-dollar international 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 a number of catching as much as do.

“After we have 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 methods, subtle hair remedy procedures for the hair collected, modern manufacturing strategies for manufacturing of wigs which is able to make India stand out.”

As a substitute of exporting hair for a whole bunch of {dollars}, India needs to be promoting wigs value 1000’s of {dollars} says Mr Cherian.

“We’ve began engaged on it nevertheless it’s a protracted technique 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 Krishan Jalani in 2019.

It’s at present managed by chief government and co-founder Nidhi Tiwari.

The concept was to create high-quality hair extensions and wigs that may attraction to a broader vary of shoppers.

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

The corporate has been helped by a shift in angle.

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

Wigs have additionally seen a number of growth making them extra enticing and cozy.

“Applied sciences corresponding to 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 prime finish of the hair market is Temple or Remy hair.

A lot of the provision 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 among the largest merchants within the Temple hair enterprise.

Craftsmen on the firm’s Chennai manufacturing unit kind and grade the hair in accordance with color, texture and size.

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

The agency tries to waste as little of the hair as attainable. 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 as a result of its prime quality, pure look, and thinness. The demand is skyrocketing,” he says.

Again in Mumbai Zeeshan Ali needs to see extra Indian wigs in the marketplace.

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