To all ladies who wear (or have worn) wigs, I have some questions.

I've decided that I will prob need to invest in a wig until my hair grows back (just cut it short again to please the family, I know....). Most of the research I've done says that human hair wigs will be a much better choice if you're wanting to wear it every day, which I would be since I don't really have any hair

So, is that true, from your experiences? Although human hair has to be styled and is crazy expensive, I get the feeling it is what I'm going to need to do.

I have a synthetic but it is very uncomfortable to wear after a few hours, gets very hot, and doesn't look as natural as I would like it to, although that could just be my mind playing tricks. This one cost a couple hundred bucks, so I can only imagine what a real one will cost.....

Only one place in my city sells human hair wigs, and they charge just for a consult, is that shady or normal? It is an appointment-only place and only lets one customer in at a time, but that still seems odd to me. The place that sold me the synthetic doesn't charge just to walk in, but lots of traffic goes thru there and privacy can be an issue.

Please help.

Chrissi

Some information on wigs would b useful for many, I know I'd appreciate it.

Nothing better than first hand experience, either. Hopefully some, with expereince, will respond.

several cheap artificial wigs in slightly different colours and styles would be a better bet to allow for experimentation until you finally find 'your look'.

any wig boutique would be happy to have you as a customer so long as you act natural.

Most shops will help you without any charge.  But seeing this place is by appointment only It does not surprise me that they charge for a consult.

There are several shops online, of course, but they don't have any help.  If this place it the only place then you are pretty much stuck.

I've been researching hair replacement options for about five years, here's the lowdown on what your options are...

The wigs you see on wigs.com, and the ones usually sold in retail stores, aren't really that good for extended, daily wear. They're like wearing a hat -- full caps, they cover all your existing hair. They're hot, and usually fake and wiggy looking. There are some lace-front full wigs that have the hair knotted to a very fine lace in certain areas (hairline and usually a part in the hair up top), so you can see through to the scalp a tiny bit.  These are more realistic looking. If you like to mix it up or try out new hairstyles, or you're going out and want to glam it up, these full-cap pull-on wigs are just fine; but if you want realism, you've got to look elsewhere. 

Human hair will look more realistic in general no matter which wig you get, but the most realism would be gained by going with a partial full-lace wig, with the hair knotted to the lace. If your hair loss is only on top, for example, you get a custom lace wig just to cover the top of your head only, coloured to match your existing hair. It can be attached with clips, however the most realism will be gained by shaving off the hair in the thinning areas totally and using an adhesive tape or glue to attach the lace directly to your skin.

The lace is a very fine synthetic mesh that virtually disappears when placed against the skin, and the really fine laces almost impossible to see unless someone is about 2" from your face with a magnifying glass. You can even pull your hair back and expose the hairline, and it looks incredibly real. They are lace, so they allow your scalp to breathe, and the rest of your head isn't covered with a wig. Hairlines can be staggered a bit along the line so they more closely match the growth patterns of real, growing hair.

There are hair clubs and places local to you that will sell these to you, they will charge you thousands for the wigs, then want to lock you into a contract for servicing it, etc. for hundreds a month.  The most economical way is to order online from one of the companies that sells them, and do the attaching/detaching and cleaning yourself. They are around $600 each for the hair systems. You will need 2-3 a year, depending on how hard you are on them and what lace you get; they do lose hair over time and will need to be replaced.

Doing it yourself is of course a learning process... but there is good support from online forums and the like, and the cost savings are worth it. There is maintenance involved, but most people leave it attached for a week or two at a time, and it's about an hour of maintenance once a week once you get it all down pat.

You can check out this company... http://www.hairdirect.com/ . I've ordered their custom fitting kit for women, and it is very well-put together, as is their site. There are others, http://www.coolpiece.com , http://www.toplace.com/ , and probably others. All the ones I have listed have been around for years, and I've ordered from two of them, so I know they're not fly by night companies. I have no idea if they are trans friendly or not, but you of course don't have to volunteer that info. They do have plenty of female clients though, so they know what hair densities, etc. are best to order for women.

Hope some of this helps. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask...

I've been wearing a good quality synthetic wig with a monofilament (mesh) top for a year now. It cost me about £200 - I wanted a human hair one originally but the one I got was so realistic it didn't really matter. It's a long bob style close to my own dark brown colour but with red highlights. It's been well admired and people assume it's my own hair. It took a couple of weeks to get used to but after that it's been easy to wear - it does get hot sometimes but mostly it's okay, and there's no danger of it coming off. I wish I still had the details so I could let you know the brand but I binned them!

I bought it in a small hair accessory shop in a provincial city recommended by a family friend - a surprising amount of women wear wigs and generally you can't tell, so shop around and see what you find because there are lots out there. Unfortunately people are sensitive about hair loss so wig dealers tend to be in fairly anonymous buildings so you might need to dig around in the phone book to find them.

I would go for a shortish style as they generally look more realistic, also you obviously can't feel wig hair so if it gets caught in something you could end up embarrassed. My own hair is past my shoulders and it just bundles up inside with the help of a hair net.

I wore a wig when I was full time outside of work for about 4 months. It was synthetic but bought at a wig store. It worked well and I had no problems and I was too afraid to wash it but never had a problem lol. I still have it...kind of a memento from those times

I've heard good things and bad things about human hair wigs...they're much more expensive. If it's temporary you may consider a nicer synthetic one from a wig shop......but it also may be due to weather. The weather here is very mild so "getting hot" never happened.

Wigs can sometimes be very scratchy and itchy..and people can spot it right away. Have you considered lace front wigs?

I have a couple of nicer synthetic wigs, they were given to me by a friend (I'm wearing one of them in my avatar picture).  I've washed each of them a time or two so far.  They do need to be washed from time to time.  It's also important to use wig conditioner on them, and not brush them when they're wet.  I can sort of see so far that in the summer they'll be hot - when I come inside from being outside, I often have the sensation that I'm wearing a hat I need to take off, lol.  But that may be because I'm not quite used to wearing them yet - I only get a few hours here and there so far.  These wigs are the type that would go for around $300 new (which is so amazing that I got them free!).  Anyway, they seem to work well so far, and I'm hoping they'll last a while...

I have been wearing wigs for several years now. I have a collection of about 10 at the moment. Currently, all are synthetic. I have been getting them locally (a town about twenty miles away) as well. As Lilacwoman here mentioned, you need to find "the style" that fits you and has the 'look' you like when you see it on. I have many different styles and it took a good while to really know what was going to work for me as an everyday wear.

Early on, I tried a couple of human hair wigs. It turned out to be disastrous in that I didn't know how to properly care for them. When I washed them the first time I ruined them by agitating them much, much to aggressively. They became a tangled mess. That's when it became obvious to me that I needed assistance, and found a local wig shop to help me out a bit. The shop owner only dealt in synthetic wigs and was very helpful in fitting them properly. Her rates for cleaning them were very reasonable and I would take one or two in at a time for cleaning. Of late, I have investigated through the internet methods for properly cleaning hair pieces on my own. Not that it is overly expensive to have the shop do it for me. More, it is an inconvenience in travel time. I have plenty of time at home to do this myself.

For the better part this has worked out as a pretty good arrangement. At least until more recently as it has become more and more apparent that synthetic wigs just do not have quite enough realistic look and even more importantly, feel. Also, synthetics over time and after a while of wearing tend to bunch up at the collar area on me as I move around. I think it's because the fibers near the end of their life cycle in being limber or some such.

Anyway, as Veronika has offered, it looks like one of these hair club outfits will be next on my list of trials. Yes they appear to be expensive. However, now understanding how to properly take care of a hair piece, it should not be to much to consider. My synthetics cost about $250.00 or so each plus maintenance. I buy about 4 per year. I think I'd rather have something at a near par in cost comparison overall and yet, has a more realistic look and feel to it.

Ultimately, there may not be a perfect answer.


Dawn

Quote from: Valeriedances on January 04, 2011, 09:39:50 PM
The important thing about wigs is they need to be cut, thinned and layered for your particular head. Then it wont be spotted at all if its good quality, unless its touched.

So if you buy one, have it professionally altered at a beauty salon, while its on your head, and it will look like it belongs. Never wear one right out of the box.

very true. The lady at the wig shop cut bangs for mine because I wanted bangs =) my first hair styling haha