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."