Wig Fix’s band of gold
BRITISH innovation The Wig Fix, a secure headband that frees wig wearers by discreetly solving their struggles with itching, slippage and hair loss, is set to be a crowning glory for customers worldwide.
The competitively priced product (£25) marks the debut of The Renatural, an online, east London start-up founded by entrepreneur Aasiyah Abdulsalam, 25.
Instead of having to wrestle with anxiety, glue and pins, Fix wearers can slip on a soft, thin, breathable band made of medical grade silicone that grips their wig and anchors it securely.
The material, well known for treating burns and problem skin conditions, has a natural frictional, adhesive ability.
The band’s universal fit and the silicone’s micro nodes stimulate blood flow, inducing natural hair growth instead of damaging delicate roots.
Forecast to be a global market worth £5billion by 2024, the wig industry has barely changed for decades. However a customer revolution is underway thanks to increased respect for diversity and social change.
“Black women have been the cultural innovators and today wigs are a form of expression, flamboyant beauty, not something to hide under. This has been picked up by celebrities too,” says Abdulsalam.
Wigs give confidence to millions of women – eight million suffer hair loss in the UK – and can now do the same for many more people. She explains: “Wearers include women suffering hair loss – perhaps because of cancer treatment, thyroid problems or pregnancy, to observant Jewish women.
“Trans women and nonbinary people feel liberated by the versatility of the looks wigs offer to black women who make up 60 per cent of the market, embracing the flexibility and protective nature they provide.”
As a wig wearer herself,Abdulsalam was aware of the pain long-suffering wig wearers encounter. A university dissertation about the industry and a sustainable clothing business she ran while studying served as her commercial bootcamp.
Then hot, uncomfortable times beside a hotel pool in the US pushed her into becoming a disrupter.
“I was surprised at the industry’s lack of innovation, it was if the customers weren’t worth it,” she says.
“I sketched out my idea, researched my materials and worked with a silicone supplier in Indonesia.”
With four prototypes and three focus groups, from concept to launch took eight months and under £20,000 with a mentor pitching in.
This year turnover is forecast for £1.2 million for the patent-pending Fix and The Renatural now employs three staff.
This month the brand expands its direct-to-consumer sales and launches on Amazon.
Next, Abdulsalam is developing products for balding males. “We want to make them more comfortable and wigs more natural looking,” she says. “The days of being treated as the Ugly Sisters are over.”