Hair Today, Paid Tomorrow: How to Earn Hundreds By Selling Your Hair
You’ve probably heard of donating your hair to nonprofit organizations. But did you know you can actually sell your hair to companies that make wigs for profit?
We promise it’s not as weird as it sounds.
Long, healthy hair is used to create wigs, hair extensions and weaves. Hair buyers will pay hundreds of dollars for long locks, especially if it’s a unique color.
It takes some time and effort to sell your hair. You’ll need to find a buyer, create an ad, finalize the deal and, of course, get a haircut.
Selling your hair won’t make you rich, but it can be a nice way to earn some extra cash every so often.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How Much Money Can You Sell Your Hair For?
You can generally expect to make anywhere from $150 to $600 from selling your hair, but there are a lot of factors that go into the price.
Long, thick natural red and blond hair generally fetches the best price. Undyed and untreated hair, aka virgin hair, is also worth more.
Here are some estimates we found by using two online hair price calculators.
- 20-inch-long, 3-inch-thick red virgin hair: $586
- 18-inch-long, 2-inch-thick blond virgin hair: $354
- 14-inch-long, 1.5-inch thick brown virgin hair: $162
- 12-inch-long, 2-inch-thick non-virgin black hair: $131
Men and women can sell their hair. So can children too, apparently.
“Buyers such as wigmakers specifically look for children’s hair so they can make child wigs,” according to the Frequently Asked Questions page of BuyAndSellHair.com.
Apparently, children’s hair can sell for a slightly higher price since there are fewer sellers in the market. Parents: This might be a nice way to pay for your kid’s next haircut.
Selling hair won’t be a steady side gig. Hair grows about half an inch a month, or 6 inches a year. If your hair grows really fast, you might be able to do this once a year at most.
If your hair is permed, dyed or bleached — even by the sun — it’s much less valuable or even unusable. Treated hair just doesn’t make good wigs or hair extensions.
Even if your hair experiences heat damage over time from curling irons, straighteners and hair dryers, it could be too weak to make a wig.
If you’re trying to decide how much your hair is worth, checking out similar listings on hair selling websites (more on those shortly) will give you an idea of the going rate.
4 Steps to Sell Your Hair Online
Selling your hair for money takes a surprising amount of time and research. You’ll need to find a buyer, create an eye-catching ad, finalize the deal, cut your hair and ship it out.
Let’s break it down.
1. Find a Place to Sell Your Hair
You can sell your hair on places like eBay or reach out to specific wigmakers individually.
There’s also a handful of websites where you can sell your hair online. Post a listing for your long locks, and people who buy hair will contact you through the site. (Sort of like OfferUp, but for human hair.)
Many of these sites also have online forums where hair sellers can ask questions and get advice from peers.
BuyandSellHair
For $14.96, you can create an ad on BuyAndSellHair.com that runs for three months. You can set your own price for your long hair, or leave it open for buyers to make you an offer. You can exchange messages with potential hair buyers through the site.
HairSellon
On HairSellon, you can create a listing of your hair, and interested buyers will contact you to ask questions and make offers. HairSellon recommends using PayPal for transactions.
You’ll pay $20 for a lifetime listing or $17.50 for a 60-day ad.
You can also play around with its hair price calculator. Enter a few details about your hair, like its length, thickness and color, and the calculator will give you an estimate of what your hair is worth.
Sell Hair Store
Sell Hair Store has a large international market, and you don’t need to pay to list your ad.
Like the other sites, you’ll create an ad, name a price and wait for buyers to message you. PayPal is the recommended payment option.
2. Work On Your Listing
You’re not the only seller out there, so it’s important to stand out.
Play up your hair’s strengths, but be as truthful and accurate as possible in your listing. If a buyer receives hair that doesn’t live up to the hype, they could request a refund or file a dispute — and nobody wants that.
Here are a few tips to make the most of your online hair listing.
Post several high-quality pictures: You’ll want at least four to five high-resolution photos of your hair from different angles. Photos in natural light help bring out the color and shine of your hair.
Talk about length and thickness: Many sellers hold a measuring tape down the length and across the circumference of their hair in photos so buyers can see the exact dimensions for themselves.
List your hair care habits: Most buyers want to know your entire hair history, including whether you smoke, how often you wash your hair — and even what your diet is like. A healthy diet helps your hair produce natural oils, which can boost the value of your hair.
Dig into the details: Don’t shy away from details about what makes your long hair unique. Are you a strawberry blonde or have striking natural highlights? As you might imagine, the more attractive and shiny your hair, the higher the bids will be.
3. Close the Deal
If you’re selling through an online hair marketplace, buyers can message you on the platform to ask questions and finalize purchase details.
PayPal is the recommended payment method on these sites because it’s easier to file a dispute if something goes wrong.
You should never cut your hair before the sale is final. It can be harder to find a new buyer if your hair isn’t freshly cut or properly preserved.
4. Cut Your Hair and Mail It Out
You’ll need to get your hair professionally cut so that it’s even and free of split ends. Let the stylist know you’re selling your hair so it can be set aside and properly packaged instead of swept up at the end of your visit.
Securing your hair with a few hair ties along the ponytail during your cut will help keep it all together. Buyers will also give you instructions on how the hair should be cut and shipped.
Package your hair in a zip-close bag or something similar when you mail it out. Make sure to get the package tracking number and insurance for the package (you can ask the buyer to pay for the insurance, or bake it into your listing cost). Some sites recommend taking a photo of your hair next to the packaging before you mail it out as further proof.
Will You Even Be Able to Sell Your Hair?
The global hair market is surprisingly complicated and competitive.
The United States is one of the largest consumers of human hair wigs and extensions, but most of the global supply comes from places like China and India, according to a 2023 report on the global hair market from Reportlinker.com.
“The average price of human hair is gradually decreasing across the world,” the report notes. “This benefits manufacturers since they can source human hair at better prices.”
It’s a buyer’s market, in other words. Selling your hair might take awhile, or you might have to settle for a lower offer. You also might not be able to find a buyer at all.
Rachel Christian is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder. She focuses on retirement, investing, taxes and life insurance.
