Cambodian hair: what it is, what SA stores sell, prices

Raw, virgin or remi: what do Cambodian listings say?

Single drawn

No Cambodian piece in our check was labelled single drawn. Where sellers use the term, it means less short hair has been sorted out by hand, so the ends taper.

Ends: a natural taper, say sellers

Double drawn

One Cambodian listing used the term: The Wig Factory's 16 inch double drawn Cambodian curls 13x4 lace frontal unit, R2,970 on sale from R4,200. Its page gave no share of full length strands.

Ends: ask for the share of full length strands

Bone straight

Not listed on any Cambodian piece. Hair Majesty describes its straight Cambodian wig as soft and silky with rich volume, which is a different description from a bone straight finish.

Ends: not applicable

Raw

No SA Cambodian listing in our check used the word raw. Hair Majesty calls its Cambodian wig 100% virgin Cambodian hair and defines raw hair as unprocessed hair from a single donor.

Ends: ask for proof of a single donor

How to test real hair

1

Burn test

Take two or three loose strands only, hold them in tweezers over a heat-safe dish, outside, and never test the cap, the lace or a seam. Sellers say human hair burns slowly with a burnt hair smell and leaves crushable ash, and synthetic melts into a bead. Passing does not show that the hair is Cambodian.

2

Bleach test

Hair Majesty sells its Cambodian wigs in natural colour and in colours such as 4 and 4/27. If you want to lighten one, test a single hidden strand, gloves on, checking every 5 to 10 minutes, and stop if it goes brittle.

3

Feel

Real human hair should feel soft and smooth with natural movement, say sellers. A thick, curly or coiled texture can feel different from straight hair, so feel alone proves little.

4

Shedding

Run your fingers through the hair or give it a gentle shake. Losing a strand or two is normal, say sellers, and handfuls are a red flag.

5

Smell

A new piece may smell of processing or packaging, which does not necessarily mean a fault. A burnt plastic smell in the burn test does. If a strong smell stays, tell the store.

Cambodian, Vietnamese, Brazilian or Peruvian?

Cambodian hair in South Africa, explained

What Cambodian hair is, and what SA stores sell

Cambodian hair is human hair that sellers say was collected in Cambodia. Volure Hair, an SA seller, says its Peruvian hair is not as thick as Cambodian or Indian hair, which is the clearest SA comparison we found. A report by NBC News in 2019 quotes a woman who ran a hair business in Cambodia saying the hair comes in a variety of patterns, from straight to tightly coiled.

The SA shelf looks different from the searches. On 6 Oct 2026 the price data held no loose Cambodian bundles at all. It held 16 Cambodian products at two stores, Hair Majesty and The Wig Factory, and every one was a wig or a lace frontal unit. Hair Majesty's Cambodian wigs are 13x4 lace frontal wigs in straight, deep wave and water wave, in 10 to 28 inches. The Wig Factory's are Cambodian curls frontal units. So the table below prices finished pieces, not bundles, and the loose bundle column says Not listed.

Hair Majesty calls its natural colour straight wig 100% virgin Cambodian hair, glueless, ready to wear and pre-styled, and says it comes with adjustable straps, elastic bands and built-in combs. The Wig Factory says every unit is made from 100% remi or virgin human hair. Neither page we read named a supplier or a collection record.

What Cambodian hair costs

A Cambodian piece cost R1,832 to R7,490 on 6 Oct 2026, with 8 of the 21 variants on sale. At 18 inches the pieces were R4,740 to R4,790, at 20 inches R4,000 to R4,500 and at 22 inches R4,500 to R6,099. The cheapest were Hair Majesty's 10 inch straight bob and lace frontal wigs, at R1,832 to R2,072 after a discount of about 20 percent. The dearest was Hair Majesty's 28 inch straight wig at R7,490.

A 16 inch double drawn Cambodian curls frontal unit at The Wig Factory was R2,970 on sale from R4,200, but its data row has no length, so it is not in the table. The Wig Factory's 20 and 22 inch curls frontal units were R4,000 to R4,500, marked down from R6,500 to R8,000.

None of these prices is per bundle, so do not compare them with the Brazilian, Peruvian or Vietnamese tables. A wig price also covers a lace frontal, a cap, construction and styling. If you want to know what the hair alone costs, you will need a bundle price, and we found none.

Raw Cambodian hair, and the vendors question

People searching for raw Cambodian hair vendors, in Cambodia or elsewhere, usually want a supplier they can trust. We do not list, rate or recommend vendors, and we have not visited any. Reporting does describe how the trade starts. NBC News reported that the international trade can begin at markets like Orussey in Phnom Penh, where hair is sold to international customers at prices starting at $120 for 16 inches of hair on a weft or $50 for raw loose hair in a bundle, and that buyers put it in a suitcase and go.

Hair Majesty defines raw hair as hair that has not undergone any processing or treatment, collected from a single donor with the cuticles intact. None of the SA Cambodian listings we found used the word raw. Hair Majesty says raw hair is extremely expensive and rarely sold in South Africa. If a listing calls Cambodian hair raw, ask whether it came from one donor and what proof the supplier gave.

Where the hair comes from, and who is paid

NBC News reported in 2019 that poor women in rural Cambodian communities sell their hair, including women who were forcibly evicted from Phnom Penh in land disputes. It reported that the women it spoke to were paid between $8 and $45 for a sale, that traders go door to door in villages setting the price and cutting the hair quickly, and that hair resells internationally for $100 to $300 or more.

The report quotes Janice Wilson, who ran a Cambodian hair extension business, saying that for a company like hers to work there needs to be a certain population that does not exceed a certain income. It also quotes Soeng Sen Karuna of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association saying that nobody wants to sell their hair. That is reporting from 2019 about individual sellers. It does not describe the hair on any SA shelf, and none of the SA listings we read gave a source for their hair.

Before you buy a Cambodian piece

Since the only Cambodian hair we found in SA stores is on wigs and lace units, check the returns terms before you cut or customise anything.

• Ask how much hair is on the piece and what density it is, because the listings we read gave no weight.
• Ask whether the hair is Cambodian throughout or blended, and what virgin or remi means to that store.
• Read the returns policy first. Remore Hair does not accept wigs that have been worn, washed, cut, dyed or altered, and Shara Hair does not exchange items with cut lace. Check the policy of the store you buy from.
• Test only loose strands, never the lace or the cap, and do it before you cut the lace or install the piece.
• Ask for photos of your own piece with a ruler in the frame, because a product photo shows no length.

Cambodian hair: questions