Convent Hair
In early 20th century America, the phrase “convent hair” was synonymous with high quality. The human hair industry was extremely profitable, as thousands of women purchased hair extensions or switches to supplement their own hair. Unfortunately, most human hair was unethically sourced and was imported from out of the United States. Most human hair bought in the United States originated from France, Germany, or Canada, though other sources included Russia, Italy, and China.
The most prized source of human hair was Roman Catholic convents. Also called nunneries, they were all-female religious institutions, where initiates would often have their long hair cut short as a symbolic acceptance of their new lifestyle. Thus, convents accumulated large quantities of long, intact, virgin hair from newly-shorn novices. Convents sold the hair to local sellers, where it was then distributed to hair shops called posticheries. This trade was incredibly profitable, as convent hair was considered the best quality variety of human hair; convent hair would have been the equivalent of 10A 100% Human Hair in 2023.
“The reader will note that ‘first cut convent hair’ is ‘the rarest quality hair that can be obtained.’” — The Menace, Aurora, MO May 8, 1915.
Catholic convents in Canada provided mountains of freshly clipped hair for American markets. Institutions like the Monastery of the Ursulines in Trois-Rivières, founded in 1697, accepted young women to become nuns. Part of their religious vows include cutting their hair short as a token of their renunciation of worldly beauty. The young women themselves received no percentage of the profits from the sale of their hair; all proceeds from the hair sale went directly to the maintenance of the convent. Convents like the Ursulines Monastery were the secret troves for American hair dealers.
