Africa’s growing middle class spending billions of dollars on their hair every year
They’re on almost every street, in shopping malls and beauty stores. Wigs and weaves have become an accessory, a fashion statement or, to some women, a necessity; but for some businessmen, a goldmine.
Indeed wearing a wig looks very simple, but behind this beautiful final work-of-art is an intricate and delicate production web; an assembly line that churns out millions of wigs and weaves.
At the Henan Rebecca Factory, hundreds of women carefully sew pieces of hair into perfection, while others are hand-knitting them. The products are made from real human hair and synthetic fiber.
“We call it hypoing process , our workers will have an introduction process by the R and D to show how final product should look like / we buy raw materials from India or china ….the skilled workers can make 20-30 synthetic a day …hand woven takes 3-4 weeks,” said Zheng Guihua, General Manager, Rebecca Hair Products.
Founded in the early nineties by Zheng’s Father, Rebecca’s initial plan was for the domestic and regional market. But, in just a few years, it had spread to the US, Europe and Africa- where it has two factories in Nigeria and Ghana.
“Africans are said to be spending at least six billion dollars annually on wigs, weaves and braids,” said Zheng Guihua, General Manager, Rebecca Hair Products.
And keeping up with the changing trends is any manufacturer’s challenge ,for Rebecca’s, this means having flexibility to cater for all.
In Africa, products range from as low as 10 dollars per piece of synthetic hair to hundreds of dollars for human hair pieces.
“Synthetic weaves are more popular in the African market. They are affordable , they have many styles and colors / we have to be more innovative,” said Zheng Guihua, General Manager, Rebecca Hair Products.
Rebecca’s now produces 20 brands of weaves and wigs, and exports to more than 40 countries…
However, China remains its biggest high-end market. Pieces retail for as high as eight hundred dollar in its 300 stores across the country
“Wigs for them are like fashion items, a lot of women have different roles in the family …they need to be looking good,” said Zheng Guihua, General Manager, Rebecca Hair Products.
So, with the evolving demands, the hair business certainly doesn’t look like it will be gone tomorrow, and that’s good news for Rebecca’s and many other companies.
