Growing Up in Hair Replacement: The Heart Behind My Passion

By Michelle Schumm, Owner, Restore Hair Loss Salon, Minnetonka, MN

Some children grow up in playgrounds - I grew up in the heart of the hair replacement industry.

My earliest memories aren’t of cartoons, but of hairpieces, color rings, and chignons. While other kids were playing house, I was helping my mother match hair shades and learning without even realizing it about an industry that would become my lifelong calling.

My mother was not just a hairstylist; she was an icon in the world of hair replacement. Over the course of more than 50 years, she dedicated her life to helping men, women, and children restore their confidence through innovative hair loss solutions. Along the way, she designed, invented, and patented several types of hair loss systems that shaped the industry and paved the way for future generations. To me, though, she was simply “Mom” and I had a front-row seat to her brilliance.

Some of my fondest memories are of standing in awe before a wall of chignons, carefully studying each one, holding them up to the light, and picking out colors for my mom to ventilate into hair systems. It felt like a game at the time, but in reality, I was absorbing the intricacies of color matching and system design at an age when most children were still learning multiplication tables.

Of course, being a child in a hair replacement salon had its playful side too. As my mom chatted with stylists and clients, I’d take the clear PVC domes that came inside hair systems and place them over my face, pretending to be a firefighter. While I was playing pretend, I didn’t realize that I was also learning, watching the artistry, compassion, and precision that went into every consultation and system.

This early exposure shaped not just my career path but my entire perspective on what it means to serve others. My mom taught me that hair replacement is not about vanity, it’s about restoring dignity, confidence, and identity. It’s about listening deeply, caring genuinely, and combining artistry with science to create transformations that go far beyond hair.

When I graduated high school, I initially felt the pull to go to college. After two years, and summers spent working alongside my mom, I realized where my true passion lay. I enrolled at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis where I trained in cosmetology and laid the foundation for my career in hair replacement.

My first job was with International Hairgoods, where I literally counted hairs to understand what 600 looked like for a new, innovative system called Micro Point Links. At just 20 years old, I was given the extraordinary opportunity to travel to Japan to work with Aderans Hairgoods, the parent company, to help customize Micro Point Links for the U.S. market. While there, I also received intensive training on scalp treatments and sales, broadening my understanding of both the clinical and business sides of the industry.

When Micro Point Links was officially introduced in the U.S., I became its primary educator. I traveled extensively, training hundreds of salons across the country on this innovative process of attaching four new hairs to a client’s single hair, an advancement that offered density and volume in a completely non-invasive way. I went on to serve as the primary trainer for all things hair replacement, ensuring salons across the country had the knowledge and confidence to bring these advanced solutions to their clients. My mom and I went on to collaborate together on Micro Point Accents, designing several hair systems and color effects that would become industry staples. My career grew, so did the opportunities.

For 19 years, I had the privilege of traveling across the United States and internationally, working privately as the hair replacement specialist for a well-known celebrity. This experience not only challenged me to perfect my craft at the highest level, but also allowed me to see firsthand how deeply hair impacts identity and confidence — whether for someone in the spotlight or an everyday guest in my chair.

Now, with 29 years in the industry, I can truly say I’ve lived and breathed every aspect of this business from manufacturing and innovation to hair loss work and client care. After working for a major manufacturer and in three different hair replacement salons, I realized it was time to take everything I had learned from my earliest days as a child at my mother’s side to the vast professional knowledge I gained through decades of hands-on experience and create something of my own. That dream became reality when I opened my own salon: Restore Hair Loss Salon.

Restore was born out of passion and purpose. I wanted to create a space where guests feel comfortable, cared for, and confident again. I know firsthand that hair loss can come from so many different journeys: chemotherapy, alopecia, trichotillomania, hormonal changes, or pattern baldness and that each journey carries its own weight. My role isn’t just about restoring hair; it’s about restoring hope, identity, and a sense of self.

Every day I walk into Restore Hair Loss Salon, I feel grateful. Grateful for the legacy my mom left me, for the craft I’ve mastered over nearly three decades, and most of all, for the privilege of walking beside each guest on their unique journey. This work has never been just a career, it's my calling.

My passion has always been to provide a place where guests can truly feel like themselves again, a space where they are cared for, understood, and supported. Now, as a salon owner, I get to combine my artistry, technical expertise, and lifelong experience to do what I absolutely love. And every morning when I walk into my salon, I feel immense gratitude that I not only followed in my mother’s footsteps, but built upon them, creating a legacy of care and innovation for the next generation.

I didn’t just inherit my mom’s skills, I inherited her heart for people. And that’s the legacy I carry forward at Restore Hair Loss Salon: a legacy of care, craft, and compassion, where every guest leaves feeling whole again.