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To wig or not to wig?
First of all, I'm a newbie to AA and to the message boards. Hi all! Ok, to get to my questions...I'm still on the fence about buying a wig or not. Can anyone tell me approx how long a wig will last before having to toss them in the trash? Which type lasts the longest? I'm so confused with it all. My brain is still trying to process the fact that I have AA. I would greatly appreciate any all advise.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gail on
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Hi...I was diagnosed in January 2013, and bought my first wig in March. I got a synthetic wig...seems from what I have been reading the synthetics can last 4-6 months depending on how much you wash it, products you use, etc. There are very useful videos on youtube and alot of good information on this site. Seems like the human hair wigs can last longer...that will probably be my next purchase. My synthetic, while I do love it, is starting to get a little stiff and it's been 5 months.
I waited as long as I could to buy the wig...thinking the loss would stop or slow down, however, it didn't and I couldn't hide it any longer. I think whether or not to buy/wear one is a very personal decision, but I still would not be comfortable in public with no covering. I give a lot of credit to people that can do it. I also invested in a back-up wig.
Not sure I have wrapped my brain around this either...the rest of my hair fell out in July and now have loss on my eyelashes and eyebrows...not sure when it will stop. It's a hard thing when it's out of your control. This site is an incredible source of information, stories, and support.
I wish you all the best in this...try to stay positive. You're still you...just that your reflection may look a little different.
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Permalink Reply by Rita on
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Hi Gail! I want to thank you for all of the tips that you gave me. Where would be the best place to look for a wig? Like wig shops or beauty salons? What I really need is a book like wigs for dummies. lol
Rita
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Hello
This is such a personal choice. As you will know their are ladies here that find presenting themselves without hair a very empowering experience. You should chat to them (Cheryl and Mary are great advocates for this course of action).
For my daughter she felt that she didn't ask to have alopecia so replacing her hair with hair she loved was a good alternative for her to deal with the ramifications of hairloss. Her wig wearing has helped her become very comfortable with her hairloss. She doesn't hide it and talks about her alopecia openly, but she prefers to wear hair in public places.
If you are thinking of getting a wig I think it is imperative that you think about your own needs. What do you require from a wig. Most will focus on how it looks...which of course is incredibly important. I think it is also wise to think about your lifestyle and what you need your wig to do for you. In my daughters case we needed a wig that was secure (without glues and tapes), looked realistic in all areas of her life (swimminng, rollercoasters, ponytails etc.), was comfortable as my daughter's hairloss is extensive and long term, was easy to look after (washing as you would your growing hair was what we were able to get with the wig we choose with her), beautiful hair (my daughter loves her hair, even though it is expensive I feel it has been worth every penny I have paid).
You may have a set of different prerequisites but do think on this as it helps you become empowered in the choices you make. Once you make a decision then start investigating the options you feel will suit you best.
Good luck with everything.
Rosy
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Hi Rosy! Thank you so much for the information that you provided me with. It sounds like your daughter and I pretty much want the same thing in a wig. I surely don't want people to look at me and under their breath say "that's a wig". Thanks again.
Rita
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Hi Rose Marie. I am a new member on here and I find this virtual community quite interesting. I am so glad I can actually talk to someone about this because I have been keeping my feelings and questions to myself. I am so relieved.
I need really good wig that looks like its my real hair. What kind do your daughter wear?
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I was also a newbie to AA a few months ago. My AA started at the end of Jan 2013. I have some regrowth now, but still have a lot of shedding.
Because of the extensive hair loss, I decided to get a wig in June. However, it was one of those off the rack wigs from a wig/beauty supply shop in NYC, and while the quality is pretty nice, the person helping me really didn't help. She just wanted a sale, and I have to say, the wig actually doesn't look good on me at all. It is one shade of black/dark brown off, so I look strange, and the texture is also off. However, since I relied on her for help on how it looked on me, I took her word on everything and ended up buying this wig (the most expensive wig they sold, all human Indian remy hair, $300). It is literally languishing on my wig stand. I may go to my salon and get it dyed and cut, but not sure yet.
I thought my AA would taper off so maybe I wouldn't need a wig, but by the end of July, it was obvious that I was losing just too much hair to cover up with a hat anymore. I went to this place in NYC called Bitz n Pieces, appointment only. I loved my experience there. Caring and sensitive. The woman helping me put on a whole bunch of human hair (European hair) wigs on me, and we found the perfect one. It looked like a much better version of my hair style when I wasn't losing so much hair. It was very expensive, and I have to go in once or twice a month to get it professionally washed and styled, but it should last at least a decade if not longer, says the entire staff at this wig salon. I got my wig only a few wigs ago, but my god, I totally went from feeling ugly, insecure, and depressed about my AA, while now I don't even think about it.
I think that you and I are on the same page about mentally dealing with AA, and wanting our actual hair back, but I say go for a wig. It totally made be feel happy and social again. I get so many compliments on my hair! It really makes me forget I have AA. And perhaps an unrelated plus - my hair is starting to grow back! Slowly but surely, it is growing back, and maybe that is because I am not stressing about my AA anymore.
Since I still have my hair, I have a clip in wig, that I don't need to use a wig cap for. I clip it into whatever hair I have left (it is very secure, I shook my head around, slept in it, and even had sex with it on haha) and I use my own hair to help style into the wig hair - for example, I use my actual bangs and blend with the wig hair, and I curl my normal hair with the wig hair to give slight waves so no one has been able to tell I have a wig on, even my normal salon stylist!
So with all that, I say go for the highest quality wig you can afford, if you feel like me in that you feel depressed, and uncomfortable without your own hair. Maybe you can't or don't want to spend a lot on a wig (I really didn't either), so look into finding hair loss specific salons in the town you are in. I totally recommend Bitz and Pieces in NYC, loved it there. I also recommend follea wigs, I have a back up from follea, that I got from the Janet Waddell Salon, also in NYC,
Hope I helped, and ask me anymore questions! I wish you well.
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Thank you so much for all of your help. I really appreciate it. I found out three weeks ago that I have AA. By the time I got into see my Derm I had already lost 3/4 of the hair on the left side of my head and the same with the back of my head. I'm currently getting injections in my scalp. Have you gotten treatment for your AA and if so has it helped? I know nothing about wigs and I didn't even know that there are clips that you can use. Thanks for the tip! :) I just need to get my butt to a wig shop and find something for myself. I'm still feeling like a deer caught in headlights type of feeling. I've read about wigs that have gel in the cap and bands that you can use to keep it in place but I just feel so confused. I have a feeling that this is going to be one expensive journey that I'm about to go on!
Thank you again for all of your help and I'm sure that I'll have more questions for you soon. :D
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That happened to me too! It's my right side that is mostly 3/4 gone, since January, and half of the back is gone as well. The left side of my scalp was okay up until June/July, and now it is very patchy. Thankfully, I have enough hair when I side part to use a wig with clips still (with the option to get the clips removed in the event I need to shave my scalp/lose the rest of my hair). So far, I have been on this alopecia journey since the end of January 2013, but as it is with hair, something must have happened a few months prior to set my hair loss in motion (explained below, as I had an eating disorder for a few months).
The regrowth that I am seeing started maybe at the end of July/early August. The treatments I currently do are : injections every 3 weeks since early February; prednisolone (the liquid oral one) pulse therapy (meaning a really high dose only once a month for a max of three months) since mid August (just one so far, with my next dose in mid Sept); every other day shampoo and condition with a special set of products from my trichologist (hair scientist); a special hair stimulating treatment (hair mask + deep conditioner) ever two weeks, also from the same trichologist - both since April. I also eat a very high protein diet, with daily biotin, multivitamin, calcium, and amino acid supplements. I get my biotin, multivitamin and calcium supplements from my local drug store, while I get my amino acid supplements from my trichologist.
I tried one month of prednisone back in mid May to mid June, but honestly, I only noticed the really horrible side effects, and minimal if any regrowth.
I still have pretty extensive loss, but both my dermatologist and trichologist say that since I have pretty nice regrowth, the loss is likely the alopecia "running its course". I have to be frank though - my alopecia is most likely not genetic, and probably caused from a combination of extreme stress and months of an eating disorder from August 2012-January 2013. That's why my doctors think that the alopecia is running its course, since my periods are back, and my body seems to be getting back to normal from the abuse I put it through all through those months about a year ago.
Regardless of if you know what's causing your alopecia (most people don't, as alopecia tends to be unpredictable and "just happens," though in my case, there were enough questionable health practices with no previous extensive alopecia before to say that my alopecia was brought on by myself), I say keep staying positive, and make sure to have your dermatologist try any and everything. I'm really thankful for the fact that my dermatologist is willing to try everything from the scientific journals to help me with my journey.
In the case of the wig, the gel probably works if you shave your head, since it has to adhere to something, right? I don't have much experience with the gel (I think follea makes a type like that). Do you have a lot of loss daily? I lose about 30-50 on days I don't wash my hair, and about 100-200 on days that I do wash my hair, still. At least that's down from a few months ago when I lost more than 300 a day when I washed my hair, and about 100-150 on wash-free days. If you loss is stabilized, or if you still have enough hair for something to clip on to, I would maybe consider the clip system wigs first. The glue, suction and gel wigs probably have a better hold than the clip wigs (though I think my wig is really secure) but if you aren't ready to shave your head, then I would recommend the clip wigs.
AND YES. Alopecia has been VERY expensive for me thus far. I am also so thankful and greatful to my family for helping to pay for all this, but seriously it has been really painful to see my parents pay so much for what is technically a "cosmetic" issue. Obviously, it is more than just cosmetic, as it has deeply hurt my self esteem, confidence, and self love, but on a medical level, alopecia is not life threatening and entirely liveable without treatment. However, I won't lie here - I have always been invested in my appearance, and my favorite feature was always my hair so for me, the loss of my hair had really me so upset, depressed, angry, and mean. The wig managed to help with all my issues, and so yes - it's all been very expensive, and I'm thankful that I can manage to pay for my trichologist, and my wig, since not everyone can afford such luxuries. :( The fact that I am no longer seriously depressed, and am back to feeling mostly like my old self made the wig worth the cost many times over.
Anyway, yes ask me questions anytime, and add/friend me if you'd like. We are all in this together!
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Permalink Reply by Lexi on
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I don't wear a wig full time at this point thankfully. I probably should with how my hair looks! Women on another site that I am on say their wigs only last 3-4 months. That is hard for me to understand but I am sure it is true. That becomes really costly. HH wigs last much longer. But then it really depends on how you take care of them. Longer wigs get frizzed up really quickly. I guess you could always trim the frizz off the ends. A shorter wig would last the longest, synthetic that is.
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Permalink Reply by Cindie on
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Hello, Rita:
I know it is tough being newly-diagnosed with Alopecia. There is so much information out there -- please take your time and read all that you can about wigs -- google wigs, and take a look at all the various sites out there that sell both synthetic and human hair wigs.
Human hair wigs require A LOT of care -- just like your own hair, and a cheap human hair wig is worse than no wig at all. My personal preference are high quality synthetic wigs -- and I always recommend getting three or more (if you can afford it), of good quality synthetics whose style fits you, so you can wear them "in rotation" -- that way, they last much longer.
Good luck with everything. The ladies (and few men) on this site are just great. I've never met anyone personally, but they have been a wonderful support for me as I go through this journey.
Peace and Blessings
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Hi Guys
Just wanted to put a little information here about human hair wigs. It really depends on what type of human hair you get as to whether it is difficult to style.
There are two types of human hair available. Processed human hair and unprocessed virgin human hair. Very different products. The difference in looks and care is extensive.
Processed Hair (no matter how much processing is said to be done), is often difficult to look after. It can break and become very dry looking quickly etc. This type of hair in a wig should be of a reasonable price...if it is processed and expensive somebody is making undue amounts of profit.
Unprocessed Virgin human hair...is really beautiful. It looks and behaves like people growing hair. It is easy to look after, shiny and healthy...but it is expensive. It will last a long time if you look after it well.
Rosy
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