Andrew DiSimone Wigs — Local services in New York

i wish i could give NO star. the worst experience ever. i went in for wig consultation because I will lose my hair soon due to chemotherapy. it is already a very sensitive, traumatic experience, but Alexandra, who i met for consultation, made it 100 times worse. I almost ran out there in tears. Even though i said the purpose of my visit on the phone, when i walked in, Alexandra said, "what are you here for?" when i answered, she took me to a small room. She measured my head and said there aren't many wigs that will fit me because i "have a very big head." she said that line at least 5 times. she tried to put on a small wig, which was so tight it hurt my head. then she had me try a blonde wig (I'm ASIAN WITH BLACK HAIR), saying i should focus on style not color. How could i focus on style when i look like a total idiot? I said "I don't like this, i look ridiculous." To that, she actually replied, "YEA." she found one wig, ONLY ONE, that fit me, and tried so hard to sell that to me. I did not look like me at all, nothing natural about it. and it was $2600, and she said if i wanted another style, i need to have it customized ("because you have a very big head"), it would be $3800. she said if i didn't customize it, it will take a few days to a week, but a customized one will take 8-10 weeks. the appointment confirmation email from them said, "...they are available within 24 hours..." FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. when I asked her about insurance for medical hair prosthesis, she flatly said, "we don't deal with insurance. you have to do it yourself". their website says, "Make sure you ask us about claiming your medical hair prosthesis on your medical insurance. We can help guide you through the process." ANOTHER FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.

Alexandra had NO sensitivity or compassion for the devastating situation that I am going through. My head is not small like a supermodel's, but certainly it is NOT gigantic. the impression I got was Alexandra wanted to make a quick sale and wanted to clear the inventory.

A few days later, I called another wig shop in the city and visited them. Size of my head was NEVER even mentioned. They were so nice and found at least 5 wigs that fit me perfectly, one of which looked very natural, and it was not even $1000. So glad i didn't buy it from Hair Place. I will never set my foot in that place again, and if anyone i know will ever have to get a wig for medical reason, i will not...

After starting my chemo treatment, I suffered for almost 4 months with the horrible wig I bought at another big wig salon in the city. By horrible, I don't mean cheap - I paid over $2000 for what I was told was a top of the line human hair wig. Turns out it was about 4 sizes too big, the tracks were unevenly stitched up in an attempt to fit it when I went back to complain. They told me I had to have bangs, which I've never had in my life and looked terrible, and the hair was course and thick and hard to style. Also, nobody explained you have to style a human hair wig daily (nor did they offer me the easier, less expensive synthetic options) and they never took the time to show me how to style it, depsite the fact that I went back about 4 times b/c I was having so much trouble. I was so frustrated and after feeling like a prisoner b/c I never left the house just to avoid wearing the wig, I figured there had to be other options. I had read about Andrew and he seemed to work with a lot of cancer patients so I made an appointment for a consultation. Andrew spent the ENTIRE afternoon with me, showing me how to style my wig, he cut and shaped it for me, showed me other wigs and talked me through all of the different options. One of the girls on his staff, Tanzen, properly fit the wig and styled it for me. Everyone on the staff was so unbelievably kind and friendly, I couldn't believe how much time Andrew and his team spent with me. They never made me feel rushed or like they were selling me something, they all seemed like they actually cared and it truly made all the difference. Tanzen did such an amazing makeover to my wig! I left there feeling a million times better but ultimately went back and bought a beautiful synthetic wig that didn't have bangs and looked much more like "me" - and the best part is that it's actually my size! Andrew gave me a great deal on it and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't know if I can ever express how much I appreciate their help. Cancer is so hard and losing your hair is devestating, it's nice that there are people out there that aren't trying to take advantage of that and truly do want to help you. I would highly recommend this salon!! They have made a customer for life in me - as soon as I have enough hair to need a cut, Andrew's the person I'm going to...

Dear Andrew, as you know, my wife Irina had to undergo chemotherapy earlier this year. As a physician working in the field of cancer therapy, I knew that finding a good-looking wig was very important to all women I had talked to in the past. Therefore, I set out to get the best one possible for my wife.

We were very fortunate to find you: no doubt, the wig you created for her was the most naturally looking and beautiful that my wife could have imagined or that I had ever seen in my professional career. I can't recall the number of times how often she heard from other people and even our friends "At least, you didn't loose your hair!" This was not out of courtesy, and at every cancer facility we touched, someone - patient or staff - would not only say that this was the best- and most-naturally looking hair prosthesis they had ever seen but would also immediately inquire about you, Andrew.

The way you worked with us, your professional experience, your positive spirit, your strong encouragement and the confidence you convey for something important to patients - you clearly made a big difference in my wife's and our lives: THANK YOU.

Obviously, we are not the only ones you helped (and here I do not refer to your extensive volunteer work for cancer patients): When Sarah - our friend's young daughter unfortunately was recently diagnosed with cancer - the two immediate thoughts I had were 1. how to quickly get her to the best medical expert for her cancer type and 2. how to get her to you asap. She is taken care of by excellent oncologists, and when she came back from you with her wig - she beamed as much as she did last night at the homecoming dance at her school: looking as beautiful as she always did and very happy.

Thank you and best...