▲ Pelluca Beauty Academy / CEO Lee Hyun-sung

More and more people are being reported to be suffered from hair loss. Unlike in the past where it was an exclusive property of elderly, middle aged and even young ones are often suffering from it nowadays. Around 10 million people, including the potential, are estimated experiencing hair loss in South Korea. If the specialists focused on wigs and planting as for solutions in the past, today they are introducing more ways to improve it such as hair extension and hair increase. The demand is high and so is the market. Naturally, the demand for learning these new skills also is increasing.

Pelluca Beauty Academy is a hair specialist educational institute running various courses for hair increase, hair extension, wigs and hair products as well as haircut, perm, coloring, styling, scalp care and hair physiology. 

“I jumped into hair business in 1998 by selling wigs. It was around 2000 that scalp related products were imported to South Koreas. I saw a potential in the field and gather my knowledge and experience to level up my business in earnest which eventually led to opening of Pelluca Beauty Academy” says Lee.

What makes Pelluca Beauty Academy different from others is that the Lee built curriculum by embracing the latest trends of the industry in the US, Japan and of course South Korea. In addition, all teachers at Pelluca Beauty Academy are specialists in the field and they teach down-to-earth skills alongside theories. 

“The wig course, for example, includes all about wigs from materials and characteristics to production and application. For students, it is very important to learn about naturalness, color, wave and thickness of wigs and above all the just right wig style for just right person. In order to do that, they need to know about all production process of wigs from A to Z.”

However, not only is Pelluca Beauty Academy famous for wigs but also hair extension. The ancient Egyptians used clip extensions like a net on their head to block the sun and it was known to be the root of what we call today hair extension. In the age of Baroque, nobles, men and women alike, wore such as this net to show their rank of the society. 

It was the mid 1990 when hair extension was first introduced to South Korea. Silicon was the wide spread method at the beginning and it gradually shifted to the Japanese style hair twist in late 90s and then to the American style 3 piece or 4 piece braid. All these styles are systematically taught at Pelluca Beauty Academy. 

When asked about future plan, Lee said “As more and more people value highly of how they look in fashion, hair and makeup, so called ‘special hair treatment market’ is fast rising. So I and my specialist team are preparing to introduce these new styles like vlei, cornrow and dreadlocks.”