By COLlive reporter
With some sheitels now selling for as much as $10,000 to $16,000, the soaring cost of wigs has become a growing source of frustration and debate in the Orthodox community.
The issue recently drew additional attention after an Israeli attorney Nechama Tzivin filed a petition calling for the Chabad Beis Din to take action over what she described as extreme pricing in the wig industry.
Now, Mendy Reiner, whose family operates ZC Wigs, is weighing in, arguing that even the highest-quality sheitels do not justify the five-figure prices being charged in parts of the market.
“There is no reason whatsoever that anybody pays more for a top-of-the-line wig,” Reiner said during an appearance on the Clappy and Frank podcast. “You can never justify a wig that’s $6,000 to $16,000. It’s unheard of… it’s unacceptable.”
Reiner, a real estate businessman who is also the founder of the kidney transplant organization Renewal, offered an inside look at what he says sheitels actually cost to produce and where the significant markups enter the process.
According to Reiner, processed hair, which has already been colored or chemically treated, can cost approximately $500 to $900 to manufacture and generally has a shorter lifespan.
Virgin, or unprocessed, hair can cost roughly $1,500 to $3,500 to manufacture, he said. The higher-quality hair can last considerably longer and provides greater flexibility for coloring and styling.
But even those costs, Reiner argued, do not explain sheitels selling for $8,000, $10,000 or more. “Why in the world is that wig $8,000?” he asked. “Explain to me why a wig is $8,000.”
Reiner said the issue is particularly troubling when families already struggling with the expenses surrounding a simcha feel pressured to spend thousands of dollars on a sheitel.
“It is, without a doubt, price gouging, and I find that the bigger problem is that it’s very rampant in Israel,” he said. “You have people who can’t make ends meet when they make a simcha, and they’re buying one wig and spending six, $7,000 on short sheitels.”
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According to Reiner, a significant portion of the final price comes from markups added as a wig moves through different stages from the manufacturer to the consumer.
His family’s ZC Wigs has instead adopted a manufacturer-direct model, which he says eliminates many of those additional costs.
“We started doing manufacturer direct sales. We’re going straight to the consumer, cutting out all the middlemen and middlemen down the line,” Reiner said. “People can literally save three, four, $5,000 on sheitels.”
“Why are we marking everything up just because I can? Just because we could do it?” he said. “It’s simply unacceptable.”
Reiner also challenged the perception that an exceptionally expensive sheitel must contain exceptionally rare or superior hair. “I keep telling people: you are crazy, you are allowing yourself to be taken advantage of,” he said.
He suggested that for some consumers, the high price itself can become part of the appeal. “Some people like to be taken advantage of. They walk in with a ‘look how much money I spent’ feeling,” he said. “They simply burnt money.”
Reiner said greater consumer education about hair quality, manufacturing costs and the supply chain could help buyers understand what they are actually paying for.
“First of all, we have to educate,” he said.
His contention is not that quality sheitels should be inexpensive. Virgin hair costs more, requires a greater upfront investment and can provide a substantially longer-lasting product. Rather, he argues that there is a point at which the price is no longer explained by the quality of the hair or the cost of making the wig.
For families facing the already significant expenses of Jewish life and simchas, Reiner says understanding that distinction could mean saving thousands of dollars on a single sheitel.
