A BUSY mom taught herself how to make wigs after suffering from postpartum hair loss.
She now has a legion of loyal customers who wear her realistic-looking wigs, having lost their own hair to health conditions including alopecia and cancer.
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Eniola Lapworth (@nuolawigs) has racked up over 140,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares realistic wigs sold by her brand Nuola Wigs.
The 36-year-old, from Kent, UK, revealed to The U.S. Sun that she had a teaching career before becoming an entrepreneur.
Growing up she had a love-hate relationship with her natural hair as her parents would choose hairstyles that were painful to achieve.
After moving to England from Nigeria, she began to see other black women embrace their natural hair and experiment with different styles.
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She then unknowingly used hair extensions and dyes incorrectly, which caused her hair to shed excessively.
She cut all of her hair off on several different occasions with the hopes of restoring its health.
“My husband helped me to cut off my hair the first time and he said I looked better without hair,” Eniola said.
“But I didn’t leave the house with my hair cut.
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"I would wear wigs because I wasn’t confident enough to go outside without any hair.”
Eniola, who is currently pregnant with her fifth child, said her hair loss worsened dramatically when she began to have children.
She admitted postpartum hair loss has been the most upsetting experience of her hair journey.
“It got worse the more I had kids and I’m now pregnant with my fifth child,” she said. “I know it’s going to be the same.
“After I had my last child it was really bad and I woke up in the morning with hair on the pillow.
“It was shedding badly and so frustrating.
“I didn’t know about postpartum hair loss before I had kids so it was a shock.
“One side of my hair was completely gone.”
Eniola concluded that her tresses were falling out due to postpartum with help from her husband, who is a doctor.
She decided not to experiment with any treatments because she believed the hair loss would be temporary.
Her hair started to grow back gradually, but she now fears it may fall out again after she gives birth.
“If it happens again I’m not going to cut it. I’ll just let it do whatever it wants to do,” she said.
Eniola revealed she was inspired by influencers to start making wigs at a time when not many people she knew seemed to be wearing them.
She learned from YouTube where to get supplies and how to make different styles.
“A lot of the hair came from either China or India,” she said.
“There were also supplies you could get from the UK such as the wig cap or sewing kit.
“There were not a lot of companies making wigs but lots of videos online for how to make them.
“The companies who were making wigs were charging a lot and I was still a student so I couldn’t afford it.
“In the beginning, I wasn’t selling my wigs. I would just make them for myself and give them for free to family and friends.
“I would get them to buy the hair then I would just make the wig for them.
“When I first started I didn’t think I’d ever sell them or start a business.”
Eniola was struggling to balance teacher training with raising her first two kids when she launched Nuola Wigs.
“I was giving so many hours to the school and I hardly had time at home with the kids,” she said.
“My husband and I just decided I should stay at home and look after the kids.
“I thought, well if I'm gonna stay at home, I might as well start selling these wigs on eBay and it just grew from there.”
Eniola explained that it took between two to three hours to make one wig by hand when she first started.
And depending on customization and coloring, the time could easily double.
“Because the demand went up we got a factory in China which makes the wig base for us,” she said.
“We still do the color and customization but it has cut down the time.
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“Initially a lot of people who had medical hair loss didn’t have options for really good wigs.
“I think even now there is still the assumption wigs don’t look realistic or that they are wiggy.
“It’s because not a lot of people would speak about wigs.
“However, social media and influencers have helped a lot of women and young girls to feel more confident to speak about their hair loss.
“Social media has also raised the awareness of wigs that look realistic.
“You don’t have to feel like people can see you’re wearing a wig.”
Eniola said people have been amazed by her wigs and impressed by how realistic the hairline looks.
Many customers buy her wigs for fashion, however, those who suffer medical hair loss also love her products and can get a 10% discount on their purchase.
Each month, she donates a free wig to a different girl under age 21 who suffers from medical hair loss.
“A lot of people are grateful that when they come in store to try the wigs, it looks the same as how it looks on Instagram,” she said.
“We had a consultation today and the lady was just so grateful. She was like ‘Oh, you guys are like fairy godmothers.’
“The wigs are quite expensive but it’s for a good reason, we aren’t just buying the hair from China and reselling it.
“I’ve got eight members of staff and we put a lot of work into the wigs.
“If you buy a blonde wig from China for example the color is just awful.
“A lot of their colors are really dark at the root and then transition straight into blonde, it doesn’t look natural.
“We have to color our wigs for a more Western style or according to the taste of the people who are going to wear them.”
Eniola revealed her team also has to ensure that they are consistently selling good quality wigs as some suppliers have tried to sell human hair mixed with synthetic strands.
She admitted some customers have complained about the prices of her wigs and that her monthly giveaway is only open to young girls.
However, she argues girls who are still in school are the least likely to be able to afford wigs and therefore battling confidence issues.
“For a young child who is going to school it’s a big thing for them,” she said.
There are around 40 different styles of wigs on the Nuola website, but customers can submit requests for custom-made designs.
Prices range from $1,100 to $1,900 and the wigs take less than a week to arrive from when they are ordered.
She advises shoppers not to sleep or swim wearing their wigs to keep them in good condition.
“Treat it like they would their own hair,” she said.
“Washing it regularly, make sure to condition and do deep treatments once or twice a month.
“They can use heat on it.
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“The wigs are also glueless but some people like to use glue for extra security. The more you use glue on your wigs over time it will cause damage.
“When you’re washing the glue out you’re going to lose some of the hair.”
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