Wig-wearing mania carpets trendy Jakartans

Wig-wearing mania carpets trendy Jakartans

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): A raging phenomenon has hit fashion-conscious
Jakartans since the end of last year: the wearing of wigs.
Whether men or women, Jakartans have been competing with
"dare-to-be-different" wig-looks to go with the latest fashion-
trend.

For example, Samuel Wattimena, who designed new uniforms for
the president's bodyguards, showed up last December at designer
Adjie Notonegoro's fashion event with a brown flowing mane that
covered his short black curly hair.

Beautiful female vocalist Nita Tilana turned up at the 1997
Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Music Awards in May in a
short body-fitting gown, boots and sporting an orange bob.

Nita, 30, gets wigs from her salon in Bandung. "I want a new
image for my second album, which will be released soon. Unlike my
first album, this one has a "loud" edge to it. I thought a lot
about the right look for it, and I felt that a colorful wig,
along with the right costume and accessories would do the trick.
If the public likes it, I'll keep the look," she said.

The wig-wearing mania has caught on with more and more
celebrities wearing them. When long-haired actress-singer Kris
Dayanti was popularizing her new song Buku Harianku (My Diary),
she adopted a new look using a short wig. Not long after, other
long-haired actresses Dian Nitami and Maudy Koesnaedy followed
the trend for bobbed hair, giving them a change in both hairstyle
and image.

Angel Ibrahim, who stars in the television serial Kupu Kupu
Kertas (Paper Butterflies), claimed to own a collection of 30
wigs.

"I need the wigs in my job, because I have to keep on changing
looks to suit the different roles," said the 29-year-old actress.
"That is why I have wigs of not only black and brown, but also of
fancy-colors, including some in white."

Angel buys her wigs from a store in San Diego, U.S.A. She said
that in the United States wigs were cheaper. "But now with the
new U.S. dollar exchange rates, they are more expensive."

A few months ago, she could get one for US$100 but she
recently had to pay $300 for a wig. "When I got home, I checked
it again and found that it was made in Indonesia," she said.

Angel said all her wigs are made of real hair. "It is easy to
take care of them," she said. "To clean them, all I have to do is
soak them in conditioner, and have them dried."

Angel, who has been wearing wigs for a year, claims never to
have suffered an itchy scalp or hair loss caused by the wigs.

"I wear wigs only during special events or shoots. Once the
shot is taken, I take it off so that my own hair is not covered
for too long." The maximum length of time Angel wears a wig is
half a day.

Hairdresser and owner of the Kelapa Gading branch of Sugi
Salon, Wawa Totty, said that when considering hair condition, the
length of time to wear a wig is a crucial factor.

"Especially the wigs made of synthetic hair. They are made of
plastic and it is not healthy to have them on the head too long,"
said the woman, who loves doing her wig-shopping at Lucky Plaza,
Singapore.

"But it is still cheaper to get wigs here, especially since we
opened a new factory at Tangerang. Indonesian women can easily be
more fashionable with Indonesian-made wigs."

The phenomenon of wigs has salons providing wig-owners with
special services.

"We have finally been forced to accept orders to 'fix' wigs
here in Jakarta," said Wawa, who is frequently selected as a
judge for beauty contests.

A wig sales firm worthy of mention would be Scarlet. The firm
is owned by a South Korean, Hon Jong Sun, who is the biggest
seller of wigs in Indonesia. Scarlet has its eight outlets in the
cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Medan and Magelang.

"We are planning to open new outlets in Semarang, Central
Java, Brunei and Manila as well," said Scarlet promotion manager
Tuti Saptowati.

"We started off with toupees, particularly for men with
thinning hairlines. About two years ago, the idea to sell wigs
was suggested from Korea. We started from zero and now we have
our very own wig industry, even though selling wigs in Jakarta
was extremely hard initially," she said.

Tuti did a lot of research work, going around Jakarta and
visiting salons everywhere. This proved to be quite difficult for
Tuti and her friends, but finally they succeeded in convincing
Metro in Plaza Senayan to open the doors for them.

"We did mass promotion and campaigning .. We even provided
membership facilities to celebrities in Jakarta."

The actresses who were given membership facilities included
Desy Ratnasari, Dian Nitami and dangdut-music queen Elvy
Sukaesih.

Scarlet may have just been operating since May 1996, but it
has sold almost 600 wigs -- 60 percent of them are short-black-
shaggy models -- and has sales of Rp 500 million every month.

"All the wigs are from South Korea, and made of either
synthetic or real hair. The most expensive is the real-hair
shoulder-length model costing Rp 999,000," said Tuti.

Tuti also sells wigs made of synthetic hair that cost Rp
450,000.

"These new prices include an increase of between three and
five percent due to the fall in value of the rupiah. Recently
they were quoted as saying, "We have to increase prices because
all wigs are bought in U.S. dollars."

However, the rocketing prices have hardly affected wig-sales
in Indonesia.

"Not only celebrities buy wigs now, but also collectors who
are our frequent visitors. They buy at least six to ten wigs each
time they visit," said Tuti.

She has opened a showroom for wigs at Hero Plaza, Jl. Gatot
Subroto, South Jakarta.

"There we also provide wig-care services, from hair-washing to
adding hair extensions."

Maintenance

Taking good care of wigs made from synthetic hair is fairly
easy. They can be brushed, or dampened with clean water and then
lightly beaten before being hung to dry. These wigs cannot be
styled, as they are synthetic.

On the other hand, wigs made of real hair can be easily
styled. You can clean these wigs by soaking them in cold water
and low-pH shampoo -- baby shampoo will do -- wash them very
gently, before blow-drying them. There is no need to wring or
comb the hair.

"If well-taken care of, wigs can last for years. However, not
all hairdressers know how to take good care of wigs," said Tuti.

If the wigs are made of real hair, one should find out from
which country the hair originated. It could be Indonesia, China
or India, each having their own distinct characteristics. Most
hair comes from India and China.

"Indian hair has a tendency to be quite thick, while Chinese
hair has a smooth texture to it."

Other than importing wigs from South Korea, Scarlet also has a
factory in Purbalingga, Central Java, where second-grade wigs are
made and sold under the KesanBeda brand-name at Rp 300,000 a
piece.

Tuti is aware that wigs are just a trend in a fashion world
that keeps on changing. "And we are quite prepared -- we have
anticipated the problems should wigs no longer become a trend,
even while we hope that wigs will remain a booming business."