Prairie Fire Hair, a San Marcos wig company providing support, education and confidence for women experiencing hair loss, opened its doors in mid-July
The two-minute impact
The business is owned and operated by Kelly Engram, a Texas State University professor who experienced her own struggle with hair loss related to alopecia, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Prairie Fire Hair provides personalized wigs to women experiencing a similar battle to help them build confidence.
Engram was tired of wigs that didn’t resemble her natural hair and attempting to disguise or hide the hair loss, she said. She took the initiative to learn more about other women’s experiences with hair loss and wigs.
“About four or five years ago, I actually started doing some serious research on it,” Engram said. “I found this whole online community of women who have hair loss Facebook groups, wig wearing Facebook groups and content creators on YouTube that gave tips and tricks and reviews of all the different wigs. I became obsessed with that.”
The company offers curated human hair and synthetic wigs, educational resources and free one-on-one consultations. Additionally, customers have access to personalized wig customization services, including color refinement, fit adjustments and styling recommendations.
Diving deeper
Engram began her business as a hobby in Facebook groups for buying, selling and trading wigs, she said. She learned how to make wigs herself in a workshop run by a film and theatre wig maker in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I went to one of her workshops and learned how to ventilate, the process of hand tying each individual hair onto lace and repairing and caring for it,” Engram said. “I met other wig retailers who were taking that same workshop, and I networked with them and got all of these resources.”
Engram sells wigs all over the world, with recent orders going as far as Pakistan and Australia. Prairie Fire Hair serves as a communal space for those experiencing hair loss where they are validated in their feelings and supported through the wig development process, Engram said.
“I have people who come through the door, lay eyes on me and immediately burst into tears,” Engram said. “We laugh, we cry and at the end of it, they're like, ‘I don't know what I'm so nervous about.’ It's more about the community of wig wearers being able to come together and feel seen and heard.”
