wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |High-dollar weaves an enticing item for thieves

(WMC-TV) – Some women can't live without high-dollar hair extensions, and thieves are hot for hair, too. Police reports reveal a beauty trend is turning into a crime trend, as supply stores are ransacked for weaves.

Tanya Seals works at a Memphis beauty supply store where hair extensions sell for about $10, and the good stuff can go for $200. Because hair is a hot item for thieves in Memphis, customers checking out the goods where Seals works are closely monitored.
 
"That's why we got it behind the counter," she said. "We'd rather keep it behind the counter because you got so many thieves that love to take something."
 
But larger stores have so much inventory they must to rely on security cameras to peer down every aisle. Investigators say stolen weaves are sold on the black market and online in hundreds of colors and cuts.
 
Store owners say heists are on the rise in part because of the tough economy, but also because the hair has become more popular and, because it's human, it's more expensive.  Experts say human hair costs more than synthetic because it's more natural, it doesn't shed, and does not tangle as easily.
 
Another target for thieves are horse tails, which can fetch several hundred dollars.  Rancher Wayne Vanmeter says he must rely more on just cameras to catch crooks.

"I've got electric fences, no trespassing signs and I've got weapons, and I will use them if I have to," he said.
 
At times, more than a business' bottom line can suffer during a hair heist. Thieves used a stun gun on an employee in Nashville, and in one case, a beauty supplier in Michigan was killed by thieves.

Copyright 2011 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.