Not Just for Religious Women: The Secret of Israel’s Richest Women

They cost tens of thousands of shekels, come from virgin hair purchased in Europe, and have gone from a religious symbol to one of the most sought-after luxury items in the wardrobes of businesswomen and celebrities. Haya Branfman, owner of an international wig empire, explains why women are now selling designer bags to buy hair, how Kim Kardashian is connected to it, and the moving mission that helps cancer patients regain their confidence.

MOR PICKELNY, N12 Published: 10.06.26, 12:19 | Updated: 10.06.26, 18:45

The empire of Haya Branfman | Photo: Sali Ben Ari

When a senior producer from the film industry in Los Angeles opened her closet, Haya Branfman expected to see a collection of handbags or shoes. Instead, there was a row of carefully arranged wigs, each one for a different look, a different event and a different mood. If wigs were once identified almost exclusively with religious women or with medical issues, in recent years they have become a sought-after fashion item. What was once a niche product has become part of global beauty culture, with customers ranging from Jerusalem to New York and Los Angeles.

Haya Branfman, owner of the wig empire Branfman Wigs, runs the family business together with her three sisters and divides her time between the branches in New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem. In her view, the change the industry is undergoing is nothing less than a revolution.

"This is really a fascinating topic," Haya begins in a conversation from New York, where she manages the brand’s U.S. branches. "It’s amazing to see the change from year to year. I see it all over the world, not just in Israel. Even when we are in the United States, there are customers who do not come from the religious world at all. They buy wigs as an accessory, as a fashion item."

According to her, the change is also clearly reflected in sales figures. "If five years ago the market was 10% non-religious women and 90% religious women, today the trend is already 70% religious and 30% non-religious, and I assume it will only keep growing. You have no idea how crazy it is."

One of the moments when Haya realized how far the phenomenon had crossed boundaries came during a visit to that producer in Los Angeles. "She is not religious at all, and when she opened her closet, I was shocked. She just has wigs there like she has shoes. A real wig closet," she recalls. "I have clients who already have ten wigs in the closet and just switch them every day. For example, I have a very big real-estate client in the United States who said to me: 'For business meetings I’ll wear the shorter wigs, and when I go out with friends for a casual look I wear the long ones.' In the end, it’s a statement. You choose a wig to project something, בדיוק like you choose the shoe that fits your look."

Photo: Private photo

"Selling the Gucci to buy a wig"

If in the past a designer handbag or luxury watch were the clear status symbols, today some women prefer to invest their money in hair. "Today someone told me: 'I’m selling the Gucci bag I have and coming to buy the wig,'" Haya says. "It’s even more important to them than brands."

She explains that for many women, the wig has become a luxury product in every sense. "It is considered a luxury item, an expensive fashion item that everyone wants in the closet. It has become a dream for many women. I keep hearing things like: 'My husband said he would buy me a diamond, and I told him no, not diamonds and nothing else, just a wig.' It’s a dream for many women. It has become something wow."

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When talking about "wow," they are also talking about sums that, as can be understood, can rise quickly. "There are very significant differences," Haya explains. "Let’s start with the lowest possible price, which you can buy on AliExpress for $100, and that isn’t even hair, it’s synthetic, these are Purim wigs. A good, high-quality wig starts at 20,000 shekels and up, and that is the price for a short wig, and it goes up depending on length and color. The lighter the hair, the higher the demand worldwide and the more expensive it is. When someone wants a length that goes past the waist and a very light color, the prices can also reach $20,000."

Behind the high prices lies a huge international raw materials market. Hair quality, as Branfman explains, is the main factor determining a wig’s value. "We bring in light hair from Europe, from countries like Russia and Ukraine. We buy it by weight, for thousands of dollars per kilo. Darker hair comes from Brazil, and that has the best hair in my opinion."

The key, she explains, is the use of what is called "virgin hair." "The expertise is knowing how to choose hair that has not undergone any processing, no dye, no chemical treatments and no straightening. The purest possible. There are entire countries like Ukraine where this is the main source of income, they grow hair, sell it and make a living from it."

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Not Just for Religious Women

According to Branfman, one of the main reasons for the breakthrough of the field among secular women is the exposure it received through celebrities and social media. "I always wanted to break the boundaries of the religious world. It took time, but then the celebrities came."

The list of clients and projects that have passed through the company includes quite a few familiar names. "We have used celebrities like Titi Aynaw, Tahuonia, we did extensions for Eden Alene for Eurovision, and there are Nesrin, Eden Ben Zaken and Irit Rahamim, who make it accessible and normalize it."

But in her view, the ones setting the biggest trends are the international stars. "The most vivid example is Kim Kardashian. She wore a blonde shoulder-length wig at the Met Gala, and the next day we had already created a model like that. We need to keep producing more because of the demand," Haya laughs. "A wig like that, like Kim Kardashian’s, costs around 30,000 to 35,000 shekels."

One of the reasons many women avoided wigs in the past was the fear of an artificial look. But according to Branfman, technology has completely changed the rules of the game. "Wigs used to be very heavy and not natural. Today there is a method called 'toplace' , a very thin fabric and a natural sewing method that is less intimidating for non-religious women. Slowly people are breaking the myth that it looks 'wiggy' and heavy. Today the innovation is so advanced that it is really hard to tell there is a wig on the head, even for a professional. You can wear it for 12 hours a day, wash it at home and do everything with it."

The empire of Haya Branfman | Photo: Sali Ben Ari

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"That is my mission"

Alongside the world of luxury and high prices, Branfman also dedicates part of her business activity to women dealing with cancer. "The department is called 'My Original.' We make a wig from the client’s own hair before chemotherapy treatments. She comes to us before the hair falls out, we shave it off and within three hours create a wig from her hair."

"It’s a mission, the department operates on a nonprofit basis and the clients pay only cost price. They leave the salon at the end of the day just as they arrived in the morning, and the professor at the hospital asks, 'How is it possible that your hair didn’t fall out?' It allows them to go through the treatments with a lighter heart."

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