Wig consultant/hairdresser

By STEVE HART

Job title: Wig consultant/hairdresser

Name: Sarah Buchanan

Age: 26


Role: I look after clients who, for different reasons, suffer from medical hair loss because of such things as chemotherapy, burns and accidents, alopecia and genetic thinning. I consult with clients to try to find the most suitable, practical and realistic solution for each client. I also liaise with our 15 agents around the country and send them options for their clients.

Working hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm and every second Saturday 9am to noon.

Average pay: $13-$15 an hour depending on experience.

Qualifications: Hairstylist. Studied at Manukau Polytech while serving a hairdressing apprenticeship. I then gained further hairstyling experience here and overseas. I have also completed a number of 1-2 day up-skilling courses.

Q. Describe how you got this position

A. I was working in Sydney when I saw a job advertised for someone with hairstyling experience wanting a change in direction. I was sceptical of how natural wigs could look but was pleasantly surprised at the interview and decided to move back to New Zealand to give it a go.

Q. What was making a wig/designing one like the first time?

A. As the newest member of the team at HairToday I haven't been involved in the design process yet. However I have cut, coloured styled and personalised many pre-designed wigs. The first time I cut a human hair wig, I found it pretty nerve-racking, because cutting a wig is very different from cutting a regular head of hair.

Wigs are generally made of treated or processed hair and we often work on them from blocks rather than on a person's head. Both factors make it more complicated. I have to remember that unlike a client in a salon, their hair is not going to grow back.

Q. What sort of training or experience do you need?

A. Being a fully qualified hairstylist is a pre-requisite and being a good communicator is essential. From there the training is in-house learning about hair densities, growth patterns and colour combinations. This is then tailored to the client's cultural and personal needs in recreating a believable look in either natural or synthetic hair.

Q. What skills and qualities do you need?

A. Some clients are very distressed with their hair loss, while others are quite philosophical about it and choose to have as much fun as they can while going through this process.

For this reason you definitely need to have empathy for your clients and be able to attune yourself to each client's needs.

Q. Best part of the job?

A. Watching a client walk out happy with a natural-looking head of hair. Helping clients, often in distressing circumstances, and their genuine gratefulness at what we can achieve also rates highly. As a fashion hairstylist, bringing modern hairdressing skills into the medical hair-loss arena is great, as wigs are often misrepresented as old-fashioned.

Q. Most challenging part?

A. Helping people who are going through really hard and often very sad times is emotionally challenging. It is very emotional shaving somebody's head because their hair is falling out.

Q. How do you define success in this job?

A. There are many aspects of success. A client told me the other day that her doctor had informed her that because of chemotherapy she would lose her beautiful hair. She had, in fact, already lost her hair and was wearing her wig. Another client's husband waited outside while I shaved his wife's hair, fitted the wig and personalised it for her. When she came out of the consultation room he said: "I thought you were going to shave your head".

Q. Career hopes for the future?

A. I would like to become more involved in the Look Good Feel Better programme which our company is involved in, which promotes wigs and headwear for women undergoing cancer treatment. I would also like to become more involved in the design process of wigs and hairpieces.

Wigs