Nikki Sadek London is on a mission to change the face of the wig industry by making it more accessible to consumers who invest a lot of money for a perfect look and a comfortable fit. Her goal is to empower women to take their wig issues into their own hands and give them the confidence to resolve them independently. She believes that by teaching some basic tools, it provides them the knowledge to make informed decisions and the ability to understand their wigs more, thereby allowing them to properly and collaboratively work with their chosen wig professional.
For the last seven years Nikki has been heavily involved in the Israeli beauty industry, starting off her career doing hair and makeup for women for all different types of events and simchas. As she met more and more clients, she kept hearing about all the issues they were experiencing with their wigs. Being the problem solver that she always was, Nikki realized she not only wanted to help these women, but knew without a doubt that she could. “People would come to me and tell me all their issues with their wigs, so I decided I am going to research as much as possible in the wig industry and figure out how I can help.”
Growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, Nikki, who attended RYNJ and Ma’ayanot, was always very creative, possessing a natural artistic ability that she applies to many areas of her life. She began her new endeavor by doing copious research, watching every possible video and reading every single article she could find. She soon decided she would learn how to make wigs from scratch and become a bona fide expert at it.
“To be honest, I never envisioned myself making wigs, but I wanted to be able to help from the inside out…I wanted to work backwards and take an existing wig, figure out what the root issue is and solve the problem that way.”
Just a few months before COVID hit, Nikki was already an expert at wig alterations. The timing couldn’t have been better because, as it turned out, her clients didn’t necessarily need their wigs for simchas at that point in time. She explained that many women experience some sense of guilt because they have these expensive wigs just sitting idly in their closets collecting dust because, for whatever reason, they don’t enjoy wearing them and they don’t know what exactly needs to be done to fix them.
Those women started bringing their unworn wigs to Nikki, confident in her ability to “revamp’’ them into what they needed them to be. Her efforts paid off and her reputation grew and more and more women realized that instead of having to invest in yet another wig that may or may not work, they could just bring their existing sheitels to Nikki.
Because she is based in Jerusalem, where she lives with her husband and two young boys, she decided she would start offering courses via Zoom to teach women how to solve their wig woes, and before long she found herself giving courses (both professional as well as at-home wig care and knowledge for everyday women) to women all over the United States and beyond.
At the end of July, Nikki will be bringing her expertise right here to New Jersey where she will give an in-person course centered on the wig industry. Over the course of 10 hours, she will teach women the skills and techniques that she’s acquired in the last few years and arm them with the skills and tools to not only repair their own wigs, but to even start their own businesses.
“There’s many facets to that and they learn how to fix the wigs in terms of the fit,” she explains. For instance, with lace wigs, which are very popular right now, there is a tremendous amount of detail involved, not only in how to work with the lace itself, but also how to add hair into it to make it look the most natural.
She believes there is a lot of room for growth in the wig industry and wants to encourage women to tap into that. Through her Instagram account, she educates wig consumers on any number of topics, from teaching them why wigs are built in certain ways to why the costs are what they are. “On Instagram I provide a lot of education just to inform and educate consumers on how sheitels are made, what consumers need to know when purchasing a wig, what are the questions they should be asking and what is included in the purchase price.” Nikki also offers private consultations for women who have more in-depth questions.
She feels there are many women out there who spend thousands of dollars on wigs but don’t really know enough about them. “You would never buy a car and tell the dealer to give you whichever vehicle they think is best for you.”
Ideally, Nikki wants to educate women to make wise and informed decisions when it comes to purchasing wigs and to help them identify issues and resolve them on their own.
“Head covering is a really hard mitzvah in general and I am really privileged every day to be able to help people brainstorm and problem solve to figure out the best way for them to keep it.”
In addition to offering a course on “wash and sets’’ for those who want to learn to do it themselves, Nikki is also excited to announce the launch of her own line of custom-made kippah falls, otherwise known as “toppers.” So be on the lookout for that as well.
To contact Nikki Sadek London in New Jersey or in Israel you can WhatsApp her at +972585434690 or email her at [email protected]. You can also visit her on Instagram @Nikkisadeklondonhmua and on Facebook at Nikki Sadek London.
By Ronit Mershon
