Website Features Shaitel Ratings

By COLlive reporter

A new website is giving Jewish women a forum to discuss and review the pricey wigs they purchase after marriage to cover the hair on their head according to Jewish law.

“For years women have been blindly making enormous purchases, spending anywhere from $1,000 upward to $4,500 or more on a shaitel without any reliable information, solely relying on word of mouth,” says the founder Myriam (Schottenstein) Engelson.

While many companies have been servicing the Jewish community with quality wigs, Engelson says some companies are taking advantage of “the lack of transparency and accountability in the shaitel market.”

“For years, I’ve watched families and friends, go through the difficult process of buying a shaitel,” she says. “The more I looked into it, the more shocked I was at how little information was available to consumers. There is no centralized location to find out information about any companies, period.”

With a background in marketing and communications and experience in managing website development, Engelson founded the website Shaytell.com.

“The Mitzvah of covering one’s hair is beautiful and special and also challenging,” she says. “The last thing a woman needs is aggravation and even humiliation. As a result of the obligation of covering one’s hair and women have no choice, some companies take advantage and turn a beautiful mitzvah into a dishonest monetary game.”

The website aims to be a resource of information and platform for open discussion for women to share experiences and observations, in addition to ratings and reviews of wig manufacturers.

Users of the site can search and review their brands according to price, budget and quality, cap construction, hair quality and customer service.

Other users can reply to, answer and contribute to comments. Users can post personal experiences, give recommendations, post photos of their actual shaitels as well as search by price.

In the next month, they’ll be debuting a comprehensive database of shaitel machers, allowing manufacturers to create their own page which can be customized with photos, social media accounts and detailed information, Engelson says.

“Please encourage one another to review the company of your wig, from the service you received to the quality and comfort of your wig,” Engelson says. “This will help people choose their next shaitel, protect them from bad experiences, and allow shaitel companies to reach out and provide better service for women.

“In addition, if you’re in the Shaitel industry, shaitel macher or stylist, please send your information in, to be part of our database,” she says.