Why Are Natural Hair Products So Expensive?
Going natural is never easy. Besides the time, energy, and unmeasurable effort that styling and maintenance demands, the cost of sourcing the needed products can be scary. Natural hair products can be so expensive you think you have a hole in your purse, but what really makes them so?
Regular shampoo can cost anywhere from a few cents to $20, but natural hair products can be double or triple this range. Why? Maybe it’s in the ingredients, or maybe it has something to do with the ‘natural’ that precedes the hair products. Well, whatever it is, this piece is highlighting the possibility of plausible reasons as to why natural hair products are so damn expensive.
#1. Quality Ingredients
Love, they say, is in the hair, and the quality of your hair care products plays a huge role in your natural hair’s health and appearance. Most natural hair products are made of high-quality ingredients, and apparently, these ingredients cost more than regular ones.
You can have a range of ingredients like Almond milk, Avocado oil, Jojoba oil, other essential oils alongside Manuka honey, etc., all extracted for your use. Hence, it's no surprise that sourcing for these ingredients will cost a fortune. The high cost of getting these ingredients and extracting their essence is responsible for their high cost.
#2. Demand
With more people embracing their God-given textures, the demand for natural hair products has increased. Statistics reveal that the sale of hair relaxers and perming products has gone down by 38% between 2012 and 2017. Thus, this decline only means there’s an uprise somewhere else, which is in natural hair products. Hence, in a capitalist economy, an increase in demand can incite a rippling increase in price, especially when manufacturers leverage the market. However, a lot of other concepts also influence the prices of a product in a capitalist economy.
#3. Business Costs
The cost of running a business also influences the cost of natural hair products. It goes without saying that the higher the business costs and expenses, the higher the prices will be and vice versa. The manufacturers of natural hair products are tasked with incurring many costs outside the cost of production. These costs range from legal fees to trademarks, licensing, and patenting fees. Sometimes, it includes intellectual property fees, insurance for recalls, storage, transportation fees, sampling costs, etc. As vital as these fees seem, not all manufacturers of regular hair products.
#4. Targeted nature
Natural hair products are formulated to meet the needs of a highly targeted audience - individuals with natural hair only. Of course, natural hair has a gradient of textures, form, appearance, and lengths, but it is still a targeted product as it is designed to satisfy just this demographic. Being a targeted product implies that the business costs are higher than those of a generic product that all and sundry can use. These costs range from marketing and advertising for this target market to visibility for individuals outside this market. These individuals are called ‘potential clients.’
Conclusion
Natural hair products are known for their efficacy in increasing the length and fullness of the hair. So much work goes into producing them that their extravagant prices shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is not to mention the length manufacturers have to go to get the ingredients, considering their scarcity and cost.
When next the price of a product makes you shudder, remember that you’re no longer in the league of trash-product users and collect yourself. By trash-products, I mean products infused with synthetic ingredients that coss less quite alright, but are harmful to your hair and overall health. Also, have it at the back of your head (no pun intended), that in most cases, with honest brands, anyway) the pricier a product, the richer its content is.
So, the next time you run out of natural haircare supplies, don’t stop to think about what you’re spending, don’t even pause. Instead, think about the hair wealth you’d be tapping into
In a nutshell, natural hair products are so expensive because they contain rich, organic ingredients that are not just effective but safe for you.