The mother of innovations is need. As the cost of beauty becomes unaffordable, it seems to be the best way to characterise the actions most women today take to appear attractive.
The expense of fashion and lifestyle, especially for women, has been at odds with the cost of living for a few years.
The cost of clothing, shoes, and underwear, among other items, has been steadily rising, forcing women to find other low-cost options.
In contrast to the expensive human hair extensions, Economy&Lifestyle found that one of these options is switching to plantain or banana fibre hair extensions.
Fibres taken from banana or plantain stems are used to make plantain hair extensions. They undergo softening and colour dyeing.
Even if plantain or banana fibre hair extensions are said to be more cost-effective and organic than human hair, it is still unclear how certain sophisticated women, for example, might consent to wearing plantains on their heads.
Many Nigerian ladies, however, contend that there is no real difference and that the plantain hair is more elegant and natural.
Testimony
"The majority of my wigs are made from plantain fibre hair extensions," said sales agent Mrs. Gladys Douglas.
"I enjoyed carrying human hair wigs, but because of the high exchange rate, these hairs are now more expensive.
"I can buy a plantain fibre hair extension for N30,000 or a bit more, but you'll need at least N200,000 (GHC 1,777) and higher to acquire excellent human hair.
I had to reconsider. I was able to save money by choosing the later option.
Marketer Mrs. Judith Olamide stated: "You would need up to N250,000 before you can acquire a 100% human hair extension (GHC 266)
Some sellers may tell you that the hair they are selling is 100% human hair, but after a month of usage, the hair starts to coil at the tip.
This is due to the fact that the majority of these hairs are mixed, meaning they are a combination of synthetic and human hair.
"I wasn't interested in banana fibre hair extensions when I first heard about them.
"I once saw a member of my church wearing it, and it was very beautiful. I purchased the hair extension in this manner.
"Compared to human hair, it was much less expensive."
According to Mr. James Chukwuma, a retail vendor of different hair extensions, the ongoing volatility in the foreign currency rate makes it costly to purchase a high-quality human hair extension.
Because of this, a lot of hair sellers purchase inferior human hair that is blended with heat-resistant synthetic hair and sold as a blend.
The majority of women in Nigeria can hardly afford human hair extensions due to the exorbitant prices of products and services.
Some hair sellers provide these hairs in sets, such as a single bundle, for those who wish to utilise human hair for closure on synthetic wigs.
"A lot of clients are now requesting the fibre hair extension.
The majority of them assert that it is less expensive than real hair and superior to synthetic ones.
Customers like to use high-quality human hair for frontals or closures, therefore I don't purchase it in quantity.
"When it comes to anything, including fashion, women will always improvise to save money."
The majority of hair extensions are often less expensive than human hair extensions and are composed of synthetic fibres such as polyester, silicone, or polyvinyl chloride.
The worldwide market for hair wigs and extensions is predicted to reach $19.12 billion by 2028, with black women in the US and women in continental Africa being the biggest consumers of this sector.
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