Cell-block Hair February 13, 2004 – smh.co.au

Victoria Beckham. Photo: Reuters

London salons, faced with a shortage of hair extensions, are buying hair from unlikely sources, including Russian prisons and mental homes, according to a report in The Times.

Victoria Beckham has apparently acknowledged the trade with a flippant comment to the Sunday Times.

"My extensions come from Russian prisoners, so I've got Russian cell-block H on my head," she said.

The Times insisted, however, there was no suggestion her extensions had been illegally sourced.

The newspaper's fashion staff noted that the trend, popularised by Beckham, Kylie Minogue and Elle Macpherson, meant salons were struggling to meet demand from women prepared to pay £2000 ($4800) for longer and thicker hair without having to wait for it to grow.

To meet demand in the West, convicts in Russia were having their heads shaved. Supplies were also being taken from children and mental patients, the paper suggested.

Lyudmila Alpern, deputy director for the Moscow Centre for Prison Reform, told the newspaper: "If you go into a detention centre with long, beautiful hair, there is very little chance you'll come out with it intact.

"They say to the women that they have to cut hair for hygiene, because of lice, but that is not true. Wardens cut the hair because they want to have a bit of business on the side," she said.

Beckham's hairdresser Feleny Georghiou played down his famous client's remark.

"There is no suggestion Ms Beckham's extensions were illegally sourced. Although the hair is from Russia, it is not actually from prisoners," he said.

Celebrity hairdresser Simon Forbes described the practice as "immoral" and said many of the women would be horrified if they knew the source of their extensions.

"We're hearing all sorts of real horror stuff at the moment. Why do women with lots of money in their pocket have to walk around, albeit unwittingly, wearing hair from what could be a Russian prisoner?" he said