'Man Weaves' Offer Cover For Balding Men, Cash For Black Hair Care Industry
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Barber Wade Menendez installs a man weave on client Cliff Holcomb, while his students observe.
Maquita Peters/NPR
Robert Jenkins was only 21 when he started balding. It was a condition he'd expected given that his dad had been bald for as long as he could remember. What Jenkins did not expect, however, is that he'd have to deal with hair loss at such a young age.
He wasn't prepared for it.
"I had a lot of low self-esteem, I started to get depressed," Jenkins, now 28, says. "I wouldn't go to events. I would stay in the house because I was just embarrassed."
About two years ago, Jenkins's wife, Jayniece came across the Instagram page Wade the Barber and saw the work Wade Menendez was doing to help balding men sport a full and gorgeous head of hair.
"She told me to reach out to him. So, I reached out to him," Jenkins says.
Luckily for Jenkins, Menendez's barber salon The W Hair Loft was located less than 20 minutes' drive from his Odenton, Md., home. He booked an appointment and Jenkins got himself a "man weave."
"The results were amazing," Jenkins says. "I think I was shocked because I hadn't seen myself with so much hair for so long. I really didn't know how to take it."
He was anxious about how his wife would react, but when she saw it she was blown away.
"She absolutely loved it," he says.
Jenkins has since had the man weave installed four times.
"This might seem a little bit much or dramatic, but I was honestly just grateful to God that we were able to find somebody that can bring that confidence back. Because I did not think that this would be possible at all." Jenkins says. "I thought that my hair was just gone forever, that I would never be attractive ... This was extremely life changing for me."
Robert Jenkins, 28, is balding at the top and crown of his head and has had the man weave installed four times. This is his before and after with barber Wade Menendez.
Maquita Peters/NPR
Multi-billion-dollar black hair care industry
Fashion trends are becoming more unisex and less gender specific — like, for example, the romphim. Weaves, which for decades have been associated with women, especially black women, are now being deemed by many hairstylists and barbers across the country as the "game changer" for balding men.
LW Salon in midtown Manhattan, says his non-weave clientele includes the likes of Calvin Klein, Maxwell, Tracy Morgan, Fox's Empire's Jussie Smollett and Saturday Night Live alum Jay Pharoah. Cotton has been creating a buzz around the Big Apple for transforming the lives of men in their 30s and 40s with his expert installation of man weaves. He says he does all hair types and about half a dozen a week.
"When they get their hair done, some of them have even cried," Cotton, 35, says. "It boosts their ego from two to 10. All of a sudden, they want to go socialize."
Robert Jenkins's wife, Jayniece can relate to this.
"I used to catch moments of Robert looking sad, just staring at himself in the mirror," she says. "Now his confidence is back. I see him now looking at himself in the mirror and he knows he looks good. Just to see how much it [man weave] has changed his life and how happy it made him, makes me happy, so I'd encourage others to do it."
The barbers say the one side effect of man weaves is an occasional itchy scalp. Menendez says he advises his clients, when possible, to first consult with a dermatologist or doctor and their insurance company before getting a man weave.
In addition to man weaves, Menendez is also installing complementary beards for men who may have a challenge growing and grooming their own. These beards will cost a client a cool $700.
But the real game changer at present is man weaves.
Menendez says when he first started trying to learn the technique, he was rebuffed by barbers who wanted to monopolize the market, so this inspires him to continue teaching and sharing "the man weave love." He says he's also reached out to cancer support groups and other community organizations whose members may require his service.
"When you try to hold on to something, you limit yourself to God blessing you, he says. "I live a blessed life and I'm going to continue to do so because I help to bless those [people]."
The Robert Jenkinses of this world — now with a full head of hair — may tip their hats to that.
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