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What’s the secret behind New York’s glossiest manes? A trip to Queens — and $7,500 for an appointment with the Big Apple’s hair extension whisperer.

From her Kew Gardens studio, stylist and educator Ester Yuabova has emerged as one of the city’s most sought-after keratin-tip (k-tip) extension hair artists — her ability to revolutionize someone’s look has clients traveling from all over and dropping a small fortune for an improved ‘do that will last just a few months.

Celebrities, influencers and everyone else chasing the healthy, full look are beating a path to her door — including singer Rita Ora“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actress Stephanie Beatriz and supermodel Karen Elson.

And while the secret to a stylish woman’s luscious locks might have formerly been kept under, well, lock and key, the miracle worker is proudly dragging the process out from behind the curtain — and splashing her clients’ transformations on social media.

“For years, extensions had a stigma — something to hide. Now, it’s like they’re a luxury, a status symbol — like a designer bag,” Yuabova, 34, told The Post.

Reality TV star Devyn Simone — from MTV’s “Real World: Brooklyn” and “The Challenge” — is one of the many who proudly tout the work they’ve had done with Yuabova.

“I thought I was just going to see her for my wedding, but now I’m going on my third year with her,” Simone told The Post. “She walked me through everything, helped me pick the perfect texture and color, and made sure my hair stayed healthy through every installation and removal.”

Pricey as the procedure may be, NYC-based influencer and actress Audrey Trullinger told The Post she’s been happy to pay it, every three to five months — as she’s seen her hair grow back healthier and stronger.

“While it is absolutely expensive, if you care about your hair health and your confidence, it’s a no-brainer to go to Ester,” said Trullinger, who first started using Yuabova’s services in 2023.

“Her prep is extensive and on the day, you are there from morning to night. K-tips are an art and Ester treats them as such,” she said of the ascendant hair-ess.

An appointment with Yuabova can last anywhere from four to eight hours, depending on how thick one’s natural hair is or what a client wants to get done.

Those with fine strands can usually rock the extensions for about three months without damaging their actual hair, while thick-haired gals can push it to five.

K-tips, which Yuabova calls the “Birkin bag of extensions,” are strands of hair attached to one’s real hair using a heat tool to melt a keratin bond, the same protein natural hair already has, which creates a strong, flexible and undetectable hold.

Depending on each client’s hair goals, she will add length or volume by blending different textured extension strands to mimic the natural hair pattern.

Yuabova didn’t set out to become one of Gotham’s top groomers — she holds a master’s in clinical psychology and had a career as a licensed addiction specialist.

The most she’d ever done with hair was styling friends before weddings — at least until she went on maternity leave in 2018, when she found herself thinking about what to do next.

After a $200 Groupon hairstyling course, cosmetology school and a ton of practice, by 2022, Yuabova, who came to New York City from Uzbekistan as a child back in 1996, had saved enough money to open her own studio —  transforming a rundown physical therapy office into a luxury haven for hair worth seeking out.

“I built everything from scratch. No loans, no investors, just hustle and obsession with doing it right,” she said.

You won’t find any typical, cheaper-looking hair extensions here. Those, Yuabova said, often come from India and are a blend of natural and synthetic hair, like tape-ins ($150–$600), sew-ins ($200–$800+), or clip-ins ($20–$200). Those are applied to a client’s hair with a lot of painful teasing, tugging and tension, which in turn causes a severe amount of damage to the hair and scalp.

Yuabova’s clients, on the other hand, pay top dollar for virgin hair — hair that’s never been dyed or chemically treated. This mostly comes from third-party vendors in Russia and Ukraine, who source long locks from donors in those countries, in exchange for money.

“I handpick every bundle myself,” Yuabova boasted. “Hair carries energy — I can feel its quality. I also cleanse every ponytail with an incantation.”

When visiting Yuabova’s small but chic and whimsical salon, which is decorated with giant black gothic style mirrors, pink rugs and ornate lighting fixtures, clients get the royal treatment — WiFi, TV streaming, snacks and even wine or cocktails — while they sit for their hours-long transformation.

Since the process can take a while, guests are encouraged to bring their own food or order delivery — on the house. Yuabova sees just one client a day, so everyone gets her undivided attention.

“Many clients have found me via social media. There wasn’t one specific moment where I blew up online, but I found my videos resonating with more and more people and then working with celebrity clients who found me from social media.”

And while hundreds inquire about appointments, she’s only able to accommodate a relatively select few.

Yuabova intentionally keeps her booking window tight — only three months out at a time.

“Hair can change fast,” she explained, “so if I booked six months to a year in advance, a client’s hair might be in a totally different state by the time I see them again.”

Apart from beautifying the stars and the who’s who of New York, Yuabova also sells virgin (non-dyed), single-donor ponytails that she sources to other stylists. She also finds time to teach the art of K-tips to hundreds of students — in and outside of New York.

While most people in the hair game want repeat business, Yuabova said that her goal is for clients to “graduate out” of her services, that their natural hair grows stronger and thicker with each k-tip treatment — so that they eventually won’t feel the need for extensions at all.

But while she’s working with them, she wants everyone to feel comfortable with the process — and to know that it’s nothing to hide.

“We see celebrities and assume that’s their natural hair, right? We envy it — ‘Oh, she’s so lucky, she goes blonde one day, brunette the next,’” Yuabova said.

“[I’m here] to normalize the truth — that creative illusion is possible with extensions.”