Ethical Beauty – what does that mean to you? For some people it means using beauty products that are not tested on animals. That certainly is a consideration. However, what do you know about Ethical Hair? As I purchased groceries in the supermarket today, I observed 3 youngish women who had weaves.  I wondered if they knew whether the hair they donned so beautifully had come from a source, which was using an ethical business model.

Whose hair is it anyway that we are buying, and who is getting the business?  Chris Rock discovered a $9 billion industry, and that was in the year 2009!   Yes, “the real hair for sale industry” is presently one of the largest businesses in the United States.

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For those of you who care about the source of  human hair you buy, below are some of the things I discovered as I searched for information about “ethical hair”.  As always, at the end of the paragraph, click the link for more detailed information.

♦ Great Lengths sources their hair from the Hindu Temple, Tirumala, where the traditional religious ceremony “tonsuring” is practiced. Entire families (men, women, children, grandparents) make the pilgrimage to the temple to voluntarily have their heads shaved. This act of thanksgiving typically takes place before or after a momentous, joyful event. via Our Hair Source | Great Lengths.

♦ Great Lengths Introduced their Setting Fair Standards Stamp. Setting Fair Standards Criteria:

• Every strand has been donated willingly and with the full consent of the donor
• The donor has been treated with respect and care
• A fair and reasonable price is agreed for the hair and the money used to procure the hair is used solely for charitable endeavours, not for personal or individual profit
• A company representative procures the hair to cut out unreliable middlemen and ensure full and direct knowledge of the hair’s origin
• Exclusive in-house production process is used from      procurement of the hair to wholesale selling the extensions to ensure full traceability via Hair extensions | Setting Fair Standards.

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I realize that many of my readers may not live in the UK, so I checked a little further for a salon in the US that might be able to give you more information. One of only five certified in all 3 Great Lengths Hair Extensions in the US, and the only one in the NYC, New York Area. via Great Lengths | NYC Hair Salon Blog.

I hope this is helpful.  Stay beautiful!