From Food To Fashion, The Thriving Market In Human Hair

[Raistlin]

There's no such thing as a bad hair day for some people.

Not for the chef using it to get the perfect pizza crust, or the fashion designer charging up to £20,000 for clothes created using human hair. Certainly not for the hairdresser charging up to £2,500 for extensions.

Last year alone nearly £15m worth of treated human hair - it has been washed and sometimes dyed - was imported into the UK, according to Customs and Excise. It comes mainly from India, China and Europe. On top of that almost £10m worth of wigs, false beards, eyebrows and eyelashes made from the stuff were also imported. Those in the trade estimate the hair extension industry alone is worth £60m in this country, although there are no official figures.

When it comes to our tresses, the rarest and most expensive is natural blonde hair, says Des Tobin, a professor of cell biology at Bradford University, who has studied hair and the trade.

"About 90% of the world's population has dark brown hair," he says. "It's actually really hard to get natural, adult hair that is blonde.

The rarity of hair colour will dictate the price. Blonde hair can cost up to three times as much as dark hair."

European hair, which tends to be finer and so easier to work with, is more sought after in the UK. The price for 100g of blonde, European hair is about £1,000.

So what is our hair - right down to the clippings from a hairdresser's floor - used for?

The thought may be an appetite killer, but human hair can be used to make an additive that is found in foods such as the dough for pizza crusts and bagels.

Your mop top is a rich source of L-cysteine, an amino acid that can be extracted from hair and used as a flavour enhancer or flour improver.

It is sometimes listed as E920 on food packaging.

As well as being found in dough it can be used to give food a meat-like flavour, especially in dog food.

Ten to 15 years ago human hair was a main source of L-cysteine. Producers, mainly based in China, extracted it from hair clippings from salons, even strands collected from hairbrushes.

Amino acid from hair can be used in food

But as people became more aware of what was in their food, they simply didn't like the thought of human hair having anything to do with what they ate.

More Chinese people also started perming their hair, which made extracting the amino acid more difficult.

"As more people found out where L-cysteine came from they thought 'yuck, human hair, don't fancy that'," says a spokesman for Premium Ingredients, a major distributor of ingredients for the food, fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. "It was also extracted from mainly Chinese hair because it is straight, making the process much easier and cheaper.

But more and more people started using perm lotions which made the process more complicated and costly."

Now L-cysteine comes mainly from chicken and duck feathers, which can be collected in larger quantities than hair. In recent years it has also started to be manufactured synthetically. Premium Ingredients, for one, no longer uses human hair.

"People find this more palatable," says the spokesman.

The synthetic stuff can also be eaten by vegans and is considered by most to be halal and kosher.

[Bizarra]

A Latvian Lady, visiting her relations here in our town, had hair reaching down to her heels.

She decided to have it cut & sold amidst a great fanfare of publicity. I think she is reported to have been paid Euro800 for it, in which case she wuz robbed

She wanted to use the cash for presents for her family & flight home

[Raistlin]

A Latvian Lady, visiting her relations here in our town, had hair reaching down to her heels.

She decided to have it cut & sold amidst a great fanfare of publicity. I think she is reported to have been paid Euro800 for it, in which case she wuz robbed

She wanted to use the cash for presents for her family & flight home

Agains with the Latvian ladies, do you keep some in your basement

[Bizarra]

Wouldn't you ?

You have seen the videos of the Latvian Blondes No harm in giving them accommodation,as long as they don't escape to spill the beans

[Raistlin]

Wouldn't you ?

You have seen the videos of the Latvian Blondes No harm in giving them accommodation,as long as they don't escape to spill the beans

Spill the beans.. You have them cooking as well

[Bizarra]

Wouldn't you ?

You have seen the videos of the Latvian Blondes No harm in giving them accommodation,as long as they don't escape to spill the beans

Spill the beans.. You have them cooking as well

Of course You know where every woman's place is... Barefoot, pregnant & in the kitchen

I wouldn't want them to feel out of place or lack the feeling of home

[Raistlin]

Not sure about the pregnant bit :D

[Bizarra]

Not sure about the pregnant bit :D

Accidents DO happen

Oops I see a PM just come in Maybe we've gone a bit overboard again I get carried away when we start the banter & I've a good sup of red Wine down me

[Raistlin]

Fools rush in....

[Bizarra]

Fools rush in....

But I'm an Angel

[Raistlin]

Fools rush in....

But I'm an Angel

You could be....

[Bizarra]

Fools rush in....

But I'm an Angel

You could be....

I know And when I'm flying around in heaven, in my flimsy robe & no Knickers,

I'll make sure to dump on you if St Peter lets you in :lol2:

[Raistlin]

Fools rush in....

But I'm an Angel

You could be....

I know And when I'm flying around in heaven, in my flimsy robe & no Knickers,

I'll make sure to dump on you if St Peter lets you in

I already have a date with the dark side...

[Bizarra]

Fools rush in....

But I'm an Angel

You could be....

I know And when I'm flying around in heaven, in my flimsy robe & no Knickers,

I'll make sure to dump on you if St Peter lets you in

I already have a date with the dark side...

I'll be genuinely delighted to finally meet you in person ........... Wait a minute,...........for all Eternity ?

[Raistlin]

You lucky punter :D

[bothwell_buyer]

and I thought hair was the main constituent of cornish pasties!

[Raistlin]

No, It's Lorne sausage and Rowan jelly

[bothwell_buyer]

wrong... lorne sausage is made from cats, and rowan jelly from congealed blood of stroke victims (shame)