The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Custom wigs is focus of WH business
Nonsurgical hair replacement center serves 'all walks of life,' owner says
Two years ago, Michelle Como’s 10-year-old daughter, Emi, decided to grow out her hair and donate it to someone who might need a wig.
Now, Emi’s hair is being sent to Como’s manufacturer to have a wig made for a child free of charge.
“I started as a stylist years ago and I specialized in hair color, so I did only hair color for about 12 years,” said Como, who is now the owner of K & Em Custom Wigs, Hairpieces, Extensions. Como named the shop, located at 35040 Chardon Road in Willoughby Hills, after her children Kaleb and Emi.
Partnered with Hillcrest Cancer Center and the former Lake Health now University Hospitals, K & Em Wigs offers hair addition services for individuals suffering from cancer, alopecia or other hair loss.
“The feeling you get from helping people is important to me,” she said. “When someone comes and sits in my chair, my focus is making them feel whole.”
After her time as a color stylist, Como was hired by another company to do some color on their wigs. There, she was trained in how to color and style wigs, hairpieces and extensions.
“I quit my job at the salon I was at, and decided it was time to move forward and open my own space,” said Como, who opened a salon in Willoughby and worked there for a while as an owner.
Clients in need of toppers and extensions were able to be served in a private room.
“I enjoyed it, but I was busy with my hair color client base, so I didn’t focus too much on the wigs quite yet,” she said.
When the pandemic hit, Como spoke with her husband, Steve Nakaji, about the direction they wanted to take with the business.
“Our lease was going to be coming to an end — do we stay there, and grow or do we move forward with doing wigs and a separate business from a hair salon,” she recalled. “He said, ‘No better time than now. Go for it.’ He’s my support and my numbers guy because I’m terrible with numbers.”
While Nakaji helps with bookings, bookkeeping, numbers and inventory, Como is on the wig side of things. Before K & Em started, Como started to educate herself more and take online classes, as well as start up her website.
“We feel good about ourselves when we go and get our hair done, but when you have someone who comes to you for a medical reason and you have the ability to help, it’s a completely different feeling,” she said.
Como recalls the time when she had a client come in for services who was in her 20s or 30s. The client went through treatment and lost her hair, and the client’s husband had contacted Como in need of a wig.
“During our conversation when I was showing her the inside of the cap, how you take care of it and how it feels, she put it on,” Como recalled. “She ran her fingers through her hair and her husband was sitting across from her. He said, ‘It’s you again.’ It was that moment I realized this is what I need to be doing.”
After advertising her business, and partnering
with the hospitals, more clients started to come in by word of mouth. As Como was getting busier, her business started to grow within the hair salon. At that time, Como realized she wanted to be more than a hair salon and focused on creating a nonsurgical hair replacement center.
“Hair salons are on every corner. This has meaning,” she said. “People have a need for hair. Along my journey I discovered that wigs are fantastic. There are a lot of synthetic wigs, but not everybody wants synthetic. They want real hair.
“European hair can be expensive, so I branded my own wigs, toppers and extensions European line. They’re at a better price.”
Como also offers synthetics separate from her own brand and can custom cut and color wigs.
“With synthetic wigs, I provide a shampoo, conditioner and spray that is specifically for synthetic hair,” she said. “Synthetic hair is a fiber. It is not real hair, so it’s important to use the products I provide.
“You can’t just go to the grocery store or CVS,” she added. “With that initial purchase, I do give them a care package to bring home and then it’s up to them to purchase it from that point.”
Aside from the products for synthetic hair, Como has branded her own retail
line that goes with her European hair wigs, toppers and extensions. It also works on Mongolian hair and natural hair.
“I didn’t want to be in a storefront. I wanted to have privacy for my clients, so I started looking into medical buildings,” she said. “This space worked really well with it being a previous hair salon. We were able to completely remodel and build out rooms for privacy. I work with all walks of life, so wigs are not just medical. they’re fashion also, but privacy is important for them also.”
Since opening bookings
on Aug. 1, roughly 50 clients have walked into K & Em in Willoughby Hills.
“We closed the hair salon, opened here, and it was important to us to get the kids on vacation before school and before jumping into a new business,” Como said. “I would say I’m serving a good amount of people who need wigs and I’m selling them as fast as they’re coming in.”
Eventually, Como would like to expand and work with a medical esthetician for permanent makeup services.
“One thing at a time,” she said.