Toupee Queen lands in Orange County, ready to shatter stigma
Toupees are still used to cover male baldness, but Emily Cheney noticed something pretty early on in her cosmetology career.
The word “toupee” itself might be six letters, yet it is treated like a four-letter word.
“I went to a conference in Nashville and I asked a question and said ‘toupee,’ just without even thinking about it,” Cheney recalled with a smile. “They acted like I had just committed a murder.”
She said she never bought into the guilt and shame associated with the word.
Instead, she embraced it. Cheney, 23, calls herself the Toupee Queen, and she has fun with her profession.
She’s amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on both TikTok and Instagram, with videos set to music that show the process of her clients getting fitted for their hairpieces.
Cheney, originally from Utah, started in the industry following in the footsteps of her mother, Anndrea Argyle, owner of Argyle Hair Solutions. She still lives in Utah but has now started taking clients in Newport Beach, a stone’s throw from John Wayne Airport.
She expanded her business to Orange County in January, and comes here about twice a month. She said she’s hoping to move here permanently in the next few months.
On one recent morning, Cheney was doing a consultation and first fitting with Troy Rose of Temecula. He came into his appointment wearing a San Diego Padres cap, not unusual for him.
“I’ve been wearing hats every day since I was 21,” said Rose, now 29. “I never liked how my hair looked, so I covered it up. Every time there’s a big event, I have anxiety for months, weeks, days until it gets there. I would always have to ask the people who were getting married, ‘Hey, is it OK if I wear a hat?’”
Rose’s appointment with the Toupee Queen takes about two hours. His initial cost of $2,000 includes toupee, application, cut, one touch-up and one reapplication appointment.
Cheney instructs him to avoid water or sweat for the first 24 hours. As for washing the toupee, once or twice a week will suffice because “it’s still human hair, it still needs oils,” she said.
Maintenance on the toupee needs to be done every four weeks, while the toupee itself needs to be replaced every two to three months, Cheney explained.
“Instead of the hair being knotted in, it’s V-looped,” Cheney said. “It’s not as secure, but it looks way better. That’s why I use it. In my opinion, it’s worth it to replace hair every two to three months and have it look not like a toupee. Some people feel differently about it.”
While Cheney handles the initial appointment in Newport Beach, future visits are handled on site by Alondra Larios, who owns Hair Restoration Orange County. Larios said it’s a good partnership, as she has an established clientele and is also getting new clients through Cheney.
Rose, who had considered hair transplants before deciding on a toupee, will spend thousands of dollars a year on the investment. Then again, self-confidence is priceless, right?
“I’ll put my hats away because I don’t need to wear them anymore,” he said. “I’m very excited.”
That’s the type of vibe that Cheney seeks. Her favorite part about her job is helping her clients become more confident in their everyday lives.
Her second favorite part is challenging the idea that men can’t use cosmetics.
It’s an attitude the Toupee Queen tries to change, one toupee at a time.
“I love disrupting this very comfortable thing in the world where men are low maintenance and women are high maintenance,” she said. “I like being controversial in that way. It’s really fun to me, and I feel pretty passionately about that.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
