Suri Kruk, 35, has brought a new specialty to Baltimore. At Cut by Suri, Kruk cuts wigs in a personalized appointment to make sure that each client feels beautiful upon leaving.
After growing up in Atlanta and attending cosmetology school, Kruk realized that she loved wigs. She wanted to focus on something that made other women feel like themselves.
Kruk is also a registered nurse and received her degree from Barry University in Miami. Along with her wig cutting business, Kruk teaches nursing education online.
Kruk lives in Park Heights.
When did you decide you wanted to go into hair?
I went to cosmetology school around 17 years ago and I started working in Atlanta servicing the community there. I also had a salon in Atlanta. Then I started to specialize in just cutting. Wig cutting is extremely sensitive.
It needs a lot of knowledge and skill. It’s different from cutting hair because hair grows in circles and wigs are sewn in lines. It takes a lot of precise cutting to make sure that it flows the way that hair flows.
I really wanted to hone in on that skill and service the community with good cuts. I’m very pro good cuts. I think it’s important. It makes wigs look natural and less wiggy. It makes them look like hair.
So, I educated myself. I went to a lot of courses and hair shows and classes and spoke to very skilled hairdressers in the field. I worked with wig makers in Manhattan that specialize in wigs for cancer patients. I really just tried to learn the skill of hair cutting and wig cutting.
I eventually opened my own cutting salon in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. That was where I really launched Cut by Suri and I’ve been doing that ever since. I had clients that took me all over the world. I cut in Israel, I cut in South Africa, I cut many places all over the United States. I feel really lucky that it took me all those places.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
I love making women feel beautiful. I love making them feel natural and good about themselves. I think that hair is a very intimate part of ourselves. It’s the way that we recognize ourselves, the way that we look at ourselves. For somebody to be able to look at themselves and feel beautiful, feel happy, feel confident is really important to me.
What do you like about working with women in the Jewish community?
Women are very powerful and women have a lot to offer. I learned a lot from the Jewish community and the women. They’re very special. They’re very resilient. I think that every woman deserves and wants to look beautiful. This is a mitzvah that we do. It’s not usually something that people necessarily would choose to do if it weren’t for them being religious and covering their hair.
I think because of that, a lot of women feel that they have to do this mitzvah and they want to do it and feel their best.
How have you seen the wig industry change since you first started?
When I first started, lace fronts weren’t even around. Forget about the styles that have come and gone, but just the construction of the wig caps, the construction of the density of hair in terms of colors or textures. We never used to have curly wigs. But now a lot of people get that even in a process wig sale somewhere. It’s always changing.
What is an appointment with you like?
I love to see clients and it’s a very personal appointment. It’s a one-on-one appointment for an hour and a half to two hours. We sit, we look at pictures, we discuss the vision that you want to have for the wig. It’s not hectic. There’s nothing else going on. It’s a lot of time with just that individual. I think that makes a huge difference for people.
I have a lot of people that come to me crying. They’re traumatized from cutting wigs in the past in a more hectic environment. I really like to book appointments that are private, that are one-on-one, so that we can really try and make a vision of how you want to look and the way that you want the wig cut. It’s very unique that it’s just a cutting experience.
I don’t do repairs; I don’t do color. I don’t sell wigs. I only cut and it’s a very new concept to people when I explain it to them here, but I did it in New York for many, many years.
I take old wigs that they want refreshed and I take new wigs that they want to add a cut to and make it look more natural. I feel like it’s a new concept to some people, but it could be very helpful that it’s just very private one-on-one. I’m very specialized to your needs.
Since people do not get their wig cut like they get their hair cut, do you ever see a repeat client?
My repeat clients usually get one wig cut and they want another cut. So I’ll have like one person who brings me all of their wigs. After about a year or two, someone might need a little trim on their wig or some people like to refresh an old look.
Do you feel any pressure to upkeep your own wig at all times?
For sure, because that’s an advertisement for myself and the wig companies that I’m wearing. I want to represent Jewish women that are put together and proud of who they are. So, when I walk out the door, I always try to make sure that my wig looks natural.
How would you describe your relationship to Judaism?
I grew up in a very loving and warm Jewish home. I’m very proud of my Judaism. I’m very proud of hair covering. I discuss it with many different people. I’ve met many people that are interested in wigs and took them to see and understand why we cover our hair.
Shira Kramer is a freelance writer.
