Jamelia: Whose Hair Is It Anyway?

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Synopsis

Pop singer Jamelia investigates the hair extension industry. Real human hair extensions are becoming as much a part of girls' beauty regimes as fake tans. From celebrities to schoolgirls, women will spend anything from 20 to 2,000 pounds to clip, glue or sew another girl's hair on to their heads.

As a result of a massive recent increase in popularity, the human hair industry has exploded with an estimated 65 million pounds being spent every year on extensions in the UK alone.

Jamelia travels in search of the girls whose hair goes into the product. She follows a trail of hair back to its roots, on an international road trip from exclusive London salons to a dingy Moscow apartment where men trade human ponytails for cash to the hair-sacrificing temples of southern India.

Jamelia even has her own extensions analysed using ground-breaking forensic techniques, to try and track down the woman whose hair she wore on a recent TV appearance.

Jamelia's journey brings her face to face with some of her worst fears when she witnesses bunches of hair being shaved from toddlers' heads and meets a 13-year old flogging her hair in exchange for pocket money.

Credits

Presenter

Jamelia

Broadcasts

1. Sun 20 Jul 2008
   21:00
   BBC Three
2. Mon 21 Jul 2008
   00:45
   BBC Three
3. Wed 23 Jul 2008
   00:45
   BBC Three
4. Thu 31 Jul 2008
   21:00
   BBC Three
5. Fri 1 Aug 2008
   02:15
   BBC Three
6. Sun 3 Aug 2008
   02:40
   BBC Three
7. Tue 5 Aug 2008
   03:25
   BBC Three
8. Thu 7 Aug 2008
   02:15
   BBC Three
9. Mon 11 Aug 2008
   21:00
   BBC Three
10. Tue 12 Aug 2008
    00:05
    BBC Three
11. Thu 14 Aug 2008
    01:55
    BBC Three
12. Wed 29 Oct 2008
    21:00
    BBC Three
13. Thu 30 Oct 2008
    00:55
    BBC Three