If you are conscious about the exploitation of animals for human consumption, you may also be concerned as to whether the hair extensions on your head have their own share of ethical and exploitative issues—here’s what the “vegan pros” had to say.
So are hair extensions vegan? Seeing as the hair trade industry is un-regulated, thousands of poor people “donate” their hair in return for absolutely nothing or a few dollars. Since humans can be defined scientifically as animals, it can be said that hair extensions are an exploited animal product—therefore hair extensions are NOT vegan.
That being said, this is a pretty controversial issue and it is certainly subjective. If you care about the environment and others, you may have decided to purchase synthetic extensions instead—but what if I told you that you are causing even worse harm to the environment?
Is SYNTHETIC Hair Extensions Vegan?
While synthetic hair may look very similar to human hair, it is actually made from low-grade acrylic that is heated up and made into strands that look like individual hair fibers. This means that it is not natural and did not come from a live human’s head, meaning nobody was exploited for their hair.
So does that make them vegan?
Synthetic hair extensions are not vegan because synthetic hair is made from ultra-fine strands of plastic that are simply not biodegradable—this means that the waste produced from synthetic hair extensions is unable to break down, therefore building upon the planet for millions of years to come.
Here are 3 key criteria that need to be met for someone to be vegan:
- Abstain from the use of all animal products, whether it be eating the actual animal or any of its byproducts (cheese, milk, etc).
- Boycott any clothing and other products that involve animal exploitation, such as leather and fur, cosmetics, etc.
- The prevention of animal suffering and any kind of man-made environmental degradation.
Are Hair Extensions Ethical?
Even those of you who are not vegan will still likely be concerned about the ethics of the hair trade in general. Many of us like to believe that our extensions were sourced ethically from the donor, but this is most often not the case. Check out this disturbing video below:
As mentioned above, most hair is sourced from poverty-stricken countries where the women are coerced or pressured into cutting off their hair for extremely small sums of money, but in most cases, they receive nothing at all.
Scarily enough, agents are sent out to rural villages for the sole purpose of tracking down women and girls who have “pure, untouched” hair. In other words, their hair has not seen the touch of a hair straightener and is, therefore, free of any damage.
In many cases, the parents give consent on behalf of the young children to have their hair removed due to the fact that they desperately need the money. This can be traumatic for young girls, and can negatively affect their self-esteem.
In fact, there is so much money to be made from the hair trade that there have been cases of young women and girls being attacked and having their hair forcibly removed if they do not consent.
Once the hair has been extracted, it is usually chemically processed in factories and often mixed with other synthetic substances and sold off as 100% real hair when it is not.
Finally, the hair is sold for thousands of dollars to rich Westerners, while the donors see next to nothing of the profits and remain in poverty.
In fact, most of the Hindu women who “donated” their hair to the Gods, had absolutely no idea that their hair was being removed only to be sold, processed and worn by other people in exchange for money.
“Salons in the UK charge between £600 and £2,000 for a full head of human hair extensions.”
Mirror, UK.
Doesn’t sound very ethical, does it?
5 Vegan-Friendly Hair Extension Alternatives
If you are wanting to purchase, or replace, your hair extensions with a more vegan-friendly, ethical approach then I’ve got you covered.
Fortunately, there are companies out there who do care and work closely with communities to ensure that they are making a good livelihood from the business and are not exploiting them.
- Aashi Beauty extensions. After doing some research on this company, their values include helping animals and the environment. They offer 100% vegan, all-natural, cruelty-free products that are manufactured in the USA. The hair is 100%, Indian Remy, meaning it has not been chemically processed or tampered with. They also donate money to charity for every purchase you make.
- Beauty Works. This company is one of the most world-renowned hair companies out there, with over 10 years in the field. They supply the world’s most trusted and respected salons, with a diverse collection. Just a note, expect to pay big money.
- Ayune Hair. This company was by the most impressive when it comes to research and ethics. Ayune is a Javanese, Indonesian word for “exceptionally beautiful.” The women involved are remunerated generously for their hair and is a stable source of income for them and their families. They are also partnered with a non-profit organization that works towards educating young children.
- Locks of Love. This heartwarming organization works towards accepting willing donations for children who have cancer or other disadvantages that result in them suffering from hair loss. They do not make a profit off the donated hair and work towards bettering the lives and self-esteem of young children.
- Grow your own hair. This one may be both the most obvious and the most vegan-friendly option. Growing your own hair naturally has absolutely no exploitative or environmental effect on anyone, and it doesn’t even have to cost you. You can simply rub coconut or castor oil in your hair and leave it for a couple of hours to soak. Additionally, there are quite a few supplements and products that work really well towards assisting with hair growth.
INSIDER TIP: There are other websites that also claim to be “vegan-friendly.” An easy way to catch them out is to check the price. Vegan-friendly hairpieces do tend to be slightly more expensive, so use your discretion
If a company claims to be “vegan-friendly” yet their products are extremely cheap, this may be a red flag that their claims simply are not true.
Conclusion
Since the purpose of veganism is to minimize your personal contribution to animal suffering and exploitation, it is safe to say that wearing hair extensions or wigs, whether synthetic or natural, is in some way negatively impacting the health and environment for all living beings on the planet UNLESS the hair is sourced from donors who willingly gave their hair with full knowledge of what it will be utilized for.
Related Questions
Are wigs vegan? Seeing as a wig is made from either plastic, human hair or animal hair, it can be argued that wigs are probably not vegan. The only way your wig could be considered vegan is if the hair was harvested from a willing human donor who was paid substantially for their hair, while also being aware of where their hair will be utilized once removed from their being.
Is Kankelon hair vegan? Kankelon hair is made out of Modacrylic fiber, which is plastic. Since Kankelon hair is simply a higher quality man-made synthetic fiber, it would not be considered vegan due to the impact that plastic waste has on the environment.