Something More Than Gold: Why hair/wig snatching is suddenly on the rise

2026-02-08 - 07:18

...Increasing market value attracting desperate snatchers ...It’s no longer safe wearing expensive wigs in the streets, ladies cry out ...Business lucrative, but... – Dealers By Morenike Taire IT was a sunny, hot day in Oshodi, Lagos. And as usual the streets were commercially active with shoppers and sellers of goods at the numerous shops and the sidewalks struggling for space with motorists and pedestrians. Suddenly in the midst of the bustling activities, a loud, piercing scream was heard above the cacophony of voices. It came from a young woman clutching at her head. “My wig! My wig,” she squealed hysterically, while pointing at two fellows speeding away on a motorbike. It soon became clear that she was the latest victim of wig snatchers operating on motorbikes in different parts of Lagos. A small crowd had immediately gathered around the lady who was at this time crying her heart out over the loss of her obviously expensive wig. The incident had triggered an impromptu discussion about the alarming trend which has become more than enough reasons for ladies to feel insecure plying the streets of Lagos. Widespread reports of wig snatching, a new phenomenon whereby a passing motorcyclist and an accomplice would suddenly swoop on an unwary female, grab and take off with her wig, came to a peak during the yuletide period and seems to have come to stay. Gone are the days when street robbers focused on gold jewelry, as ladies now wear mostly costume jewelry. These days, many wigs are valued much higher than gold, are easily disposable and have equal second hand value. The longer the wig, the easier to snatch and the easier to dispose. Rising value, anonymity Munkaila, a money changer who also deals in used gold jewelry operating on a high street in the Lagos metropolis, told Vanguard it is now more difficult to dispose of stolen gold. “We are not many who are selling gold here; so if they steal your gold, all you need is to send us the picture. We will find it for you”. Munkaila added that though he had not heard of wig snatching before, he would not be surprised if it happens, suggesting that they would be easier to sell than gold jewelry since there are so many beauty salons. Rising popularity “Wig offers flexibility; it can be taken on or off at any time and can instantly match the mood of the wearer”, Adeola, an ultra busy mother of two in Lagos who owns up to ten wigs, told Vanguard. “When I feel like wearing long hair, I wear long hair and the same with short hair. I can change my look instantly without spending hours on my hair and still look elegant,” said. She reflects the views of millions of women in cosmopolitan areas across the country who have embraced wigs as part of their daily attires. Global phenomenon Nigeria is the world’s second biggest consumers of wigs globally, second only to the United States of America, according to a comprehensive BBC report. Increasing popularity of wigs as fashion items is however not limited to Nigeria but a global phenomenon. The uninitiated, hearing Nigerian women speaking about Brazilian, Cambodian, Indian and so forth, might be thinking they are speaking about travel destinations. In fact, they are talking about wigs, identified by their origins. Synthetic hair, which has been better embraced in the past on account of their cheap cost and superior ease of maintenance, have all but disappeared from the market with most modern subscribers favouring real human hair wigs for their natural looks, flexibility and longevity. Inequality of wigs Not all wigs are created equal, reveals Rachael, a 26-year-old owner of a prominent wig salon along the Lekki corridor of Lagos. “We have wigs of under N 100,000 and we have wigs of N10 million. Most ladies go for wigs between N300,000 and N1 million with Bohemian and Kinky Straight hair being the most fashionable for now. She debunked claims that ladies ‘bill’ men to buy such wigs, saying that the majority of women buy wigs with their own money as they regard it as an investment. “Wigs are actually an investment as they save women a lot of time and as we know, time is money. Nothing wrong with sowing one into your woman’s life anyway,” she added jestfully. Imperative for wig bandits “We have grades of wigs. I believe those people who steal know a good wig when they see one, so they target it and if it’s a good hair, they will still sell it for N100,000 and see someone that would buy from you. A thief would not mind the price, their own is just to make money. If they steal an expensive wig, they can take it to a thrift vendor on Instagram or any random person. They can steal a wig of N1 million and sell for N100,000 or N200,000 and they won’t feel they are losing money,” she added. How Gen Z makes millions Rachael, who has sold wigs since her undergraduate years while she studied a computer- related course, told Vanguard her annual turnover runs into ten figures. “Many students buy my wigs because it helps them to focus on their studies. Imagine a student spending hours every weekend attending to her hair?” She also runs a salon for wig dressing, revamp and installation and at 26, she employed five people, including a marketer who accompanies her on sourcing trips to China, Turkey and Dubai. A global value chain According to the BBC, India remains the country that exports the largest volumes of human hair, with inflows reaching between a whopping $200 billion and $500 billion. Collectors, who act as the first layer of middlemen, earn as little as one USD per kilogram of hair, because the process of collecting the hair is much easier than that of sorting, cleaning and processing. A store of value Like Adeola and Rachael, most city women currently own more than one human hair wig. A substantial number own more than three, with a value that runs into hundreds of thousands of naira. A visit to popular markets in Lagos such as Balogun, Tejuosho and Oshodi reveals the display of a large variety of used human hair wigs that have been revamped. Sellers say they have used wigs selling between N20,000 and N200,000 and N50,000 among their wares. They decline to reveal their sources. Celebs and influencers Ladies who can afford it spend up to N15 million on wigs, which they treat specially and store in special boxes when not in use. For many celebrities, such wigs are not only desirable but essential, stamping their names on the A lists of their industries. They bring out the wigs for special occasions such as photo shoots, movie premieres, award ceremonies, major business meetings and so forth. Popular social media influencer, Deby Oscar, in announcing recently that she purchased a wig for £6000 (about N12 million), walked her followers through the process of ‘creating’ the accessory. Referring to the popular wig brand (name withheld) as the “Birkin of wigs”, she revealed the handmade, bespoke wig took six months to make. “Each strand was individually added, a process which took 700 hundred plus hours made for my exact measurement; completely custom. Jewish women know the process: literally cut off a woman’s ponytail, wash and condition it. Then they started separating it by length and colour, double-draw it to make sure it’s uniformly thick. The lace is better than HD, low-key invisible. I can part it everywhere. It’s 260,000 pieces of hair. If this wig was being sold by Jewish women it could easily be 30,000 pounds. You can always send it back for maintenance, just like a Birkin bag”, she gleefully revealed. She purchased the wig from a popular, young maker who also makes wigs for many Nigerian celebrities home and abroad. Kayode Banjo, who was until recently the officer in charge of loans for household and consumer goods at a top first generation bank, told Vanguard he would give loans to ladies to buy wigs under certain conditions. He would, however, not accept a wig as collateral for a loan, unless the wig’s value is many times higher than that of the loan. He revealed that unknown to many, the medical supplies and beauty industries are the biggest money spinners in SMEs with many young entrepreneurs raking in hundreds of millions selling wigs. Dark side of human hair Apart from the snatching trend, other deterrents trail the wig fashion, some of them carrying spiritual implications. When Chioma, a professional woman based in Lagos, purchased her last human hair wig, she thought nothing of it until she started to see strange people in her dreams. The woman in her dreams had only one demand: she wanted her hair back. The nightmare continued to trail Chioma until she gave up the wig. Indian hair comes from two major sources: the religious temple where men and women donate their hair to the gods, and door-to-door collections from individuals who want to sell their hair. A third source is from garbages, hence such hair is usually dirty. Popularly known as Remy to the consumer, the hair collected from the temple is much cleaner, usually longer and attracts a much higher price from the end user. Processing usually involves sorting by length and colour, combing, washing, conditioning, drying, trimming and sewing. Not surprisingly, most of the hair is exported to China for further processing from where it finds its way into Nigeria. Experiences such as Chioma’s are not merely anecdotal. Many Christian sects have warned members to steer clear of the fashion, following similar experiences. Regardless of this, the popularity of the trend has only grown stronger. Caring for Wigs With wigs now being a veritable store of value, users spend hundreds of thousands on wig maintenance items such as oils, serums, mouses, stretching combs, brushes, stands, conditioners, straighteners, glues and many more. This is apart from the actual value of the wigs. This lends credence to an emerging economy which could do with regulation and gatekeeping. Fear of wig snatchers But the fear of wig snatchers has now become the beginning of wisdom and social media influencers are now raking in millions of views sharing tips on how to protect themselves from the bandits. Wearers are admonished to wear scarves while walking on the road so that the wig would not be so obvious. Also, ladies should tighten their wig caps, use silicone wig grips while wearing glueless wigs and be hyper vigilant, especially on crowded roads. They are enjoined to take their wigs off if they have to wind down in traffic and put them back on when they reach their destination. Many other creative tips are offered. Rachael advises against non-customised wigs, saying they are much easier to resell. ‘ “I ask my customer if they want their initials embroidered inside their wigs,” she divulged. “Of course, it’s not free”.