Our First Ever Big Sale!

Mark your calendars, ladies!!! Classic Sheitels is having a one day blow-out sale next Sunday, June 12, 10 a.m-3 p.m.
All sheitels from $400 to $900 will be 10% off for one day only! Chomi (Feldman) Gross will be on the spot to consult and cut.
Over 50 precut styles in stock to try on! Shevy, Shuly, Freeda, Miri, Rebecca, Tori, Ralph, Kiki, and more!

I Want Your Poor, Unwanted Sheitels!

Pesach is coming and it's one of the busiest times of the year for Classic Sheitel Consignments.

NOT what I meant when I asked for volume and highlights!

Somewhere in the back of your closet, lurks a sheitel you never wear, a sheitel that probably makes you feel guilty and remorseful every time you see it. It's in excellent condition, but you never wear it because...you never liked the cut, chose the wrong color, feel uncomfortable in the cap, were pressured into buying it, etc. 

Lucky you--you read my blog and I've got a solution! Sell your sheitel here at my consignment boutique and make back some of your money. We've sold more than 100 sheitels, and would love to do the same for you.

Trust me, your husband will be thrilled to hear some use is being made of that sheitel you agonized (to him) over!

Give me a call at 443-717-1111 or email me at CSCBaltimore@hotmail.com to discuss.


Love,
Lena

Getting a Great Sheitel Cut

You've been reading my blog and now you know what to look for in a sheitel. What's next? Choosing a salon, and getting a terrific cut.

Love those curls!

This is the scariest part because it's the make it or break it for the sheitel. 

There's a lot of room for mistakes and miscommunication, but with a few simple strategies, you can have a successful experience.

• Your sheitel should have been washed and air-dried before you arrive to ensure that the hair is good. If you get there and the hair is wet or just being washed, I'd reschedule.
• You need to discuss price BEFORE the sheitel macher starts cutting. Don't rely on what your sister's best friend's mother told you the sheitel macher's prices are. Ask her directly, and find out what that covers. Can you come back multiple times to have the sheitel's cut tweaked?
• The consultation you have before the cut is the key to things turning out well. You need to be crystal clear about what you want. 
• Unless you are so naturally gorgeous, easygoing, and flexible that any old style will suit you, DO NOT arrive and tell the sheitel macher that she should just give you the cut she thinks will look best. 
• Bring a picture, or bring your old sheitel, if you want the new one to look similar. The more you show, rather than just tell her what it should look like, the less of a chance there is for miscommunication.
• The bangs and front of the sheitel are really the most important part of the cut. Ask her to cut them in stages if you are not sure what length/style you want. You can always go shorter, but remember there's no growing back.
• If you feel that a cutting error has occurred, ask her to stop. If indeed a mistake has been made, it may be possible for her to remedy it somehow. But don't wait till the end, when there will be less to be done.
• If the sheitel macher seems distracted, ask politely if you might reschedule. It's totally understandable for her to take one phone call or answer a customer, but things will not generally turn out well if she is constantly being interrupted. Sheitel cuts cost a lot of money—you deserve her undivided time and attention.

And that, in a nutshell, is my advice. Stay tuned for next time…Pesach is coming! If there is something you would like to see addressed on this blog, please let me know!

All About Sheitels 3: How to Become a Sheitel Insider

If you are looking at my blog for the first time, welcome! This is a comprehensive version of an article that was recently published in Baltimore's Where What When magazine. This time, we're talking about everything you need to know in order to succeed in buying a sheitel.

So, you want to buy a sheitel, but you're overwhelmed and confused. You're afraid of wasting your money and ending up unhappy…again. At Classic Sheitel Consignments I sell new and gently-worn precuts. I also teach you about sheitels and empower you to spend wisely. Here, I share some sheitel buying tips:

• Ask questions! When something seems too good to be true, it is. Where is the hair from? Has it been stripped of cuticle or dyed? How long is it expected to last? Understand that the more processed the hair, the shorter the life of the sheitel.
• Try to buy a precut. How many times have you bought an uncut sheitel, only to end up hating the cut? When you buy knowing what it already looks like, you're at a great advantage.
• Sheitels don't last forever. Generally, a cuticle-intact wig can last one to six years and a piece that's stripped of cuticle around one to two years. No matter how fancy your sheitel is, if you mistreat it, you will exponentially shorten its life. Frequently using heat on the hair will damage it.
• A sheitel should be washed BEFORE you buy it. If not, there is no guarantee that the way it looks in the store is the way it will look after being cleaned.
• Take the sheitel outside to see yourself in natural light. Indoor lighting will not accurately show if the color suits you.
• Don't buy a sheitel under pressure or one that can't be returned. I know it's really tempting to grab something at a sale, but if you can't at least wear it for a day to make sure it's right for you, you're taking a big risk. Six-hundred dollars is cheap for a sheitel, but expensive for a mistake!
• Always find out the specifics of what the sheitel's warrantee covers and get it in writing with your dated receipt.
• Ask the stylist who is cutting your sheitel what the cut covers—how many times can you come back to have it fine-tuned? Make sure you are crystal clear about the cut and bring a picture. Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself and insist upon good customer service. This is your sheitel and your money.
• A special note for kallahs—mazel tov, darling! We're so excited for you, your family, and your chassan! I want to explain something to you that no one may be telling you—your sheitel will not look exactly like your hair. It can come close, but you will look different. Realizing this from the beginning will help you tremendously.
• Become an educated consumer by reading my blog, http://classicsheitels.blogspot.com and coming to my store! I'm always available to answer your questions and teach you ALL about sheitels.

At Classic Sheitel Consignment, my mission is to make buying a sheitel an affordable, honest, and pleasant experience. After all, covering your hair is a special and beautiful mitzvah. You deserve to look amazing, feel terrific, and get a great deal!

All About Sheitels 2: Virgin, Processed, European…What Does it Mean?!

processed or virgin? only he knows...

Q: So what is virgin hair?

A: The word "virgin" indicates hair that has never been commercially processed in any way. It's not dyed and it's not stripped of cuticle or coated with silicone. The hair is basically cut off some lady's head, washed, cleaned, brushed, and sewn into the sheitel cap. Virgin hair could technically come from anywhere—virgin European, virgin Mongolian, virgin Indian. It may last a few years longer than processed hair (if it's good hair to start out with) but it's very pricey. I would not expect to buy a true virgin hair piece for less than around $2,000.

Q: Nu, and processed hair?

A: So "processed" has a much less specific definition. Processed can mean hair that's simply colored or permed, but it can also mean hair that's been bleached, stripped of cuticle, re-dyed, and coated with silicone. There are brands of sheitels sold as European, but they are actually stripped of the all important cuticle. There are sheitels that are Mongolian, but are virgin hair. It's very confusing, but one thing to know is that most sheitels, from the cheapest to some of the most expensive, are generally "processed" in some way.

Q: In view of this, what does "European hair" really mean?

A: In my humble opinion, it's very hard to know.

Let me tell you a story…back in the day, before I knew anything about sheitels, I bought one that was advertised as "affordable" European hair. The web site had this section about how the owner of the company wanted to provide well-priced European sheitels to everyone, basically out of the goodness of her own heart (forgive my cynicism).

So, I bought two, that's how cheap they were (less than $500 for a full sheitel, about $400 for a fall). When they arrived, I took them to a friend who was a sheitel macher and learned my first hard lesson about sheitels: when something seems too good to be true, it is. Lo and behold, those sheitels were stripped of cuticle. Then, to add insult to injury, when the whole Indian hair crises came up a few months later, the same company emailed all recent customers to let them know that there was a percentage of Indian hair in these "European hair" sheitels.

End of story? Nope, that company is still in business, and they advertise their sheitels as European. Nowhere in their literature does it say anything about the hair being stripped of cuticle. So, unless you know to ask, you would never know.

Also, the term "European" doesn't always signify terrific hair. European hair should come from the heads of women in Europe, generally former Soviet countries in Eastern Europe. But, there are many different levels of quality. A woman who is well-fed and takes good care of her hair will have much nicer hair than another woman who is malnourished, impoverished, and a smoker. Yet, a sheitel can be made with either woman's hair and still be called European.

Q: So what should I do? How can I know?

A: This is my advice. First, ask a lot of questions when you are buying a sheitel. Second, cultivate a relationship with a sheitel macher who has a good reputation and feels trustworthy to you.  

And third and most importantly, stay tuned for my next blog entry! I'm going to be teaching you how to become an educated sheitel consumer so that the next time you buy a sheitel, you'll know what you are doing!

I'm Ordering New Sheitels and Want Your Suggestions!

Batya wears a stunning 16" long, handmade, #2 LENA sheitel

 I'm going to be placing an order for some new "Lena's Pre-cut" sheitels very soon and would love to hear what colors/lengths people are interested in seeing in the store (no obligation, of course!). Also, we're going to be ordering mostly pre-cuts, so if you have a style you like, send me a pic. I'm collecting ideas!

Some of our new pre-cuts

All About Sheitels Part 1: The Almighty Cuticle

This is the first part of a series of posts I'm going to be doing to demystify the process of buying a sheitel/wig. You probably have a lot of questions: these are my answers, these are my opinions. If there is something particular you want to know, please get in touch and I'll try to personally answer your questions.

I'm going to first address the issue of cuticle-intact hair and stripped hair. In my opinion, this is the big dividing line between a natural looking, beautiful sheitel you can get five or more years from, and a less than lovely, stripped sheitel that looks like hay after one to two years.

You never see this advertised, but I think of it as kind of the dirty little secret of the sheitel industry. If someone tries to sell you a "European hair" sheitel and the price seems too good to be true, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask "Is the cuticle intact?"

Q: Ok, so after all of this sermonizing, what is the cuticle?

A: Good question! The cuticle is the outermost layer of a strand of hair. It acts as a protective barrier and is the hair's natural defense against drying damage. If you looked at your own hair under a microscope, the cuticles kind of look like little, flat, overlapping hooks that run in the same direction. Smooth intact cuticles mean longer sheitel life, a more natural look, and no tangling if the hair is sewn into the cap in the right direction (we'll get to tangling in a minute).


Hair that is chemically stripped of its cuticle layer gets dryer much faster. When you buy it, it looks shiny because it's treated with an artificial outer layer made of silicone or acrylic, which will eventually wash away, causing what I like to call the "horse hair" effect—dry, brittle, lifeless hair.

Q: So why strip the cuticle?

A: Because, l'maisa, it's just cheaper to do it that way. Creating a cuticle-intact wig requires a lot of extra work, hence the higher cost. Because the cuticles are like little hooks, the individual hair strands must all flow in the same directions. If the hair cuticles do not flow in the same direction, the little hooks of the cuticles interlock, leading to tangling and matting—the "bird's nest."

(Just as an aside, this is what is going on when you buy a sheitel, and it knots up so badly in the back that you can't get a comb through it, ever. That is a manufacturer's sewing mistake, and should be covered by a warrantee. As soon as you see this in your new sheitel, chas v'shalom, run, don't walk, back to the sheitel macher. This has to be taken care of ASAP.)

So, to cut down on manufacturing costs caused by this very involved process, manufacturers came up with a cost and time saving solution—chemically stripping the cuticle off of the hair. This means that no extra time is needed to make sure the cuticles are all sewn in the same direction. There is nothing wrong with less expensive hair, as long as you know what you are getting—one to two years of wear—are charged accordingly, and do not continue to wear the sheitel past it's "expiration" date.

Q: OMG, wow, I never knew! Can I tell if the cuticle is intact without a microscope?

A: Yes! The cuticles point toward the end of the hair shaft. They aren't visible to the naked eye, but you can feel them. Here's how: first, make sure your hands are clean and dry. Second, slide your fingers along a dry hair from the end towards the scalp. The hair should make a slight squeaking sound. No sound, no cuticle.

And that's the story of the cuticle! Next time: virgin vs. processed hair