Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Fashion and Beauty -> Sheitels & Tichels
My friend that is BIG in the wig industry told me the secret
Previous  1  2  3  4  5  Next



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

rimon613




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 4:35 pm
amother Lightcyan wrote:
I've gotten wigs that my sheitel lady said are comparable to sary, irene etc...she even started buying them and selling them herself. The one I wore every single day lasted 2.5 years and I paid about $700.



Where did you buy it from for such a good price? Can you PM me her name and number?
Back to top

amother
Lightcyan


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 4:42 pm
rimon613 wrote:
Where did you buy it from for such a good price? Can you PM me her name and number?


Erica from ebm wigs. Ck it out on insta.
Back to top

amother
Babyblue


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 5:30 pm
amother Royalblue wrote:
Well you're not yet 2-3 years into your bk so how do you know if it won't follow the same path as your shevy?


I was just thinking that, it’s a good question. Obviously I don’t know, but the BK does feel completely different than my other wigs. The closest I could compare it to is my renaissance. They are both untreated hair, and the renaissance lasted me over 8 years. And even then it still felt and looked almost brand new and fresh. I gave it away to someone who still wears it and it still looks good.
My shevy lasted about 5 years, my Eva and Chloes, Irene, and Sarys, all lasted maximum 3 years and they were coarse mops at the end
Back to top

amother
Aqua


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 5:42 pm
I had my sheitel macher trying to sell me a cheaper brand, telling me it's just as nice as the expensive ones.
But it isn't true, I could see a real difference with the structure and hair.

Are the expensive sheitels priced higher than they should be? Yes
But generally they're still better quality than the the cheap fully processed ones.
Back to top

DustyDiamonds




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 7:58 pm
Ages ago I worked for the husband of one of the big name SM’s. She did the styling and he ran the business.

He had factories in Europe and South America. They would get in massive cases of hair, and need to go through it.

Human hair, just like human beings, are all different! Even if they are ethnically or geographically similar!

They would sort through the hair and grade it, as premium, cheaper but okay, and trash. Lots of the hair had nits. They’d use the top quality for their premium or special line, and the mid grade hair for their regular line, and trash the terrible hair.

Each time you buy a wig from Dini/Shevy/Yaffa/Sary/etc, you are getting human hair. And humans graded the hair. And mistakes can happen. And the aliexpress WhatsApp phone number guys can sometimes be lucky and in possession of a wig with incredible hair. And they can sometimes make wigs out of hair that my guy would’ve trashed.

After a couple of Chinese wigs, I realized that it’s just not worthwhile for me. I’d much prefer to deal with a reputable SM who knows the quality of the hair (I can’t tell without wearing it for a few weeks, every wig looks fab freshly blown!) and will guarantee it for me. Quite a few of my cheap Chinese no-name wigs were good at first and became brittle and stiff in a few months, probably because they were heavily conditioned and that wore off.

These days, I no longer have the energy and money and willingness to gamble on wig purchases.
Back to top

amother
Lightcyan


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:06 pm
DustyDiamonds wrote:
Ages ago I worked for the husband of one of the big name SM’s. She did the styling and he ran the business.

He had factories in Europe and South America. They would get in massive cases of hair, and need to go through it.

Human hair, just like human beings, are all different! Even if they are ethnically or geographically similar!

They would sort through the hair and grade it, as premium, cheaper but okay, and trash. Lots of the hair had nits. They’d use the top quality for their premium or special line, and the mid grade hair for their regular line, and trash the terrible hair.

Each time you buy a wig from Dini/Shevy/Yaffa/Sary/etc, you are getting human hair. And humans graded the hair. And mistakes can happen. And the aliexpress WhatsApp phone number guys can sometimes be lucky and in possession of a wig with incredible hair. And they can sometimes make wigs out of hair that my guy would’ve trashed.

After a couple of Chinese wigs, I realized that it’s just not worthwhile for me. I’d much prefer to deal with a reputable SM who knows the quality of the hair (I can’t tell without wearing it for a few weeks, every wig looks fab freshly blown!) and will guarantee it for me. Quite a few of my cheap Chinese no-name wigs were good at first and became brittle and stiff in a few months, probably because they were heavily conditioned and that wore off.

These days, I no longer have the energy and money and willingness to gamble on wig purchases.


On the flip side I've heard countless stories from family and friends of buying expensive high end wigs and getting a lemon. The sheitel machers can also put products in and blow the hair and you end up getting something that is not what you thought you were. And most won't guarantee the wig or replace it even if you spent thousands...they will convince you if you pay a few hundred more for a special "treatment" the problem will be fixed and then it really isn't. At least when you buy from China and you get a lemon, its a cheaper one. For me personally I've bought 3 wigs from China and have been happy with all of them. They last about 2-3 years with heavy wearing. And I would have paid at least 3x the amount for similar quality locally.
Back to top

amother
Honeysuckle


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:09 pm
[quote="DustyDiamonds"]Ages ago I worked for the husband of one of the big name SM’s. She did the styling and he ran the business.

He had factories in Europe and South America. They would get in massive cases of hair, and need to go through it.

Human hair, just like human beings, are all different! Even if they are ethnically or geographically similar!

They would sort through the hair and grade it, as premium, cheaper but okay, and trash. Lots of the hair had nits. They’d use the top quality for their premium or special line, and the mid grade hair for their regular line, and trash the terrible hair.

Each time you buy a wig from Dini/Shevy/Yaffa/Sary/etc, you are getting human hair. And humans graded the hair. And mistakes can happen. And the aliexpress WhatsApp phone number guys can sometimes be lucky and in possession of a wig with incredible hair. And they can sometimes make wigs out of hair that my guy would’ve trashed. ]

So much this.

One of the things that struck me about the sheitel factories in Ukraine is the different quality of hair. They told me it takes hair from 4-5 people to make a sheitel. And some obviously much softer and higher quality.

And the hair seller I know told me he sells hair to major companies. They all get some good and some bad. But certain companies pay more, they get more of the high quality stuff.
Back to top

amother
Sage


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:11 pm
The trouble with these china wigs is the sizing. I bought a few and they're huge. I have no idea how to get one for a true petite head. Anyone have any ideas?
Back to top

amother
Lightcyan


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:16 pm
amother Sage wrote:
The trouble with these china wigs is the sizing. I bought a few and they're huge. I have no idea how to get one for a true petite head. Anyone have any ideas?


The companies I dealt with sent me a size chart which had pics of how to measure. Did you measure or just guessed? My head is big so I got my cap custom made for my measurements...it's costs a little more but is so worth it for me.
Back to top

amother
Whitewash


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:27 pm
amother Sage wrote:
The trouble with these china wigs is the sizing. I bought a few and they're huge. I have no idea how to get one for a true petite head. Anyone have any ideas?


Same and I measured.
Back to top

DustyDiamonds




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:18 pm
amother Whitewash wrote:
Same and I measured.


Why can’t the folks in China COUNT the same way we do?

I know they speak and write and do everything differently, but shouldn’t numbers be universal?

I’ve been the same size shoe since the 90’s. It’s not a half size. Every single shoe I’ve ordered in that size has fit me. My foot isn’t narrow or wide.

And yet, 75% of the shoes I’ve ordered from AliExpress do not fit. Sometimes too big, sometimes too small. And I use the size charts. And I can convert to centimeters. I’m good at math. And I’m open to wearing a leather shoe that’s snug, since it will stretch. And putting an indoor in a shoe that’s a little too big. And still, I gave away most of the shoes I ordered.

They were cute and cheap, but they didn’t fit! I’m not risking it anymore. Just like wigs!

And to the poster who said that women have gotten lemons from SM’s — I would only deal with a SM who has a good reputation for standing behind everything she sells. And it’s not worth the risk to buy at the one day flash sales, tempting as it is, if 75% of the time I’ll have wasted the money!
Back to top

amother
Royalblue


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:48 pm
DustyDiamonds wrote:
Why can’t the folks in China COUNT the same way we do?

I know they speak and write and do everything differently, but shouldn’t numbers be universal?

I’ve been the same size shoe since the 90’s. It’s not a half size. Every single shoe I’ve ordered in that size has fit me. My foot isn’t narrow or wide.

And yet, 75% of the shoes I’ve ordered from AliExpress do not fit. Sometimes too big, sometimes too small. And I use the size charts. And I can convert to centimeters. I’m good at math. And I’m open to wearing a leather shoe that’s snug, since it will stretch. And putting an indoor in a shoe that’s a little too big. And still, I gave away most of the shoes I ordered.

They were cute and cheap, but they didn’t fit! I’m not risking it anymore. Just like wigs!

And to the poster who said that women have gotten lemons from SM’s — I would only deal with a SM who has a good reputation for standing behind everything she sells. And it’s not worth the risk to buy at the one day flash sales, tempting as it is, if 75% of the time I’ll have wasted the money!


It's nearly impossible for a SM to stand behind the wig 100% when she's not the manufacturer.
Our markup doesn't allow us to absorb the cost of giving you a new wig if it's a lemon.
We can only stand behind the wig as much as the company will stand behind it.
We can facilitate repairs and help fix issues. But if you're paying 5k for a wig and our markup is 700 and your wig turns out not to be amazing and the company is not willing to do anything about it there's no way we can give you another wig at our expense of 4300 plus redoing all the services for free. It's just not sustainable.
Back to top

amother
Aqua


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:03 pm
amother Royalblue wrote:
It's nearly impossible for a SM to stand behind the wig 100% when she's not the manufacturer.
Our markup doesn't allow us to absorb the cost of giving you a new wig if it's a lemon.
We can only stand behind the wig as much as the company will stand behind it.
We can facilitate repairs and help fix issues. But if you're paying 5k for a wig and our markup is 700 and your wig turns out not to be amazing and the company is not willing to do anything about it there's no way we can give you another wig at our expense of 4300 plus redoing all the services for free. It's just not sustainable.


Are you really only making $700 on a 5K wig? I find that hard to believe.
Back to top

amother
Lightcyan


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:06 pm
amother Royalblue wrote:
It's nearly impossible for a SM to stand behind the wig 100% when she's not the manufacturer.
Our markup doesn't allow us to absorb the cost of giving you a new wig if it's a lemon.
We can only stand behind the wig as much as the company will stand behind it.
We can facilitate repairs and help fix issues. But if you're paying 5k for a wig and our markup is 700 and your wig turns out not to be amazing and the company is not willing to do anything about it there's no way we can give you another wig at our expense of 4300 plus redoing all the services for free. It's just not sustainable.


Why isn't the manufacturer standing behind the 5k wigs? Why do all the sheitel machers let them get away with it?
Back to top

DustyDiamonds




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:07 pm
amother Royalblue wrote:
It's nearly impossible for a SM to stand behind the wig 100% when she's not the manufacturer.
Our markup doesn't allow us to absorb the cost of giving you a new wig if it's a lemon.
We can only stand behind the wig as much as the company will stand behind it.
We can facilitate repairs and help fix issues. But if you're paying 5k for a wig and our markup is 700 and your wig turns out not to be amazing and the company is not willing to do anything about it there's no way we can give you another wig at our expense of 4300 plus redoing all the services for free. It's just not sustainable.


I agree that the math you posted doesn’t look great.

But:

What if refunding a lemon every so often yields far more happy clients, who are willing to spend big bucks for their wigs at her salon?

That’s probably the route my SM has taken. Years ago she took back a wig that was shedding lots of hair, and let me choose a new one, after about five months. I was friends with her secretary, who told me she does these things at a loss. It’s her marketing, it’s her reputation.

Addendum: I was a long term client of that SM, and I have a good reputation locally. I’m sure she doesn’t take back wigs from every first time client who complains, or the difficult clients who are rarely happy with their wigs.
Back to top

amother
Chambray


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:25 pm
I'm not going to speak to what I don't know. It's very likely a large number of wigs do come from China, since its cheap. Quality-wise, not the best option. Most Chinese people have thin straight hair. Indian hair on the other hand is another breed, of thick, quality hair. What I do know is that a vast majority of wig hair comes from India, at least originally before it's packed and shipped to other countries for manufacturing, and there's only one reason why, MONEY. The wig industry, like any other industry, is there for profit. If you think Jewish women are the only ones who wear wigs, there are millions of other people who wear wigs. Anyone who tells you that hair originally comes from Europe simply doesn't know the facts.

What percentage of European women decide to sell or donate their hair to wigs? My guess is close to 0%. I haven't found any proof of this and it doesn't even follow the line of reason. Apple and other big companies outsource labor and merchandise to Asian countries for one reason, it's CHEAP. The majority of Indians are Hindu, and its part of their religion/cult to shave their heads and give their hair away, and who do you think collects their hair and uses it for profit (to sell it in large clumps to hair buyers,) - People who work in the hair industry.

I'm not getting into whether or not it's fine. There's a huge machlokes poskim. The hair's origin is something else. There is no "EUROPEAN HAIR" tired of hearing that scam. Maybe one out of 100,000 wigs is from an actual European who shaved her head. And FYI, each wig is hundreds of heads of hair. How do you think wigs come out so straight and perfect? They mix hundreds of pieces of hair all together and use machines to cut them straight after it clumps all the pieces together.
Back to top

amother
Royalblue


 

Post Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:47 pm
amother Aqua wrote:
Are you really only making $700 on a 5K wig? I find that hard to believe.


Pretty much. Obviously I'm not giving you an exact breakdown but that's the gist of it.
Markup is similar across brands. The industry is unique because the markups don't go by percentage rather it is a set fee. So the 3k wig and the 6k wig brings in the same amount of profit.
Wig brands that manufacture AND have their own salons selling retail are making way more because they also make the middleman profit.

Obviously every SM has their own way of running their business but this is how majority do it. We are not out to rip you off. We need to cover our expenses and also earn money.

I'm sure you can find a minority that are out to charge you the most they can, but you can find that in every industry. But you don't have to use them.
Back to top

amother
Maroon


 

Post Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:34 am
amother Taupe wrote:
You can buy from ali many people have been doing that. Having seen both it’s not true. Most companies sheitel machers sell are better quality by far. My friends who get on ali need to replace yearly because it’s junk.


I bought an ali wig for about 550....
nowhere near the quality of my RX or Irene that I bought after that..
The ali is long in the garbage...
it looked good for a time, then became really stiff feeling but still looked decent and then it went into the garbage or the Purim box lol not sure which

it's possible the hair of the companies are from china and wholesale are sold in bulk for 900/1000 and then resell for like 2000....makes sense...but it's not the same item/quality as the sellers from ali...
Back to top

Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 26 2023, 2:36 am
My friend grew out her own hair and made it into a wig. It’s gorgeous. I think she paid about $2000 for the work. She has some extra wefts for repairs down the line.
Back to top

amother
Cerulean


 

Post Thu, Jan 26 2023, 1:44 pm
amother Maroon wrote:
I bought an ali wig for about 550....
nowhere near the quality of my RX or Irene that I bought after that..
The ali is long in the garbage...
it looked good for a time, then became really stiff feeling but still looked decent and then it went into the garbage or the Purim box lol not sure which

it's possible the hair of the companies are from china and wholesale are sold in bulk for 900/1000 and then resell for like 2000....makes sense...but it's not the same item/quality as the sellers from ali...


This. I was all into the Ali wigs a few years ago.... I bought a gourgeous long lacetop wig that was exactly my color, and wore it in a pony.

It lasted fine for a while until one day it began oxidizing.

It slowly got more and more orange and oxdized over time, and I just ignored it because I upset that it was getting ruined so fast, until on Purim someone asked me if its my costume. TMI

That was the end of that wig, and all china wigs for me.
I paid about $900 and it lasted from November to March. Not worth it, in my opinion.
Back to top
Page 4 of 5 Previous  1  2  3  4  5  Next Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Fashion and Beauty -> Sheitels & Tichels

Related Topics Replies Last Post
The wig outlet
by amother
28 Yesterday at 10:25 pm View last post
Wig washing
by amother
2 Yesterday at 10:12 pm View last post
ISO best wig cutter in Lakewood
by amother
11 Yesterday at 8:56 pm View last post
How to prevent wig from tangling in the back
by amother
0 Yesterday at 8:24 pm View last post
Looking to buy a cheap wig in rbs
by amother
14 Yesterday at 10:58 am View last post