About one-third of women experience hair loss at some time in their lives. For women who have been through menopause, it is two-thirds.
Research shows it can truly affect a woman’s well-being. That’s why one salon owner is switching up her business model.
“I have always had really fine hair,” Beth McDonald, a customer, said. “I have always had short hair and I thought that’s just my hair; my family has really fine hair.”
It was a nuisance she adapted to, but then life changed in the worst of ways when her husband died. It crushed her soul and changed her body.
“Now, looking back, I think it was the grief, the stress — I had to move. Dealing with a spouse’s death is really horrible,” McDonald said.
Her thinning hair turned into a balding head.
“I think when you have hair loss, you just lose confidence. You think, ‘Are people looking at my hair?'” McDonald said.
It’s a story Lisa Linder knows well.
After decades of cutting hair, Linder decided to focus on replacing it. She opened Wigs by Opulence in Eagan, Minnesota, to address the growing pain of hair that won’t grow.
“It’s not abnormal to have somebody come in in tears,” Linder said. “Hair can age someone, make them look younger. It can really change their demeanor and how they feel.”
The final product also makes Linder feel really good.
“I just like being calm and understanding for somebody, caring for somebody,” she said. “At the end of the day, that’s what makes me smile when I get in my car at the end of the day.”
Now McDonald gets to start her days with a smile and a secret — and that’s the mission of this salon.
“I want women to know there’s things you can do to make yourself feel beautiful and that’s OK,” McDonald said.
Wigs by Opulence sells regular cosmetic wigs and cranial prostheses, which are specifically for people who lost their hair because of sickness.
Wigs start at about $2,000. In some cases, insurance helps pay.
