UK celeb look fuels human hair trade
Source: Agencies |
August 4, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A GROWING desire for the glossy, long locks of celebrities in Britain is fuelling a multi-million dollar global trade in human hair, with demand for hair extensions surging in the past year, according to e-commerce website Alibaba.com.
Searches for human hair extensions in Britain jumped 160 percent in the 12 months to the end of June, with salons noting an increase in women seeking to emulate the hair of stars such as former "X Factor" judge Cheryl Cole and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.
"There's been a huge upswing in hair. The celebrity culture has made hair extensions more popular, and everyone wants hair from India," said Linda Kozlowski, head of international business development and marketing, at Alibaba.com.
"With 65 million pounds (US$105.9 million) being spent on various types of hair extensions each year, it's no surprise that UK small and medium enterprises in the beauty sector are looking to capitalise on this growing market," she said.
More glamorous
Britain was the third largest buyer of human hair worldwide behind the United States and China in the period, said Alibaba.com, the only listed unit of China's Alibaba Group.
Over half of the searches were for Brazilian hair, and 29 percent for Indian hair, which has been used for decades in the production of wigs, according to one Indian human hair export website.
"It's really driven by things like Facebook and Twitter, tabloids and magazines. Women are wanting to be more and more glamorous, as a result of this big celebrity culture," said Lucinda Ellery, who has provided hair extensions to a host of celebrities for the past 25 years.
The rise in popularity of extensions is also pushing up the wholesale price of human hair.
"In the last 10 years, it's tripled, doubled and tripled again," said Ellery, with human hair replacing synthetic hair in terms of popularity.
Searches for human hair extensions in Britain jumped 160 percent in the 12 months to the end of June, with salons noting an increase in women seeking to emulate the hair of stars such as former "X Factor" judge Cheryl Cole and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.
"There's been a huge upswing in hair. The celebrity culture has made hair extensions more popular, and everyone wants hair from India," said Linda Kozlowski, head of international business development and marketing, at Alibaba.com.
"With 65 million pounds (US$105.9 million) being spent on various types of hair extensions each year, it's no surprise that UK small and medium enterprises in the beauty sector are looking to capitalise on this growing market," she said.
More glamorous
Britain was the third largest buyer of human hair worldwide behind the United States and China in the period, said Alibaba.com, the only listed unit of China's Alibaba Group.
Over half of the searches were for Brazilian hair, and 29 percent for Indian hair, which has been used for decades in the production of wigs, according to one Indian human hair export website.
"It's really driven by things like Facebook and Twitter, tabloids and magazines. Women are wanting to be more and more glamorous, as a result of this big celebrity culture," said Lucinda Ellery, who has provided hair extensions to a host of celebrities for the past 25 years.
The rise in popularity of extensions is also pushing up the wholesale price of human hair.
"In the last 10 years, it's tripled, doubled and tripled again," said Ellery, with human hair replacing synthetic hair in terms of popularity.
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