She Makes Wigs Good Enough for Naomi
July 17, 2024 9:10 AM Subscribe
Shani Lechan’s wigs have been worn by cancer patients, neighborhood moms and supermodels. Her golden rule? They can’t look “wiggy.” “I looked at my best friend, who was married at the time, and I’m like, ‘I’m going to make you a wig, your wig is not good,’” Ms. Lechan said. “Then my mom wanted a wig, and then her friend wanted a wig, and this whole thing started.”
Sandra E. Garcia for the NYT
There is a picture of the owner. I believe she is probably wearing a wig. I can’t really tell, but the article implies it.
posted by bq at 10:39 AM on July 17 [2 favorites]
posted by bq at 10:39 AM on July 17 [2 favorites]
It looks like she has an active TikTok which shows her work: https://www.tiktok.com/@shaniwigs
posted by that girl at 10:44 AM on July 17
posted by that girl at 10:44 AM on July 17
This is strange - on TikTok there is an entirely different conversation going on about this woman and her prices. Black women who wear wigs regularly are aghast at how much she’s charging for the quality and essentially saying that she’s using market segmentation to scam these women. I’m priced out of human hair lace fronts, but because they are often several hundred dollars, but never 10k like she’s charging. Part of the issue may be sourcing - because they are religiously mandated, they can’t use the temple hair that is the source of many Indian origin human hair wigs, but that still leaves other options available.
posted by Selena777 at 11:00 AM on July 17 [4 favorites]
posted by Selena777 at 11:00 AM on July 17 [4 favorites]
Oh I wondered if the owner was wearing a wig in that picture! That makes sense, if she is. Impressive!
posted by Zumbador at 11:01 AM on July 17
posted by Zumbador at 11:01 AM on July 17
Ehn, is a fashion designer or a high end makeup artist scamming when they sell their services/clothing at high prices? If Naomi Campbell was willing to pay for this wig to wear at a photo shoot then where is the scam? There’s a boatload of high-end luxury goods that I personally feel are massively overpriced….that seems like the same thing.
posted by bq at 11:27 AM on July 17 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 11:27 AM on July 17 [1 favorite]
Black women who wear wigs regularly are aghast at how much she’s charging for the quality and essentially saying that she’s using market segmentation to scam these women.
She started off selling her wigs to Orthodox Jewish women - and those women know their wigs. (That was my main thought when reading: "Orthodox women definitely know for wigs"). If they are willing to pay her prices, it's not because they don't know what else is available to them. Just about every married woman will own one or more wigs, there are wig shops in every community.
The religious aspect may be a factor in the price; as noted up thread, she is unlikely to be using hair donated to temples. Also, maybe there just isn't the same quality of wigs available in white hair styles and textures that there are for Black hair - it is a much smaller market.
But I think people are paying for the artistry and personalization - not just a good wig, but a wig that is matched to you and your hairline, and each wig is a one-of-a-kind creation. You would expect to pay a lot for custom-made clothes, as well, just to cover the labour costs.
And they are very, very good. She is wearing a wig in the photo (not that I can see it). The article doesn't explicitly say that, but it does say that she is married and wears wigs, and I can't imagine any Orthodox woman who covers her hair would ever allow a photo to be published with her real hair showing. It would be like a Muslim woman who covers her hair being photographed without her hijab.
posted by jb at 2:32 PM on July 17 [3 favorites]
She started off selling her wigs to Orthodox Jewish women - and those women know their wigs. (That was my main thought when reading: "Orthodox women definitely know for wigs"). If they are willing to pay her prices, it's not because they don't know what else is available to them. Just about every married woman will own one or more wigs, there are wig shops in every community.
The religious aspect may be a factor in the price; as noted up thread, she is unlikely to be using hair donated to temples. Also, maybe there just isn't the same quality of wigs available in white hair styles and textures that there are for Black hair - it is a much smaller market.
But I think people are paying for the artistry and personalization - not just a good wig, but a wig that is matched to you and your hairline, and each wig is a one-of-a-kind creation. You would expect to pay a lot for custom-made clothes, as well, just to cover the labour costs.
And they are very, very good. She is wearing a wig in the photo (not that I can see it). The article doesn't explicitly say that, but it does say that she is married and wears wigs, and I can't imagine any Orthodox woman who covers her hair would ever allow a photo to be published with her real hair showing. It would be like a Muslim woman who covers her hair being photographed without her hijab.
posted by jb at 2:32 PM on July 17 [3 favorites]
BTW, for those curious about Orthodox women and Indian temple hair, may I refer you to this old MeFi post about the great wig scandal of 2004.
posted by greatgefilte at 6:12 PM on July 17 [1 favorite]
posted by greatgefilte at 6:12 PM on July 17 [1 favorite]
The Cancer Society loaned me a wig for after my chemo. I couldn't even leave the house in it, it was so obviously a cheap synthetic wig. I can't afford a good one, so I just rocked the super short hair and now I have a luxuriant two inches of growth, which still looks better than that wig. These wigs look absolutely amazing.
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 7:18 PM on July 17 [3 favorites]
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 7:18 PM on July 17 [3 favorites]
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posted by Zumbador at 10:25 AM on July 17