Convenience, style drive Nigeria’s wig market

The wig industry is fast becoming lucrative in Nigeria and a trend among ladies gradually replacing the traditional styles of hairdo.

A wig is a head covering made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fibre. The word wig is short for periwig and first appeared in the English language around 1675.

Key determinants of demand for wig brands include: wigs’ materials quality, hair type (natural or synthetic, African American, synthetic human hair blend), hair length (long, medium, short).

Others are colour, hairstyle, manufacturing process (hand-tied or mass production), wigs’ cap (monofilament, lace front, and cap-less), brand, construction, hair texture (straight, curly, wavy), cap size (average, average-small, average-large, petite, large, petite-average, petite, ultra petite), heat friendly or not.

The most expensive are human hair wigs that are hand-crafted and have monofilament cap. They look very natural, are made of quality materials. The cheapest wigs are synthetic hair wigs for entertainment (Halloween wigs), they look unnaturally and can be worn not for a long time.

“We sell more wigs than normal weaves here. A normal synthetic one costs like N5, 000 while the natural one can go as high as N10, 000 without closure but with closure it is like N13, 000,” a sales girl said

For years, men and women of all ages have been enjoying the freedom and versatility of this simple-yet-life-changing product. The wig is quickly becoming as commonplace as hair-colour, acrylic nails, and body-shape wear for that instant boost in beauty, confidence, and overall fabulousness.

And now wearing wigs has become a trend especially among ladies. Some of its benefits include limitless styles, convenience, wigs can hide thinning and restore confidence, it protects the health of your hair and also your budget since you won’t need as many salon appointments. Wearing a wig in general is a fun way to spruce up your style and also add an element of Hollywood glamour, projecting a dramatic, “larger than life” effect.

According to ladies wigs have been trending for two years and are still trending very fast.

“The sales of wigs have being booming for like two years now. Mostly ladies come here to buy the weaves so that they can make a wig out of it. Ladies love it especially in this hot season. It is versatile, save cost and time of going to the salon, and it is convenient,” Choice Goodwin, a salesgirl at Wholesalenaija, said

It is a known tread that women can do anything to look good especially when it comes to hair and can spend more no matter the cost.

On the streets of Lagos markets, you see stalls mostly full of wigs and the ladies or men in the streets display the wigs to attract the attention of ladies.

The market for imported human hair is booming in Africa because millions of people, predominantly women, are demanding for it. And as a result of this a lot of people are going into the human hair business.

And at the same time it is creating a new skill for hairstylists by learning how to make wigs especially the braid ones.

“I had to learn the skill fast because nowadays ladies don’t make their hair and that affects my profits. So at the moment I make more braid wigs than hairstyling,” An anonymous hairstylist said

According to estimates, Africa’s dry hair market, that is, the market for weaves, wigs and hair extensions — is currently worth over $6 billion a year and growing quite rapidly.

On the African market, human hair products are often branded along ethnic or racial lines. ‘Brazilian’, ‘Peruvian’, ‘Malyasian’ etc. are just a few of the very common names you’ll hear.

BUNMI BAILEY