Crowning glory, may be crop of gulag
THEY can transform crop-haired tomboys into Botticelli Venuses in a matter of minutes. But the growing number of women with extensions made from human hair may unwittingly be carrying a dark secret.
The trend, popularised by the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue and Elle McPherson, means salons are struggling to meet demand from women who are delighted to pay £2,000 for longer and thicker hair without having to wait for it to grow.
The Times has discovered the latest trends may originate in Russia's notorious prisons. To meet the demand in the West for the extensions, convicts in Russia are having their heads illegally shaved. Supplies are also be taken from children and mental patients. The freshly shorn locks may then be then sent to London's salons where they are glued on the existing hair of their wealthy clients. Mrs Beckham has admitted: "My extensions come from Russian prisoners, so I've got Russian cell-block H on my head."
That throwaway comment to The Sunday Times has led to claims that women in Russian detention centres are having their hair illegally cut off for the profit of warders. Lyudmila Alpern, deputy director for the Moscow Centre for Prison Reform, said: "If you go into a detention centre with long, beautiful hair, there is very little chance you'll come out with it intact.
"They say to the women that they have to cut hair for hygiene, because of lice, but that is not true. Wardens cut the hair because they want to have a bit of business on the side." There is no suggestion Ms Beckham's extensions were illegally sourced. Her hairdresser, Feleny Georghiou, said: "Although the hair is from Russia, it is not actually from prisoners."
Simon Forbes, the celebrity hairdresser who invented the extension technique, described the practice as "immoral".
He said that women were left in the dark about the origin of their extensions and would be horrified if they understood "the gravity of the situation in terms of supply of the product".
Mr Forbes, who uses only artificial monofibres for his extensions, said:
"We're hearing all sorts of real horror stuff at the moment. Why do women with lots of money in their pocket have to walk around, albeit unwittingly, wearing hair from what could be a Russian prisoner?" William Sankey, editor of the Good Shopping Guide, an ethical directory, said several salons had voiced concern about the origin of the human hair. "A lot of hair is coming via Russia and the whole area is a real minefield," said Mr Sankey.
"We've had reports that some of it has been cut off women in asylums and women in prisons. The point we want to make is that the consumer should be made aware of this before making a decision."
The import and use of unworked human hair is not subject to quality controls, duty or any form of regulation in Britain. A spokeswoman for Customs and Excise said: "Because there are no restrictions against human hair we wouldn't know where it came from." Previously most human hair imported hair imported into Britain originated in India and China.
Sixty per cent of the hair exported by India comes from Tirupati temple at Andhra Pradesh, where up to 15,000 pilgrims ritually shave their heads every day. Now however, there is growing demand for "European" hair from Russia or Ukraine as it is finer than Chinese or Indian hair and more authentic-looking when matched with white-skinned Britons.
A spokeswoman for Racoon International, which supplies human hair to more than 1,000 British salons, insisted its hair was sourced from "reliable wholesalers". Connect, a London-based company which supplies real hair to another 500 salons, said its "European" hair was collected in Russia but claimed that theirs came directly from salons within Russia. Lucinda Ellery the managing director of Lucinda Ellery Hair Solutions, said:
"We've got several merchants, we don't ask our merchants where the supply is from. Hair is rather like diamonds, you never know where it comes from.
"There is no doubt that if there was a suspicion about dubious suppliers they would immediately be boycotted." A spokeswoman for the wholesalers shop4hair.com also refused to give details of its suppliers, citing competition.
"I have no idea about that. I just buy it from my suppliers, but it's certainly not from prisons," she said. "I trust my supplier completely."
- Stefanie Marsh and Clem Cecil
Nota:
Esta informação foi confirmada por um Alto Funcionário do Conselho da Europa.
The trend, popularised by the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue and Elle McPherson, means salons are struggling to meet demand from women who are delighted to pay £2,000 for longer and thicker hair without having to wait for it to grow.
The Times has discovered the latest trends may originate in Russia's notorious prisons. To meet the demand in the West for the extensions, convicts in Russia are having their heads illegally shaved. Supplies are also be taken from children and mental patients. The freshly shorn locks may then be then sent to London's salons where they are glued on the existing hair of their wealthy clients. Mrs Beckham has admitted: "My extensions come from Russian prisoners, so I've got Russian cell-block H on my head."
That throwaway comment to The Sunday Times has led to claims that women in Russian detention centres are having their hair illegally cut off for the profit of warders. Lyudmila Alpern, deputy director for the Moscow Centre for Prison Reform, said: "If you go into a detention centre with long, beautiful hair, there is very little chance you'll come out with it intact.
"They say to the women that they have to cut hair for hygiene, because of lice, but that is not true. Wardens cut the hair because they want to have a bit of business on the side." There is no suggestion Ms Beckham's extensions were illegally sourced. Her hairdresser, Feleny Georghiou, said: "Although the hair is from Russia, it is not actually from prisoners."
Simon Forbes, the celebrity hairdresser who invented the extension technique, described the practice as "immoral".
He said that women were left in the dark about the origin of their extensions and would be horrified if they understood "the gravity of the situation in terms of supply of the product".
Mr Forbes, who uses only artificial monofibres for his extensions, said:
"We're hearing all sorts of real horror stuff at the moment. Why do women with lots of money in their pocket have to walk around, albeit unwittingly, wearing hair from what could be a Russian prisoner?" William Sankey, editor of the Good Shopping Guide, an ethical directory, said several salons had voiced concern about the origin of the human hair. "A lot of hair is coming via Russia and the whole area is a real minefield," said Mr Sankey.
"We've had reports that some of it has been cut off women in asylums and women in prisons. The point we want to make is that the consumer should be made aware of this before making a decision."
The import and use of unworked human hair is not subject to quality controls, duty or any form of regulation in Britain. A spokeswoman for Customs and Excise said: "Because there are no restrictions against human hair we wouldn't know where it came from." Previously most human hair imported hair imported into Britain originated in India and China.
Sixty per cent of the hair exported by India comes from Tirupati temple at Andhra Pradesh, where up to 15,000 pilgrims ritually shave their heads every day. Now however, there is growing demand for "European" hair from Russia or Ukraine as it is finer than Chinese or Indian hair and more authentic-looking when matched with white-skinned Britons.
A spokeswoman for Racoon International, which supplies human hair to more than 1,000 British salons, insisted its hair was sourced from "reliable wholesalers". Connect, a London-based company which supplies real hair to another 500 salons, said its "European" hair was collected in Russia but claimed that theirs came directly from salons within Russia. Lucinda Ellery the managing director of Lucinda Ellery Hair Solutions, said:
"We've got several merchants, we don't ask our merchants where the supply is from. Hair is rather like diamonds, you never know where it comes from.
"There is no doubt that if there was a suspicion about dubious suppliers they would immediately be boycotted." A spokeswoman for the wholesalers shop4hair.com also refused to give details of its suppliers, citing competition.
"I have no idea about that. I just buy it from my suppliers, but it's certainly not from prisons," she said. "I trust my supplier completely."
- Stefanie Marsh and Clem Cecil
Nota:
Esta informação foi confirmada por um Alto Funcionário do Conselho da Europa.
publicado por MP às 11:56
