I have a girlfriend who is a sweet heart. She is going to grow her hair long and donate it to me to make into a wig.
However, I have no idea what that's going to cost, or if you guys recommend it, etc. We have the same hair color, so i'm happy about that. I would love to hear from you guys if you've been donated hair.
Thanks,
Jess
I expect a custom made wig would be expensive. Also, given hair grown half an inch a month, she might be growing it for a while before there is enough to harvest for a full wig.
I'd suggest you contact a wig maker to get most of your questions answered.
I will. I thought I would ask here to see if anyone would recommend it or not.
It takes 3-4 heads of hair (pony tails) to make one wig, virgin hair is best. I would suggest a hybrid wig of human and synthetic hair. custom wig are pricey. $700 from a sympathetic wig maker but can get up to 2000+
Now that is a SERIOUSLY good friend even to make the offer. I think it's worth pausing just to appreciate how lucky you are to have someone like that in your life. Wow. I'm kind of stunned just thinking about it.
I've looked at custom made wigs. The only thing holding me off buying a pair of them is that I am experiencing quite a bit of regrowth from hormones which is exciting! I'll wait and see.
I own one human hair wig now, and one synthetic one. I'm not living full time (I'm TS, not CD), but my wigs get used probably 5 days a week for at least 4 hours. The synthetic is full coverage lace-front, and banded. It just touches my shoulders and cost me $700. The human hair is short, 70% coverage, tape down and clip-in. It cost around $820 from memory, including styling, colour matching and blending.
From what I can tell, human hair wigs are quite specialised. The hair is carefully selected for it suitability. It is usually harvested in one country, treated in another, and then manufactured in a third. Most human hair wigs are manufactured by hand. You can dye a human hair wig very easily, so the focus is usually on the quality and texture of the hair, not the colour. Your supplier can fit different attachment options depending on your preference. Hair may be European or Asian depending on the desired texture.
My local supplier does a good job of servicing, adjusting, styling and giving instructions on how to care for my wigs. It's strange getting a haircut with your wig on!
Have you spoken to an experienced supplier at all? I suspect you would find it cheaper and a better result to use hair that has been selected for its suitability for wig use, but I'm no expert.