A new trend in Azerbaijan's social media has sparked a serious debate: parents cutting their young daughters' hair on livestreams and selling it on the spot.
A new trend in Azerbaijan's social media has sparked a serious debate: parents cutting their young daughters' hair on livestreams and selling it on the spot.
Buyers say they accept hair at least 45 centimetres long, and children's hair is the most wanted because it has not been dyed or treated with chemicals. A buyer quoted by Oxu.Az put standard prices at about 50 manat for 100 grams of 45-centimetre hair, rising to 100 manat for 100 grams at 60 centimetres, and 250 to 300 manat for thick, high-quality 60-centimetre hair. The collected hair is later used for extensions and wigs.
The law is not clear-cut. Lawyer Vusal Jafarov told Oxu.Az there is no specific Azerbaijani rule banning the sale of hair, and an adult selling their own hair voluntarily is not unlawful. With children, he said, parental rights are not unlimited: the cut must not harm the child, the child must not be forced, the child's own view must be taken into account for their age, and the income must serve the child's interests.
A psychologist quoted in the same report warned about the livestream itself: a child who cannot object, in front of thousands of viewers, can come away feeling they lost control over their own body, and the video stays online long after the hair grows back.
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