Alopecia World
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Time to wave goodbye to the wig?
Hello everyone. I've been a member of this site for a while and enjoy reading other's posts but this is my first post. I first lost my hair in about 20 months ago from alopecia areata due to stress. I didn't shave what was left. I got a hair piece, then a wig, but within 7 months it grew back and since the hair I had was still long, I just got it chopped to chin length and it didn't look too bad. It was growing in nicely.
Then exactly 1 year ago (after enjoying being wig-free for a few months) I had to get some pre-cancerous cells removed and I had a bad reaction to the anesthetic, my body went into shock, and ALL my hair fell out over the course of 10 days. I was completely gutted.
Thankfully I hadn't binned my wig from before, and it didn't look too different from my real hair, so I was able to carry on as normal to the outside world but it was completely devestating.
It's now been 1 year of constantly wearing my wig, taking loads of vitamins every day, exercising, eating well, eating every few hours and taking iron supplements (found out I have very low iron, so when my body is run down or shocked it doesn't have enough iron reserves to see me through, which is probably a big factor in the hair loss). If I get flu, run down, injured or don't eat regularly or take multivitamins, I notice that it doesn't grow as much or falls out a bit. Anyway, now my head is now about 85% covered with hair. It's very short though (only about an inch and a half long).
I'm getting so sick of wearing the wig. I can't glue or tape it on as that pulls out my real hair below, but my real hair is too short to clip it in. I wear it with no glue or clips but I'm starting to notice it's getting more and more slippy. It's getting to winter here now and I can't take a hat off in public as I know that it will have moved, so I need to keep going to the loo all the time and checking it in the mirror. Windy days, putting my hood up, bannging my head against something... all those things cause it to move and slip.
I desperately want to get rid of the wig! But I am worried that my hair isn't quite there yet, and that people will notice a few patches and stare, or that it all falls out again. Also concerned that the switch from a shoulder length wig to very short hair will attract attention, and I can't bear colleagues etc. coming up to me and touching my hair, and discussing why I decided to get such a short hair cut.
I managed to go to Ikea the other day without anything on and felt quite nervous at first but after I got over the inital panic I felt so much better.
Anyone else made the switch from fake hair back to real hair? How did you find it?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sunflower25 on
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Will a headband help? When mine came back in I decided to go out in public when it was about 1/4". There were some spots that were slower than the others (like behind my ears) but a thick headband covered them until it was all even.
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Permalink Reply by chris for hair on
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Wig grip is expensive, I recommend a product you can find in pet stores called vet wrap. (There are other brands, called cohesive bandages if you can't find the right color of vetwrap) It is a stretchy bandaging product that sticks to its self and can hold a wig in place nicely. It comes in a variety of colors, does not have to be tight and holds wigs in place all day. You can buy a roll for about $2.00 at most pet stores or farm supply stores.
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Last winter I had an episode that made me wear a wig all winter. It wasn't too bad, looked much like my hair had, but I was very surprised that both staring and ending the "wig" experience gave me some anxiety...but in reality no one even noticed I had gone back to wearing my own hair. I always wear extensions and all my clients know it, so that may have helped. A few have asked lately if i was still in the wig or was this my own hair....maybe my own hair looks like a wig??
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Permalink Reply by hairtogo on
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Good luck, it is so hard. I cannot switch back....my hair is too thin looking. just wish I lived somewhere to go try on wigs....I end up buying and cutting them down ... Uurrgghh...and haven't been happy with what I end up with. But I think it looks better to have some not so great fake hair than thin,scraggly looking bio hair.
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Where do you live? Some of the online stores will let you send back.
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Permalink Reply by alamogirl/ aka Judy on
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Could you have your beautician style your wig for you? That was a key for me. If you order online or from a catalogue they really must be trimmed for you. I love my wigs and will NEVER go out without "hair". But that is a personal choice. I have a really goofy bald head and don't want to scare children..haha. Blessings.
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Permalink Reply by Lexi on
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I am with you on that one. Thin scraggly hair - so ugly wish it would all grow back, but I guess that is not happening anytime soon.
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Permalink Reply by MaddiiBoo on
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Was the reaction to generalized anesthesia?
I had to be put under twice this year (once for wisdom teeth and then for a bladder surgery) and after both times I noticed a lot of hair fall out and well now I am pretty much bald. Growing hair but its taking ages for it to grow =[
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Which online stores let you return wigs? I am looking at the Tori from Estetica and would LOVE to try her on to see if she would work for me. I love the look of her....she looks like just the right density of hair for me. So many of them are too poufy looking, but Tori looks like she would work for me. If you can give me the name of an online store with a good return policy, I would appreciate it very much.
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