For women only: Beth Orenstein created hair incorporations to cater to female pattern hair loss, a specialty that requires not just different techniques but also a decidedly feminine touch.

Clip-on hair extensions were all the rage when Beth Orenstein returned to work as a hair stylist after an illness in the late 1990s.

Applying the extensions was time consuming, and since Orenstein had not yet built up her client base, the other hairdressers often asked her to pitch in when women wanted the service.

That serendipitous event has led to a full-fledged business for Orenstein, whose Woodland Hills company, Hair Incorporations, now specializes in hair replacement techniques for women who are balding.

Hair Incorporations has grown five-fold since it opened in 2000, now employing three stylists. And the salon is currently undergoing its second expansion.

But Orenstein's specialty began almost by accident when she started applying extensions, not to women who just wanted a more glamorous look, but to those who needed to cover bald spots.

"Women at the time went to men's hair replacement centers," said Orenstein of her start in the industry about 10 years ago. "It was hit and miss for a long time. But I had a group of very loyal women letting me do research and development."

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, some 30 million women are affected by hair loss, either through illness, genetics, hormonal changes or other conditions.

Nationwide, about 3,500 studios and salons work in the area of hair replacement, but the majority of hair restoration services are targeted at men or handle both men and women, although that is changing, said Darla Smith, vice president of International Hair Goods, a manufacturer of hair replacement products based in Chanhassen, Minn.

But women experience hair loss differently than men, and that difference is what Hair Incorporations has always addressed.

"Beth is so feminine, so caring," said Smith. "She'll spend hours designing to make it just right. We do a lot of her custom work, and her orders are so much more complex than the normal studio."

Emotionally, women's hair loss is still a taboo subject, and the physiology of women's hair loss is different--often occurring in patches across the whole top of the head.

"They're miracle workers," said Laura Katz, a client of the salon whose hair loss stemmed from weight loss and a pregnancy. "I didn't know where to go. And they just made such a difference with the way I look and the way I feel."

"She's an artist," said Susan H., a client, who, like many, is especially enthusiastic about the fact that, since discovering

Orenstein, no one need know that she is balding. "We all don't walk out looking alike. Others shave your head and glue the hair on. That's not Beth."

Orenstein, who was experimenting in a typical hair salon in the early years, began to face a unique problem. The more women discovered her services, the more difficult her job became.

Most women experiencing hair loss do not want to visit a salon and sit side by side with women who are getting their plentiful mane blow-dried.

When her husband and daughter located an available space in the French Quarter center on Ventura Boulevard, Orenstein and an esthetician who had been working at the same salon decided to partner up to lease the space.

In 2006 each of the women applied for and received a $25,000 micro-loan from the Valley Economic Development Center to open the salon.

"At first I thought I would just have a big, private room and put a bell at the door and we would pop our heads out when someone rang it," Orenstein said. "In the first couple of weeks it was a mad house with people coming in."

Orenstein soon hired a receptionist, and within a year, business had grown to where she had to expand again.

Today, Hair Incorporations employs three stylists in addition to Orenstein and an independent contractor who rents out space in the shop.

By SHELLY GARCIA

Senior Reporter

Spotlight

Hair Incorporations

Year Founded: 2000

Revenues in 2000: $39,576

Revenues in 2005: $254,000

Employees in 2000: 1

Employees in 2005: 4

Driving Force: Advancements in hair replacement technology are providing many more options for different types of conditions and problems.

Goal: To meet the needs of women, whatever the hair loss problems they are experiencing.