Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rose Marie' on July 4, 2008 at 3:53pm

Hi

Wigs are like anything else you buy you have to fully understand your own needs before you purchase one. Sometimes understanding what you really need is a little bit of a mine field. I've found people are better at telling me what they don't want rather than what they do want. I think people should write a list of what they want and match it to a hairpiece that comes closest to their needs.

My list was, security, realism, comfort, durability, maintenance needs. For me the answer was freedomwigs. They are pretty wonderful. I realise that expense is another factor for all of us. Keep this in mind "quality is remembered long after price is forgotten".

Good luck with your choices.

Rosy

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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 10, 2008 at 5:05pm

I had a human hair wig that I loved - "Marla" by Rene of Paris. It looked really natural, very smooth and straight. Then I washed it! The hair turned out to be very wavy and wiry - not at all like the original style looked. I bought a hot iron and spent hours trying to smooth it out. I took it to a professional wig stylist. Nothing has been able to make it look as it did. Right now, I'm trying to get the wig store to give me a credit for the $650 I paid for it. Their explanation was that they never know what type of hair (straight, wavy, curly) a wig is made up of. My response was that they should have told me that, and advised me that there was a possibility it would never be smooth again. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bought it.

I think it will be a long time before I buy another human hair wig - I'm sticking with synthetics because they're so easy to care for and never lose their style. I wear my a synthetic version of the same style by Rene of Paris now, and love it. Since it's short, it doesn't seem to have a big frizz problem yet.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on July 11, 2008 at 3:48pm

I completely agree. I love my synthetic cuz I don't have to worry about styling it. I was lucky with my natural hair...I never had to blow dry it or straighten it or anything. I literally stepped out of the shower, ran my fingers through it, and was on my way. It rocked. So I think it would be very hard for me to get a human hair wig and deal with the more common human hair and start dealing with styling. I wouldn't know how! LOL.

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Permalink Reply by willow on July 11, 2008 at 7:27pm

Mary,
It has always been my experience that a curly wig will go quite straight in no time at all. Have you tried just to blow dry it. Or add a bit of jel, and dry it. The jel or mousse will straighten it some because of the weight. I'm really surprised, Rene has one of the best quality wigs. They use European hair, versus Chinese or Black Hair which is courser. Sounds like your human hair has some monocriyic in it. They do that, add 20% or so monocrylic hair to a human hair wig, and some do not label it. If that is the case, your 650 is way over priced.
I always liked mine curly, and it took hours to recurl it exactly the way I liked it. Hope you resolve your issue. Hate to say, my experience with Acrylic is after about 3 mths, it begins to friz anywhere it touches your collar. I always found a human one stayed nicer for longer. I always used expensive shampoo, and lots of conditioner.
wigs don't have the natural oil, your scalp gives.

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Permalink Reply by ruth on July 10, 2008 at 6:46pm

how do you take care of synthetic wigs...do you wash them with warm water and mild soap?

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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 10, 2008 at 6:49pm

I bought some special shampoo and conditioner from the wig shop where I got the wigs. It only takes a little. I wear wigs so seldom, and never when I'm going to be sweating, that I wash infrequently. But, the synthetic is great because you can just plop it on top of a hairspray can (I have one because my husband has hair), or something like that, and it dries perfectly.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on July 11, 2008 at 3:50pm

You should use cold water, not warm. There are special shampoos and conditioners for synthetic wigs. You just fill up a large bowl of cold water and put in a capful of the shampoo and let it soak in there for a few minutes. Then fill the bowl with clean water to rinse. Instructions will be on the bottles. Buy them at the wig shop or online store where you get your wig.

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Permalink Reply by willow on July 11, 2008 at 7:16pm

www.wowwigs.com

Best wig prices I have ever seen. They even have Human Hair wigs, that I favored because you can curl, jel and do whatever to them. Washing is a bit harder, it tangles, but I found so much nicer than acrylic. vacuum wigs are not accessible in canada, but it would have been my first choice.

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Permalink Reply by CSue on September 15, 2008 at 10:52pm

Great idea! So far all of my wigs have been synthetic. I would like to purchase a monofilament wig in the near future, but my problem with any wig is the sizing. According to my measurements I should wear a large (for the circumference around the hairline), but the crown or cap is always too large and the wigs tend to slip which makes me think the overall size is too large.

I would like to know how other wig-wearers cope with wind & rain. I've been afraid that I would get caught in the rain without an umbrella or something to cover my head. I imagine it's inevitable at some point. Also, I live in a very windy area - at least it is most of the year except during the summer months, so I've been trying to figure out how to deal with that. I may have to develop the habit of wearing a scarf over the wig when outside (such as walking between the car & parking lot), but I'm afraid that it will be awkward to remove the scarf once I'm inside without first checking in the mirror to make sure everything is in place (don't want to walk around with a lop-sided wig!).

I would like to hear how others have coped with these issues.

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Permalink Reply by Mary on September 16, 2008 at 12:24am

Please excuse the long response, but I want to communicate my feelings about this whole topic and share with you how I've coped since suddenly losing all my hair 7 months ago. I gather that this isn't what many women with alopecia want to hear, but my advice is to just go bald whenever it's warm enough!

Why go through all the problems you describe when you could just be yourself and not worry about the wig coming off or getting crooked? Does a man worry about such stuff?! Do men with hair loss wear wigs and worry about them getting lop-sided?! NO, they just go bald and are comfortable and care-free. I don't understand why women subject themselves to this.

I find wigs very hot and itchy, and I only wear a wig for "special" occasions, and ONLY if it's cool or air-conditioned. They're like an outfit I put on when I want to dress up and have a different look. I wear a scarf when I want some coverage and a little warmth (usually one of my Turkish scarves as shown in my YouTube video, sometimes a purchased head wrap), and I go bald the rest of the time. It's so much easier and more comfortable! I've bought a lot of nice earrings, and worked on tanning my dome so it isn't such a pale color compared to my face.

Today was a typical day while running a bunch of errands: I was bald while in the car (nice and cool), I put a hat on for sun protection to go in and out of the grocery store, library, gym, car repair shop, etc., and carried a scarf in my purse to pop on if it was chilly indoors. Entering a building, the sun hat comes off, and I either continue bald, or put on the scarf if I am cold. Sometimes while wearing a scarf indoors I get warm, and the scarf goes into my purse. Yes, people sometimes look, but I just hold my head up and go about my business. It was hard at first, but now it just feels natural! It's who I am. My motto is "Life is too short to wear a wig."

So far, no one has dropped anything in a store, or screamed, or done anything except compliment me. Sometimes people ask me what stage of chemotherapy I'm at, and I take the opportunity to explain that I'm not sick and tell them briefly about alopecia. Once at the zoo, a young child said "that lady doesn't have any hair" to her mother. Big deal! I look people in the eyes and I smile. What I have on my head at any given time is completely dependant on what the temperature is, and whether I need sun protection.

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why more women with hair loss don't just do this. Imagine what it would be like if we saw as many bald women as we see bald men! Just a few years ago, it wasn't so usual to see bald men - remember what a big deal they made about the captain on Star Trek Next Generation being bald? Then, more and more young men started shaving their dwindling hair and going bald...now it's a trendy look for them and no one looks twice. Just imagine if every women who is bald went out without head covering tomorrow!!

I admit that I might have felt differently if I had lost my hair while I was still working professionally (I'm retired now and I teach a dance class and do volunteer work bald or in a scarf when it's cool). I used to be a lawyer, and I expect I would have worn a wig to court or to meet with clients - at least until they got to know me. But, outside court or office appointments, I believe I would have done what I'm doing now.

Sorry for the rant, but I really am struggling with understanding this.

Good luck on your journey.

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Permalink Reply by Rose Marie' on September 16, 2008 at 12:48am

Hi

I'm a wiglady, but I totally understand and support those that prefer to be without or to wear scaves, headwraps, hats, tattoos as long as they feel comfortable.

I suppose that's the point some people just don't feel comfortable without their hair. They liked their hair and want to replace it in some way. If this was a choice it may be a different situation, but there is no choice for people when faced with hairloss due to alopecia areata. The hair goes whether they want it to or not.

I admire your choices and understand them. I also admire those that find other alternatives, wigs being one of those alternatives. For some (my daughter included) to go out without some form of head covering feels like she is going out nude. At this time she does not like the attention focussed on her when she doesn't wear her hair. She feels defined by her condition when that happens and sees herself with hair rather than without (her hairloss was not her choice) I know that's not how lots of ladies here feel and my intention is not to say either choice is less than or more than just that people make decisions that suit them for many reasons and to accept each other for them is all that needs to be done. I think that is why some people (my daughter included) choose to wear wigs.

Rosy

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Permalink Reply by Mary on September 16, 2008 at 11:14am

I appreciate your replies. I'm sorry if my post seemed harsh, but I guess my anger and frustration at it being socially cool to be a bald male but not female gets to me.

Of course, it's ALL about acceptance and feeling good about yourself. I don't have a day that goes by that I don't miss my hair and eyebrows and wish I looked the way I used to. I dream about having hair and wake up and cry sometimes when the realization of my baldness hits me. I feel much "prettier" and more feminine while wearing a wig. It's just that I hate the way they feel.

That said, my advice to Mandy about wigs is this: stick with synthetic because it's so much easier to care for and will always maintain the same style it came with. With a synthetic, you rinse it out and hang it up and it will dry looking just as it did when you bought it. I also recommend a mono-top, which looks more natural.

A human hair wig may end up looking way different after you wash it. I bought a very nice human hair wig ($650 Rene of Paris) that was a smooth and sleek short style. When washed the first time, the hair reverted to its natural coarse, wavy appearance, and no amount of flat ironing would make it look the way it had when I bought it. I finally got the wig store to give me a full credit when their stylist was also unable to smooth it out. Really expensive human hair wigs are made with hair that is all from the same person and hasn't been processed to be smooth. I just didn't want to spend that much.

Best wishes.

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