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Help! Just got my first topper and the clips hurt
I just got my first topper and wore it for about 7 hours on the first day. Loved the look, it was pretty comfortable while I wore it. (I'm thinking about wearing it out in the world, but before letting anyone but my husband see it, want to wear it around my house for a while to make sure it's the right thing for me.)
The morning of day #2, I tried to clip it in and I realized my scalp was really darn sore. I couldn't tolerate it for more than a few minutes before I gave up. It even hurt to put my bio hair in a ponytail.
My questions: Did you have this experience when you got your first topper? What helped you build up to wearing a topper for longer hours? For example, is there a recommended schedule to help your scalp adjust, like wearing the topper 4 hours every day for a week, 6 hours a day the next week, etc?
Does this experience mean the topper clips will always hurt? Is the pain caused by oversensitive follicles, or is there a physical cause like inflammation?
In case some background info helps: I have thinning all around the top and crown of my head. I've got enough very fine bio hair that I can almost hide my scalp with Toppik, just not quite. The topper is about 6x6" soft mono base, 4 clips, 12" length, less than 3 ounces total weight. I'm definitely not ready to bond.
I've seen the thread on this site about the "hair on a thread", but that doesn't seem like it would solve this for four clips. I'm open to sewing in more clips and alternating them, but not sure it that would help in the long run.
Thanks for any help!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Glinda on
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Bumping up this post and really hoping someone has some wisdom for me.
I'd welcome any and all advice about reducing pain caused by topper clips. Please share any ideas or similar experiences.
Thank you!!!
Glinda
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So I'm having this exact problem, almost verbatim. I got my new topper yesterday, wore if for about 8 hours, felt fine on all day. I was so excited, was the first time I felt normal in a long time. But when I took it off, my scalp where the clips were felt like they were like sunburned badly. Super painful and sore. I have thinning and some areas are worse than others but I honestly feel I have plenty of hair for the clips.
My scalp still feels sunburned and I can't put it on today. Not sure if I just wore it too long the first time out with it, maybe I need to build up a tolerance?
I don't know but if you have found anything that has helped I would love to know about it. I really want to be able to wear it.
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Some topper wearers have expressed that during a shed their scalp is more sensitive. It might be due to oversensitive follicles or inflammation but that would be best assessed by a doctor. It might be a good idea to make an appointment with a dermatologist to rule out a medical cause for the pain.
I have found that toppers do require some time to get used to. Longer hair and higher density toppers can cause pain due to the weight and length causing the clips to pull on your bio hair. I think adding a few clips might help distribute the weight more evenly which could make it more comfortable. It might also help to move the position of the clips because where they are currently placed might correspond with sensitive areas of your scalp. In addition, intermittently alternating the clips is important to prevent traction alopecia.
A few tricks that might work: try taking a small section of hair where you will clip, gently backcomb, then add some hairspray that area. This will create an "anchor" that might help the clip grip securely but without causing pain. Another thing to try is when you clip is if it feels too tight or uncomfortable, unclip, wiggle it a bit, then reclip. Sometimes this helps reduce the tightness/pain from the clips. Finally, you might try different sizes of clips and clips that are silicone lined.
Hope that helps! :-)
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