Word on the Street: Fresno wig store moves to Blackstone Avenue
STRUT Hair Solutions, formerly known as City Wigs, has moved from its longtime Shaw Avenue location in Fresno to a new spot on Blackstone Avenue.
The business, which specializes in wigs, hair extensions and hair-loss solutions, is following its clients who have moved north of Fresno over the years, said founder and owner Helena Gibson.
STRUT opened at 6687 N. Blackstone Ave. Suite 103, just south of Herndon Avenue, on Aug. 17 in about 2,400 square feet of space with vaulted ceilings. Its services and inventory remain the same such as private dressing rooms, a large selection of wigs made with human hair and laser hair restoration.
Gibson started the business, first called Hair Illusions, in 2002 in a kiosk at Fashion Fair Mall after searching for a way to help her mother who had an issue with hair loss for no medical reason. The kiosk sold hairpieces and extensions.
“She was kind of struggling, trying to find a solution that fit her,” Gibson said. “The local stores at the time really didn’t understand the emotional toll this was taking on her.”
A year later, the business moved to about 1,000 square feet of space at Shaw and Maroa avenues and became City Wigs. That was when Gibson started getting medical clients requesting wigs. She began marketing to the medical community and the business quickly doubled in size. In 2011, she opened a second location in San Diego and moved there to operate it. Gibson plans to open a third store, also in San Diego.
Gibson and her staff – a manager and two employees in Fresno – are trained to work with medical-needs clients, she said. They also carry wigs geared toward patients with health concerns. The caps are softer and the hair moves a little differently, Gibson said.
A grand re-opening and hair-loss event will be held 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 to celebrate the new location. Manufactures from Ellen Wille Wigs will attend and women who have lost their hair are available to talk.
This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Word on the Street: Fresno wig store moves to Blackstone Avenue."