The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Promising personal attention
Wig Gallery strives to make wig shopping a better experience for women
An old saying professes that “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
But pictures aren’t always helpful for a woman who’s buying a wig.
That shortcoming became obvious to Sue Boston when she began purchasing wigs through the internet during her battle with cancer.
“I went through chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2015, and I would order wigs online,” Boston said. “Whenever you would order a wig, you’re all excited — ‘I can’t wait to get it!’ And you get it, it was either not the color you thought, or it looked wonderful on the model, but when you put it on, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh — no!’
Based on her personal experiences, Boston decided to make shopping for wigs easier and more predictable by opening the Wig Gallery shop in Madison Village last year.
Located at 50 W. Main St., Wig Gallery offers not only a wide selection of wigs, but also related accessories such as hair extensions, wig grips and caps, eyelashes and eyelash glue, wig hangers, and toppers — which are hair pieces worn on the top of the head that provide additional hair volume.
Boston’s decision to establish a wig shop stemmed from her desire to help women who’ve lost hair not only from cancer treatments, but also as a result of alopecia areata. This is a disease that develops when the body attacks its own hair follicles, causing hair loss on the head and other areas of the body, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.
In a Nov. 13 post on Wig Gallery’s Facebook page, Boston elaborated on what she wanted to achieve through her new business.
“I want to help anyone with any type of hair loss feel like themselves again and love who they see in the mirror,” said Boston, who opened the store on Oct. 22. “Wigs do that. They can transform your look in a second and bring back the confidence that may have been lost.”
Shoppers who visit Wig Gallery can check out more than 250 wigs, featuring prominent name brands such as Rene of Paris, Jon Renau, Noriko and Raquel Welch. Meanwhile, Boston has added a personal touch to the store’s inventory by launching her own line of wigs, called the Wig Gallery Collection.
“The reason why we started doing that is because I wanted to make good wigs affordable for everyone,” Boston said. “Because some wigs — not that there’s anything wrong with them — some good-quality wigs are well over $300 or $400. Most people can’t afford that.”
Right now, there are eight different wigs in the Wig Gallery Collection, and Boston continues to work on new varieties for the product line.
“My goal is to someday get rid of the other manufacturers that we have, and have all the wigs in the store be from the Wig Gallery Collection,” Boston said.
While developing the Wig Gallery Collection has been one of the highlights of Boston’s first year in business, perhaps the low point was the arrival of the novel coronavirus pandemic and how it impacted store operations.
In mid-March, based on warnings of growing health and safety risks posed by COVID-19, Boston closed the store and only sold wigs and accessories online. When she resumed face-to-face selling at her shop in early May, Boston decided to open by appointment only, rather than having standard hours for the general public.
“I think that women seem to like it better that way (visiting Wig Gallery by appointment),” Boston said. “You’re the only one in here. You don’t have to rush, you can take your time.”
As the shop owner, Boston also prefers the appointment system, since she can provide personalized attention to each customer without interruptions.
For shoppers who don’t want to try on wigs as people are walking by outside the business’s picture window, Wig Gallery provides privacy rooms in the rear of the shop.
Boston, who also lives in Madison Village, said she scouted around for business locations all over Lake County before settling on the storefront. She likes where her shop is situated because it’s in the heart of downtown Madison Village, and is highly visible to vehicle traffic as well as people who attend special events in nearby Madison Village Park.
Along with operating Wig Gallery at 50 W. Main, Boston also runs a charity at that location called Gifted Wig. The program provides donated wigs to women in financial need who are going through chemotherapy.
“Right now, we are in need of donations,” Boston wrote on Wig Gallery’s Facebook page. “If you know anyone who has a wig that they no longer wear and haven’t been sure what to do with it, we will gladly accept it.”
Gifted Wig refurbishes all donated wigs and styles them for each recipient.
Boston, who finished radiation treatments for cancer nearly five years ago, said her customer base isn’t exclusively made up of women who’ve lost hair because of illness or the side effects of medication. She said many women purchase wigs simply because they’re looking for a new style, or their hair is thinning naturally.
For whatever reasons that customers are shopping for wigs, Boston wants to make their visit to Wig Gallery enjoyable.
“You can try different wigs on — different colors, different styles,” she said. “Because 95 percent of the women who come in here, they want a certain style, a certain color. So OK, we find it, they put it on, and always walk out of here with something totally different.”
To contact or learn more about Wig Gallery or Gifted Wig, call 440-417-0209; go to wiggalleryllc.com; or visit the Wig Gallery, LLC Facebook page.