It’s Still Me owner Jan Strassburg at her wig studio. She opened the studio in April, after battling breast cancer for more than a year. PHOTO: MARK TROCKMAN
By Kelly Westhof
Jan Strassburg wants women to know that getting breast cancer is not the worst thing that could ever happen.
"It's upsetting. It's a bad year. But most women survive and I'm here to encourage them through the tough parts," she said.
She does so by sharing her own breast cancer story, lending an ear and fitting wigs.
In April, Strassburg, who lives in Shorewood, opened a wig studio called It's Still Me, which is located in St. Louis Park.
Strassburg came up with the idea to open a wig studio after battling breast cancer herself.
For one year, she wore a wig as she underwent chemotherapy, radiation and a lumpectomy.
Looking back, she said, her own wig buying experience was "less than ideal," yet she finds it hard to carry a grudge as the poor service she received sparked the idea for her new business.
The name of her studio, It's Still Me, came from a conversation she had with her step-daughters the first time they saw her wearing her wig.
Talking with Strassburg today, it's hard to imagine her smiling, animated face without the bouncy crop of auburn curls that frame it. Perhaps this is why she keeps a photo album of her hair loss and re-growth nearby.
"My hair was my trademark," she said, flipping through the pages, revealing pictures of herself as a young girl with a mess of red ringlets. "I used to hate it, but as I grew older, I learned to claim it."
"My hair was part of my identity," she continued, now flipping to pages that show her hair gone and a bald head remaining.
"For a lot of women," she said, "their hair is a big part of their femininity, and to have it taken away is harsh."
Plus, Strassburg added, many women resent the public nature of hair loss.
"Surgery can be private, but hair is public," she said. "A bald head is the face of cancer. It outs you, whether you're ready for the world to know or not."
Since opening her business this spring, Strassburg has sold wigs to roughly 60 women.
They've come from every corner of the metro area, outstate Minnesota and even Wisconsin. Most of her customers are referred to her by oncology nurses.
Many of the women who've passed through her studio were considering radical breast cancer treatment procedures such as mastectomies.
"Here are women who are facing permanent figure-changing surgery," she said, "and they are still more concerned about their hair."
"A large part of what I do," Strassburg said, "is restore dignity. I offer a lot of emotional support."
Women who are facing cancer treatment and hair loss are already reeling, said Strassburg.
The last thing they want is to try on wigs in a mall. For this reason, her studio is located in an office building where several therapists and holistic practitioners also keep space.
Strassburg only welcomes customers by appointment, which ensures that every client will receive one-on-one attention in a private sphere. Most of her clients bring a mother, daughter or friend along.
Strassburg suggests women facing breast cancer treatment and hair loss visit her studio before their first chemotherapy session for two reasons.
First, this makes it easier to find a wig that matches the woman's own hair color. And secondly, said Strassburg, it is a chance to ask questions.
"When I was going through this myself, I just wanted someone to explain what was going to happen to me," Strassburg said. "Women in this situation feel a lot of uncertainty and insecurity."
Many small business owners also deal with feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. However, Strassburg is proud of her new business and convinced she made the right decision by forging ahead, even in this tough economy.
"I spent a year after I received my clean bill of health developing my business plan," she said.
She enrolled in a mentorship program through Women Venture, an organization in St. Paul that provides entrepreneurial advice to women business owners. She also sought guidance from the Small Business Development Center at the University of St. Thomas.
"They helped me evaluate my competition, research my market and fine tune my model," Strassburg said.
"I also did a lot of soul searching. This is emotionally heavy work. It takes a lot of intimate nurturing. I had to ask myself if I had what it takes to face this level of emotional intensity every day," she said.
"It's been challenging," Strassburg confessed, "to learn how to separate my business from my life. But I'm learning to disconnect. I have to. If I personally invest in every cancer battle, I won't be here long."
And she intends to stick around. Otherwise, she might have to go back to working for someone else and that's not a scenario she relishes.
Before opening It's Still Me, Strassburg spent 27 years working for a fabric retailer. She managed hundreds of people.
Roughly three years ago, however, at the same time that she was facing her own health crisis, she learned the company was going to start downsizing. Her job was on the chopping block.
Now that she's in the wig business, Strassburg is thankful for all the skills she learned in the fabric business. For example, she said, she has a strong eye for color, understands different stitching methods and can recognize a quality wig when she both sees and feels one.
"The garishness of wig wearing is really a thing of the past," she said. She runs her fingers through a highlighted, brunette, long-haired wig. It was made from human hair and cost about $1,500.
She pulled out another wig, also made from human hair, that carried a $4,000 tag. However, Strassburg said, a wig in this price range is rare. Most of the wigs she sells cost between $300 and $400.
Even so, these more moderately priced wigs come in a range of lengths, styles and colors. Most of Strassburg's clients special order their wigs after trying on a variety of cuts.
Strassburg considers the Internet to be her biggest competitor. Several Web sites sell wigs online and they often come in with lower prices.
Yet Strassburg questions the level of service those businesses provide. Having lived through a negative wig-buying experience herself, she doesn't wish it on anyone. Plus, she said, it must be challenging to choose a hair color online.
Inside the Its Still Me studio are several rings of hair color samples that Strassburg's clients can touch and hold right next to their skin and eyes.
There are so many hair color options that the choice echoes choosing a nail polish at the manicurist.
In the future, Strassburg wants to extend her reach to also serve women who are dealing with hair loss due to thyroid conditions, medical side effects, burn accidents, age and alopecia, an immune deficiency disease that causes loss of hair.
She hopes to discover new channels of advertising. She also wants to create a wig gift registry of sorts.
"For women facing hair loss, a wig is a No. 1 stress," Strassburg said.
"Family and friends always want to help, and that's when the food starts showing up. People want to do offer something tangible, but hotdish - bless its heart - can't solve this problem," Strassburg said. "But what if your co-workers took up a wig collection? That would be concrete, needed and appreciated."
