My neighbour has contracted Alopecia and lost all of her hair. She's young, only 32, and doesn't like to go without a wig. She's thinking of a human hair wig, but has been quoted about $800 for one. I told her I'd canvass the best crew of experts I knew for recommendations.

Thanks in advance,

Dennis

Natural hair wigs can look very nice but they require a fair bit of maintenance.  Synthetic hair wigs come in many nice styles and quality ranges.  http://paulayoung.com has many inexpensive ones that look halfway decent.  I have one of theirs as my backup wig.

My primary wig, the one I wear almost all the time is one that I bought at a wig store for $250.00.  I went to the wig store to buy a good one so I could try it on first, then I got a similar style for my backup wig, online.  My primary wig looks very nice and it requires little daily maintenance other than brushing it out.  This is what it looks like:

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z161/emelyew/headshot-1207.jpg?t=1203017267

It's best if you have at least 2 of them so you have one available when you do maintenance on the other.  For eyebrows, she may wish to consider tattoos.  A friend of ours had hers tattooed on and they look very nice.

I hope this helps!

hugs & smiles
Emelye

There's some kind of system that's here -- I have no idea what it's called, but I think it's the same one Wiliam Shatner has. Anyway, it costs lots, but it's very natural and you cannot tell that you have a wig on! I now have two friends who are doing it and I'll have to say it's amazing. One friend has worn a wig for a long time, but now she's on the system and the improvement is amazing. She looks great, and seems more confident.

I wish I knew the name of the system. It's expensive, but worth it. It's stuck to your head, too, glued or something, that doesn't come off for a month. The hair is natural, so you can do anything you want with it. It's really neat. And the results are fantastic!

--natalie

you can allways buy an inexpensive wig <Im talking under 100.00> thats close to what you want then take it to your hair dresser to have it properly thined out and shaped to your face....  This is a heck of allot easyer than going nuts trying to find the perfect one...  Most wigs tend to be too full//thick and this remidies that problem      Hope that helps

I've gone through boku wigs over the years, both human and synthetic, in my search for the perfect one, and I would say go with human hair. Yes, there are some fantastic synthetics out there, but nothing to me beats the realism of the one I have now, especially for everyday wear. Upkeep has never been a problem or hassle, and the great thing about it is I can color it to get exactly what I want. I wear a Remy human hair wig from Wig Pro, and I am constantly being complimented about my hair, people are amazed when I tell some that it's a wig. I did have it styled at a salon, your better human hair wigs usually come with 20-30% more hair than needed for that purpose, any wig looks better when it's styled for your face.

These do come with a higher price, I paid $460 for mine, but it's money well spent because of the quality, and it will last for a long time. I also saved a lot of money by getting it off the Internet, they cost double that in the stores. I had several Paula Young wigs when I first started going out, and while they are a good deal for the money, none of them lasted very long, the same for a cheap human hair one I got off eBay. If money is an issue, then stick with synthetics, I had a Revlon that was very nice and only cost $85 off the Internet. What your friend can do is go to a wig store and try on different models to see what works, then get it off the Net. I know that's not exactly fair to the store, but saving half price is saving half price any way you look at it.

Karen Starlene

Thanks for the info, ladies, I'll pass it on. And Emelye, she is going to get eyebrows tattooed on soon.

Dennis

Dont forget to tell her to check with her health insurance company to see if they cover wigs. Up here in the great white north, our insurance will give 300$ for a wig for medical reasons.

Also, I'm not so sure about gluing a lace front wig to your head, I tried a few when I got fitted for my wig and the ladies there said that you use makeup to make the lace completely dissapear and if you want a stronger hold you attach clips to the inside which will clip to your hair under the wig. I really wouldn't want to glue a wig to my head, those things are bloody hot!

Dawn

Good point, Dawn. We are in Canada.

Dennis