I was just watching a recent hype Korean show, where it introduces various dance crews. that has been active in Korean and are often hidden behind the stage and dancing in the background as they let the K-POP idols shine. As I was watching the first few episodes, i noticed that one of the members always brings a wig whenever there is a dance battle of with the other dance crew. It got me thinking, then perhaps the K-POP idol who often appear on stage with different hairstyles of various colours and lengths might also be utilising hair wigs and extensions. This got me reminded to when I just graduated from secondary school, and was still naive as a child, where my mother would not allow me to get my hair dyed. I actually went down to bugis street, second level which had lots of salon or shops that specialises in hair extensions for schooling teenagers like us. Thats as far as a rebel I went, and  not wanting to disobey her weird but sill get a coloured hair. Oh those were such good old, child-like days.

Figure 1: Picture of her Wig in episode 1

Figure 2: Picture of her Wig in episode 3

Just as i thought that the wig and hair extensions trends were dying,  the global wig and hair-extension market estimated to be worth over $10billion by 2023 (Newswire, 2019), it’s no surprise that the demand for synthetic hair has risen exponentially in recent years. The considerably lower price point and versatility, on top of the time efficiency have made it an obvious choice for many.  Environmentally, however, synthetic hair plays a rather sinister role: It’s essentially composed of ultra-fine strands of plastic, and the petrochemical-derived materials such as polyester, acrylic, and PVC are not biodegradable. This means that they ultimately end up in landfills and contribute further to our global waste problem. Synthetic, means combining chemicals to make a product that mimics a natural thing.  Although it is impossible to determine how the fake hair is manufactured, investigation has revealed that the fake hair is made from 10-15 chemicals.  The chemicals are used to synthesis plastic strands of hair, which consist predominantly of acrylics, polyester, silicone, PVC, Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyacrylonitrile (Wilson, 2019), resulting in disposal of large amounts of waste material and environment problems. Synthetic materials make up a lot of waste in landfill, and research is underway to promote reuse or longevity and recycling of wigs.  At present, the same not being sort, for the disposal of fake dreads. There is no way of guaranteeing the quality of Synthetic hair and so same, in not being able to determine how long the fake hair will look and feel good in dreads.  However, according to the resources of my research, fake hair deteriorates quickly, 6-12 months, and needs to be replaced to continue the required effect; in the case of dreads, that’s a fuller volume and length.  It’s also interesting to learn, that Synthetic hair matts and tangles easily with natural hair, in the context of dreads, this means that fake hair will have to be cut off.  Therefore, the continuing disposal of fake dreads, undermines the productive research and action in contribution, to the immediate need to protect and preserve our environment. On top of that, the majority of Synthetic hair is dyed with Synthetic dye.  The Synthetic dye contains components that are carcinogenic, which can penetrate skin easily.  For those with sensitive skin, this can become uncomfortable and at worst, painful.

To an outsider, the solution might seem simple: Who needs wigs, anyway? But for some of the people who wear them, wigs are everything — for cancer patients, and for many women in the natural hair community who choose to wear protective styles.

 

References

Newswire, P. R. (2019). Global hair wigs and extension market to generate revenues of $10 billion during3 – market research by Arizton. Business Insider. Retrieved April 13, 2022, from https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/global-hair-wigs-and-extension-market-to-generate-revenues-of-10-billion-during-2018-2023-market-research-by-arizton-1027930572

Wilson, N., Thomson, A., Moore-Millar, K. et al. Capturing the life cycle of false hair products to identify opportunities for remanufacture. Jnl Remanufactur 9, 235–256 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13243-019-0067-0