Beauty is said to be one’s greatest asset and when it lies on the crown of our head, there’s an added advantage. To meet the growing demand of the beauty market, somebody out there is willing to buy your hair for what it is worth. In the next few minutes, you’ll not only learn how to sell hair online but also make more money leveraging from similar products.
Why Human Hair?
Human hair is known to be more superior to synthetic ones in terms of shine, texture, and movement. Even though it requires more maintenance, consumers who appreciate these qualities don’t really mind paying for the price.
Non-treated hair, also known as virgin hair is highly sought after because it allows the manufacturer to process into different curls and colors according to the customer’s desires. The end products usually come in the form of hair extension or wigs that are widely used in both genders for styling purposes as well as helping people with baldness issues.
Sell Your Own Hair
If you always take very good care of your hair and get compliments about its look, chances are there’s value to selling it. Depending on the specs, you can earn anything between $80 up to $2,500 per bundle. Generally, the longer and thicker the hair, the more money you’ll make.
There are specific marketplaces where potential buyers would come to search for the type of hair they want. The buyers must be verified first and some may also need a membership to gain full access. These precautionary steps will ensure that all dealings are authentic and you’ll be paid promptly.
Typically, you would list your hair like an ad with clear details about its features and how you wish to be contacted. Once a potential buyer gets in touch, arrangements can be made to cut the hair and deliver to its destination.
The Pros
- The good thing about selling your own hair is that you can fix the price according to its worth. Hence, there’s no need to rush until you find a buyer who’s willing to pay for that value.
- If your hair grows very fast and is well maintained, you can keep selling it for extra cash. Good quality human hair is always in high demand.
The Cons
- In reality, the process can be a very slow one, from waiting for the hair to grow to an ideal length to finding a genuine buyer.
- You also need to practice vigilance when trading online, due to potential scams. In most cases, you are advised to speak directly to the buyer, check their credibilities and get the payment before posting.
With that in mind, here are two marketplaces I’ve found to be reputable for listing your hair for sale.
1 – Hair Sell On
- Founded in 2012
- Hair categories are divided into length and color.
- Has a hair price calculator that will determine the value of your hair based on length, thickness, color, and type.
- Doesn’t take sales commission, but charges for listings.
- A standard normal listing costs $15 and runs for 60 days while featured listing costs $25 to $29 and it receives more exposure. If you are selling extensions or processed hair, that would cost about $50.
- Has a good mixture of Caucasian and Asian hair selection.
- PayPal is strongly recommended as the mode of payment.
2 – Buy and Sell Hair
- Founded in 2010
- Hair categories are divided into length.
- Doesn’t take sales commission, but charges for listings.
- The normal listing fee for sellers is $14.50 for 3 months and the featured listing can be upgraded for $9.50. It will cost another $2.50 to bump an ad listing.
- Buyer membership plans vary between 3 months ($14.95) and 12 months ($49.90).
- PayPal is also recommended as the mode of payment to reduce the potential of being scammed.
- Most sellers and buyers are based in the US and a smaller percentage from Europe and Canada.
If you are not keen to pay for listings, you can try local-oriented platforms such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and apps such as Letgo and OfferUp. Keep in mind however that in these public domains, transaction activities are not regulated and therefore, riskier when dealing with unknown buyers.
Due to the slow nature of growing and selling hair, the most you would make is some extra cash. However, if you have a passion for hairstyling and beauty, you may want to consider leveraging from other products and start an online business instead.
Sell Wigs and Hair Extensions
There are two ways to go about this – dropshipping or affiliate marketing.
With the first one, you need to source for reliable suppliers and set up an online store. This is great if you have some retail and customer service experience, but I find this model to be oversaturated with competitors and product redundancy. It’s also more challenging to start and maintain due to the nature of orders going in and out.
On the other hand, affiliate marketing is a lot easier to start with. It’s a great side hustle for people with a strong passion for hairstyling, beauty professionals and salons. When done right, it can be transformed into a full-fledged passive income generating online business.
To get started, you just need to set up a blog, fill it with content/product reviews and then, earn commissions when people purchase through your affiliate links. If you have a substantial amount of offers in hand, you can also incorporate an affiliate store to your blog and run it just like any other eCommerce.
As an affiliate, the task is to help online customers choose what’s best for their needs and problems. Hence, personal experience, how-to guides, and product tips are information that can benefit customers as they are often not available through the typical dropshipping stores.
This type of content fills the internet as articles that pop up on searches when people type in queries on Google. Hence, the strategy for selling as an affiliate is to research what keywords can be useful to promote a certain wig or hair extension product.
Using my favorite keyword tool, I was able to come up with a handful of low-competition keywords in this niche. Feel free to use this to come up with your own content ideas.
The Pros
- There are many good products and reputable retailers to be affiliated with. Hairstyling is a big part of a beauty makeover so it’s also something you can combine with other beauty products’ affiliate programs to offer more wholesome content for your readers.
- Sales commissions are generally higher than ordinary purchases because these items are usually sold at a higher price range – within the range of hundreds. So if a program pays 5% and the product is worth $200, you still make $10 which isn’t too bad.
The Cons
- Even so, the commissions will not be as lucrative as selling your own original hair that usually sells for hundreds of dollars.
- It takes a while to build traffic to one’s site as producing content can take time. To maximize conversions, you need to plan strategically on where to place affiliate links and this knowledge isn’t always as straightforward as it seems.
- Writing a good product review can cost some money too, especially if you are looking for hands-on experience. Therefore, purchasing the items is necessary before you can share actual details with the readers.
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Despite that, there are heaps of brands to choose from and that should give you ample selection in finding the best products to promote. Some merchants will even sponsor items when you hit a certain volume of sales.
Have a look at the following affiliate programs and see what clicks with you.
Hair Extension Affiliate Programs
1# Airy Hair
- Offers extension and wigs
- Don’t need to have styling experience or even a website to apply (but promoting through a website is always recommended)
- $10 per sale plus bonuses, 365 days cookie window
- Dropshipping tools are available
2# Beauty Forever
- offers human hair wigs, extensions, weave and bundles
- 8% per sale, 30 days cookie window
- opportunity to be featured on the company’s blog and social media platforms
- requires you to have experience in wearing and styling hair in order to join.
3# Best Hair Buy
- offers clip in, extensions, wig, virgin, AND synthetic hair
- free shipping express shipping for orders over $139
- 10% per sale, 30 days cookie window
- get 15% off a personal purchase when you refer a friend
4# Curly Heaven
- made from 100% Remy human hair that focuses mainly on curls
- offers free standard delivery for domestic (US) orders
- offer free hair video tutorials on the website
- $10 commission per sale, 30 days cookie window
- need to meet some basic requirements in order to qualify as an affiliate such as having a YouTube channel and have at least 1,500 followers on Instagram
5# Estelles Secret
- Offers hair extensions. styling tools, hair care and plenty of video tutorials
- 15% per sale, 90 days cookie window
- receive a new set of hair extensions quarterly when qualified
- expected to promote through a beauty blog, YouTube channel and social media
6# Glam Seamless
- offers hair extensions and products for salon professionals
- free shipping for orders over $100 in the US
- plenty of video tutorials to learn from
- 3% per sale, 90 days cookie window
- refer a friend and you’ll be rewarded with $20 discount from your own order
- you are allowed to share affiliate links directly on social media
7# Klaiyi Hair
- offers a variety of style, hair type, hair color and wigs
- 6% per sale, 30 days cookie window
- achieve a number of valid clicks to your affiliate link and receive coupon rewards
8# Luxy Hair
- Offers ethically sourced Remy human hair for extensions that blend well with your own hair color, free shipping worldwide
- Reward program lets you redeem purchase with points
- $10 per sale, 30 days cookie window
- Requirement needed to join such as experience in hair styling and has at least 3,500 followers on Instagram.
Ready to Profit from a Billion Dollar Industry?
Wigs and hair extensions have come a long way since the yesteryears. Now, they are widely used for aesthetic purposes in various age groups and the industry is expected to reach $10 billion in revenue by 2023.
Sales and demands are growing fast in the online space so whether you own healthy hair or simply love to make someone’s hair beautiful, this is certainly a profitable niche to get involved. I’ve covered most of the basics here in this article and if you wish to learn more about turning your hair passion into an online business, please check out my recommended training program here.
I have heard of selling hair before but did not know any of the specifics. I could have done that a couple of times in my life for sure. I have heard of donating hair for cancer patients. I had no idea there was a hair, wig, and extension industry that’s thriving in the online. This is interesting information.
Well, now you know, Lisa 🙂
Hello Cathy,
This was an interesting article to read. I know about donating our hair, but the idea of selling them is new to me. $80-$2500 per bundle seems like a great price indeed. But because good quality hair is hard to come by and there’s a limited supply, it’s wise to speak directly to the buyer and getting the payment before posting.
I think Hair Sell On and Buy and Sell Hair are two trustworthy sites compared with other public domains. As an affiliate marketer myself, I could certainly see the opportunity in this growing market. 🙂
Exactly. It’s interesting to find so many affiliate programs related to hair-selling, wigs, and extension for women of all color. This gives you more opportunity to promote to a wider audience.
Several years ago, I bought some human hair extensions for a special occasion – they were not cheap by any means but have lasted me for many years and I have been very happy with the product. For someone like me who does not have terribly thick hair, I appreciate those people who provide this service. It gives me the opportunity to feel luxurious for a day!
Wow, so many ways to make money online nowadays – you can actually create a business around selling other people’s hair that you buy at a cheaper price! Too bad I’m not one person that keeps long hair. I get a hair cut every weekend but I think I know people that may have a chance in this. Gonna share this information with them.
Yup, selling one’s hair is actually a good online niche to consider if you have the interest and the resources.
I knew that there was a big market for donating hair to make wigs for people with cancer but I had no idea you could make your own business from it! It seems like you can make some decent money if you have hair that is well cared for. My youngest teen has amazing hair, very long, and he refuses to get it cut. I’ll have to tell him he might be able to afford that computer he wants if he considers this. Incentive!
Wow, I knew there was a market for hair but I didn’t have any idea how established and professional it really was. I’m amazed at the options available when it comes to items made from, and the various uses for, human hair.
Sadly, I’m on the side of needing to purchase such products to cover my baldness issue. That said, I do have some friends whose hair seems to grow an inch per night (a slight exaggeration but you get the idea) who might want to take a look at this industry. Thanks for sharing this.
It’s a great concept – building a website to do this. Perhaps you have a community group, a school or social / sports group that can contribute their hair.
This would make the idea of supply more tenable with broader availability of colors, styles, curls, etc. Also, if you could get people to contribute their hair en masse, it could be used as a fundraiser for charities or clubs too.
Reselling hair to make wigs is much better than purchasing synthetic options. For those suffering through chemo, it helps with the retention of dignity and nothing feels more real than the Real McCoy 🙂
It is good to know that good human hair is always in high demand, something to keep in mind. People have been suggesting to me that I should sell my hair because it is so healthy and long. They said I could make good money with it. I’ll check out the marketplaces that you mentioned.
Thanks!