Wigs and your own hair

[Renate]

What is your solution?

[seldom]

I wear a wig because I have a god awful hairline.  It has gotten ALOT better since I started HRT, but I am still months and FFS away from not having to wear one.  My hair is plenty long, so for me this is not about length. 

[Hypatia]

All my hair loss is in the sides of the hairline in front. This allows me to get by with only a cleverly tied scarf and bangs to hide the loss. I have never worn a wig and hope I never do. I'd had long hair for years already before even attempting a female look. The very first thing I did was comb it into bangs.

I have a big scarf collection. Something to match any outfit.

[Pica Pica]

I have a hanging mobile made of three old theatrical wigs past their prime.

[Suzy]

I was debating whether to make this a separate topic, but...
Those who wear wigs:

• Do you use wig caps?
• Do you have problems keeping your hair tucked under?
• Do you use bobby pins to keep your own hair fixed?
• Do you braid your own hair to keep it fixed?
• Do you brush your own hair up and use hair spray to keep it out of circulation?
• Do you have problems with your wig creeping up over your own slippery hair?
• Is there some sort of adhesive (maybe a smidgen of gum arabic) to keep your wig from creeping?
• Any good wig wearing tips?

Sometimes I wear a cap, others I don't.  My hair stays tucked under just fine, except in a couple of places where  I intentionally pull it out and blend it with the wig.  This helps it look more natural.  Of course if you are going for a totally different color, don't do this.  If I am not wearing a cap I don't have creeping problems.  With them, things move around little more, in part because they are hot and make me sweat.

Kristi

[seldom]

I was debating whether to make this a separate topic, but...

Those who wear wigs:

• Do you use wig caps?

NO

• Do you have problems keeping your hair tucked under?

NO

• Do you use bobby pins to keep your own hair fixed?

NO

• Do you braid your own hair to keep it fixed?

NO

• Do you brush your own hair up and use hair spray to keep it out of circulation?

NO

• Do you have problems with your wig creeping up over your own slippery hair?

NO

• Is there some sort of adhesive (maybe a smidgen of gum arabic) to keep your wig from creeping?

NO

• Any good wig wearing tips?

Buy a human hair wig.  Avoid synthetics like the plague.  It may be more expensive in some cases but they last longer and look better.  Make sure its a blend of colors (At least two)
I also think blond wigs never look right.  I have yet to see one that looks natural in both photographs or in person.  Darker wigs just plain look better and don't glisten as much.  This is of course if you have dark hair to begin with.  Its best to get a wig to match your natural hair color.   

Honestly wearing a wig is easy, as much as I bitch about it, I would not be able to live without it.

Oh get a hair style that matches your face.

[cindybc]

Hi Pica Pica
Did you all have a fight with a bag of flour and the bag of flour won?

Cindy

[Pica Pica]

no, talcum powder.

[NicholeW.]

no, talcum powder.

I presume you won the fight? The talc seems scattered.

N~

[Pica Pica]

it took my hair with it though

[seldom]

Hi Amy:

I have a synthetic wig.  At this point in time I really don't want to get into washing and styling.
Being newly unemployed, I thought it was pretty audacious of me to blow $110.
My own hair is gray, actually white/black.  I tried gray wigs and they all make me look ancient.
The wig I have is a dirty blond? ash blond? 26T8, actually.  I do like the mix of colors.
Probably if I had a longer haired wig most of the problems I mentioned wouldn't exist.
Here is a Picture.

Renate

Word of advice: Go longer.  Its to short.  You mention you got sir'd, it was for a reason.  For your face the wig does not really fit.  Most ts women cannot pull off hair that short until FFS.  You are not exception to that rule. 

Ash blonde/dirty blond is not so bad. 
I spent about $90 on my HH wig.  The next one I am looking at is close to $225.  Yes, you have to wash and style HH wigs, but it does not have to be that complicated.  I wash the wig every six weeks and I use a flat iron or curler to style it. 

Wigs stand out more when they are synthetic.  Most people cannot tell if you are wearing a human hair wig.  Synthetics may not seem to have the maintance requirements, but in the long run they don't last as long.  3-4 months, as supposed to a year to two years for a decent human hair wig, and longer for the very high end ones.  So one can justify spending that little extra as a cost savings, and well...passing considerably better if you are stuck with the horrid things. 

[Keira]

High end synthetic blend wigs, which cost about half the price of high end
human hair wigs (whch are in the $1000 dollar range) last just as long. Its how
the hair are attached to the scarlp that makes all the difference in realism. Also,
as I noted elsewhere, you've got to get the wig layered since nobody on earth
especially in their 40's would have such dense hair with so much body. The wigs
are made to be layered and cut to a particular face and hairstyle. At least
the high end ones are.

[seldom]

High end synthetic blend wigs, which cost about half the price of high end
human hair wigs (whch are in the $1000 dollar range) last just as long. Its how
the hair are attached to the scarlp that makes all the difference in realism. Also,
as I noted elsewhere, you've got to get the wig layered since nobody on earth
especially in their 40's would have such dense hair with so much body. The wigs
are made to be layered and cut to a particular face and hairstyle. At least
the high end ones are.

Depends what you are looking at and how you are shopping with regards to price. 

With regards to layering, its essential for some wigs but not others.  Even the expensive ones.  It is very much a hard thing to figure out.  Pretty much all of them are designed for some layering. 

Also parfait (50 HH/50 synthetic) can run just as high as a good human hair wig. Generally speaking the HH only wigs in that price range are quite a bit better.   

The $1000 wigs thats a different story.

How the hair is attached to the scalp can make a difference.  But generally speaking this is not an easy task, and most people who get wigs screw up, and others never learn.

[ssindysmith]

You left out "used to wear one, now your natural hair is just fine" thats the box I would have checked

[seldom]

You left out "used to wear one, now your natural hair is just fine" thats the box I would have checked

I am hoping this is the case for me in the coming year.

[Suzy]

I agree that the wig is too short.  Only really feminine girls can pull off that style.  As for me, I bought my first couple using a stupid story at some out of the way beauty supply.  I paid a lot more for the ones I wear now.  I got them at a shop and they were trimmed to my face.  It costs a little more, but it makes a huge difference.  You are just going to have to experiment.  Now your chin area is rather narrow, so I would think that something more shoulder length would help to round out your look some.

Keep going till you get it right.  Have fun!

Kristi