IMPORTATION SKY-ROCKING, AS JAMAICAN WOMEN SPENDING OVER US$1,000 FOR WIGS!

On the weekend, an $84,600 receipt obtained at a local store for a wig went viral on various social media pages, with many astonished at the price tag.

However, one Jamaica-based wig retailer, Nathalie Woods-Ramsay, of NatzRoyale, told THE STAR that her prices sometime run up to $120,000, depending on the specifics the client requires.

“Wigs start from $30,000 and go up to $120,000, because some persons want 30 inches, they want 32 inches, and they want a lot of bundles in it, and they want frontals, they want colors. They want to look like the ladies overseas, but some just don’t want to pay for it,” she explained.

“They’re always amazed by how it looks, but when it comes to the price, them tell you, ‘Lord Jesus! This coulda buy block, it coulda buy steel, it coulda buy all kinds of things,” she added.

Such sentiments were expressed by social media users who commented on the wig’s price tag.

FREE PASS

“A muss the new hair dis weh mi a hear seh wen rain a fall it tun in a umbrella, and it cum wid a built in parachute, a free pass to heaven, and everlasting life. When dawg ave money, dem tek it buy all flee,” Facebook user Jermaine Johnson posted.

The receipt picture amassed over 800 shares, 700 likes, and 400 comments.

Coralee Osborne, owner of Rupunzel where the ‘Kim K Long Wig’ was purchased, said she was a bit surprised that persons were seemingly unaware that some wig units could attract such costs.

“When I think about the length and the quality of the hair that was purchased, I don’t think that [price] was outrageous, but I can understand where people [who were commenting] were coming from because they don’t have any details regarding the unit,” Osborne said.

CUSTOMISED

She explained, “It’s five bundles of 30-inch, 8A grade Malaysian hair, and a 24-inch frontal, which has been customized and made into a dome cap.”

Expensive human hair

But Osborne, who first opened Rupunzel eight years ago, said an $82,000 wig is higher than the average cost, which is between $20,000 and $25,000 because “not many people walk around with 30- inch hair”.

According to a 2013 trade report, Jamaica’s importation of wigs and weaves was set to hit $1 billion at that time based on growth over the previous four years.