Christine, a New York resident, was about to get married. It was 2006, and she noticed her hair was falling out in worrisome clumps. By the time she got back from her honeymoon, it was practically all gone. Soon, she shaved the rest off and purchased the first of many “cheap” wigs, as she put it.
Then, her hair grew back. She had a “cute” short look and thought she had “ridden out the storm”. But she hadn’t. Nearly 18 months after debuting her chic new look, all her hair fell out including her eyebrows and eyelashes. “It was hard,” Christine said. Like virtually all of humanity, she took the hair for granted.
Supported by her husband and family, Christine decided it was time to face the facts: Alopecia claimed her hair.
“I had to take stock of things,” she said. “So I took a deep breath and started searching for the right wig. I was looking online and found a video of Andrew talking about wigs for cancer patients. He didn’t seem stuffy and didn’t strike me as someone who would try to oversell me.” So Christine made an appointment with Andrew. Based on previous experiences, she expected the worst, but hoped for the best. “You’re already accepting you lost a huge part of your identity and now have to deal with someone who’s going to try to oversell you,” she said. “I’ve been to those types of wig places before.”
“I met Andrew and I just loved him,” Christine said. “He was great, easy to talk to, easy to deal with. He really, really cared. There was never a hardcore sales presentation on his part. He just wanted to help.”
But still, Christine wasn’t ready to commit. Soon after, she took a drive to an operator who claimed to deal specifically with alopecia patients and had all the answers.
“I did my due diligence and it was awful. Hard core sales tactics, no compassion. My husband went straight back to Andrew and we bought a wig that day. He’s the real deal and I never need to go anywhere else.”
Today, Christine wears a bonded wig, and says she wears it 3-4 weeks at-a-time before having to reapply it. Showers, swimming, convertibles cruising down the highway, it doesn’t matter. It’s her hair now.
And she has Andrew to thank for making her feel whole again.
“Of course, I respect the balance between my needs and the fact this is Andrew’s livelihood, but he’s genuinely concerned for his clients’ happiness,” she said. “And his charitable work, giving wigs away to kids with cancer, donating his time. I don’t say this about many people, but he’s truly amazing.
