The 7 Sisters Who Made Millions From Simply Growing Out Their Own Hair
A group of sisters with luxurious hair turned their locks into an incredibly lucrative business at the end of the 19th century
--
Humanity has long had an entrepreneurial spirit throughout history. Many ventures with the design of making riches have fallen spectacularly by the wayside while others have stumbled into very profitable enterprises. Consider the case of the seven Sutherland sisters, who made millions of dollars more than a century ago simply by growing their hair.
The Sutherland sisters consisted of Dora, Grace, Isabella, Mary, Naomi, Sarah and Victoria. Hailing from the Niagara County, New York area, they grew up on a hardscrabble turkey farm and were separated in age by 17 years from youngest to oldest. All seven of them developed a reputation for singing and each having extremely lush and long hair. It was said that their mother had prepared a homemade lotion that she applied regularly to her daughters’ hair that made it grow and also gave it a lot of body. Each eventually grew their hair down past their knees or longer.
After their mother died in 1867, the sisters began performing concerts with a brother under the direction of their father, but the girls’ hair soon became the main attraction. Within a few years they were contracted with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and also made appearances at fairs, sideshows and dime museums. While there was approximately 37 feet of hair between the seven ladies, they were billed a little more generously: “7 Wonders of the World! 7 Accomplished musicians! 7 Ladies with 49 feet of hair! 7 Feet of hair each!”
To further capitalize on their growing fame, their father Fletcher created a patent medicine, “The Seven Sutherland Sisters Hair Grower.” Patent medicines were as common as different types of candy at the time. Usually little more than a few basic non-medicinal ingredients which were often copious amounts of alcohol or other non-necessary drugs, they were frequently snapped up by people either hoping they delivered on whatever they promised or the stupor they could provide.
Sutherland’s elixir, which was alternatively called “hair fertilizer” was composed of witch hazel…
