Besides the actual quality of a hair system, ordering one at a reasonable price is also very important for wholesalers in their business. But how much does a hair system cost? There are many factors that can determine the exact cost, so it is not an easy question to answer. This blog will discuss how much a hair system costs and give you some suggestions on how to reduce the cost of your hair systems.
Many customers will ask, “are toupees expensive”? It depends on which type of hair toupee your customer needs or more specifically, their order details i.e. the base design, hair type, hair length, hair density, hair color. There is a huge range of prices for different types of hair systems.
So, how much hair system cost? First of all, it depends on the type of hair system. If you need a full machine-made wig or wefts etc, the price is very low. That is because they are 100% machine-made, so the production cost is low and the production time is short. For half-machine-made/half-handmade wigs, the price is higher than full machine-made wigs. If you need 100% handmade hair systems, the price is higher still and the production time is much longer.
Let’s look at another example. Lace front wigs are one of our stock wigs. The lace part on the front is handmade but the rest of the wig is machine-made. Since most work is machine-made, the price is very low and the production time is very short.
What does a real human hair wig if it is not machine-made? One such example is a full lace wig. We keep full lace wigs in stock ready for immediate shipment. They are different from lace front wigs because full lace wigs are completely handmade. The cost of handmade pieces is much higher than machine-made ones, so the cost of full lace wigs is much higher than lace front wigs and the production time of full lace wigs is also longer. So you can see how much a hair system costs is related to whether it is machine-made or handmade.
In addition, how much a hair system costs also depends on the order requirements outlined below. Different requirements can mean very different prices.
–Base size
How much hair system costs is related to the base size. In our factory, if the base size is less than 4”x4”, the price is very low. If the base size is standard (less than 8”x10” but bigger than 4”x4”), the cost is higher but lower than sizes bigger than 8”x10”. If the size is over 10”x10”, the price is even higher.
– Base design
Complicated base designs require longer production times so their costs are higher than simple base designs. For example, lift injected bases are very time-consuming and as such, the cost of production cost is higher which makes lift injection more expensive.
Another example is silk top bases. Silk tops are also called injected lace. Normally silk tops come with two or three layers. The silk mono is the layer closest to the hair side and the injected lace is closest to the scalp. Some clients also like to add another layer of silk mono or diamond net on the scalp side for added comfort.
Let’s take a closer look at the three-layered silk top base design described above. First, we knot hair on the injected lace which is the middle layer. Secondly, we inject hair through the silk mono on the hair side. As such the knots become hidden between the injected lace and silk mono so the hair looks like it is growing out of the scalp. Finally, we add a layer of the diamond net or another layer of silk mono on the inner scalp-side of the base. The diamond net helps to prevent knots from moving towards the scalp side and makes for a more comfortable feel. A silk top base is, therefore, a very complicated design. It needs an extra two weeks for production so that is why the cost is higher than other base designs.
For other bases, such as French lace and Swiss lace, the material is imported from other countries so the cost is also slightly higher. Those are just some examples of how the cost of a hair replacement systems is related to base designs.
-Hair length
As we know, the cost of long hair is higher than the cost of short hair. Consequently, the overall cost of a hair system is tied to the length of the hair. If you need short hair (between 3” and 6”), the cost is not affected. However, if you need longer hair, especially hair of a length greater than 20”, the price is high because the cost for us to source long hair is also very high.
-Hair type:
We supply different hair types, such as normal Indian hair, Indian Remy hair, Chinese virgin hair, and European hair.
Our sourcing costs for normal Indian hair are less than the other three hair types so we charge less if you order normal Indian hair. The cost for the other three types is high, especially with long hair, so we have to charge you higher.
We also supply three types of gray hair: human gray hair, synthetic gray hair, and yak hair. Only human gray hair need cost more because it is often selected from different hair bundles and needs to undergo extra procedures for use in our hair systems. If there is no long human gray hair available, we will use Chinese virgin hair to process human gray hair. That is why we need to add an extra charge for human gray hair.
-Hair density
It is logical to expect that the cost will be higher when more hair is knotted to a hair system. In our factory, we only charge extra for hair densities that are medium-heavy or above.
-Hair color
T-color is the most time-consuming type of hair color. T-color means the hair roots are not the same color as the hair tips. We need to process the two colors separately which results in T-color requiring extra time and charges. In our factory, highlights in the hair have no bearing on how much our hair systems cost because we do not charge extra for highlights.
-Dye after
Dye-after is a special procedure. Colors #1A and #1 are very dark and cannot be bleached knots but some customers still want the roots to be bleached.
Dye-after is where we knot with a lighter hair color such as #8 because its knots can be bleached. We then dye the hair to the dark colors of #1A or #1. Based on the preferences of the customer, we can do dye-after all over or only at the front. Since this is a non-standard procedure, there is an extra charge for dye-after all over and dye-after at the front. Dye-after all over is more complicated, so the charge is a little higher than dye-after only on the front area.
-Rush service
When you need a custom-made order urgently, we can offer rush service or super-rush service to shorten the production time. Rush service and super-rush orders become a top priority and we have to pay our technicians overtime for them to finish the orders within a reduced timeframe. For this reason, the cost is higher than normal production.
So, how much a hair replacement system costs is based on many factors. Prices will vary for different order requirements. However, you can still take some measures to reduce the overall cost of our hair systems without compromising on their quality.
First, choose a suitable hair density that is based on the actual needs of your customer. The best hair density is the one that suits your customer best. If you choose a higher density for them, not only will the cost be higher, but the higher density may have an unnatural effect on their appearance. So you do not have to choose a high density for your customers if their own hair is not too thick. This way the hair system will look natural and its price may be cheaper.
Second, choose a suitable base design according to the durability needs. How much a hair system costs is related to the base design, so we should choose an appropriate base design for your customers. If a customer needs an ultra-thin and natural base and does not particularly care about its lifespan, you can order 0.03mm ultra-thin skin base for them, instead of a thicker, lift injected skin base which costs more. A customer may ask how they can have a cheaper, thinner, and more durable base; in which case you can suggest a mono or a welded mono base. Both are durable and both have no extra charges. Silk top bases would not fit the profile of this customer because, as we said before, they are more expensive thanks to their three layers.
Third, choose a suitable hair type based on the features of the base design. If a customer orders a Swiss lace base or 0.03mm ultra-thin skin, you need to factor in that their lifespan is only around one month. Therefore, you do not need to order better quality Remy hair, virgin hair or European hair. Normal Indian hair will last one month and as it is our default hair type, it incurs no extra charge so it can help you reduce costs.
Lastly, control the frequency of your orders to avoid using our rush service.
The production time is around two months for custom orders so we suggest you place new orders in advance according to our production turnaround time and try to avoid our rush or super-rush service. By doing this you will have backup hair systems and will also save on rush service charges.
To conclude, how much a hair system costs really does depend on a variety of factors and it is not always possible to give a straight answer. But remember that you will be able to reduce how much you pay for your hair systems if you take into consideration all aspects of the design of a hair system as well as the actual needs of your customers.
