Any TUG Ladies Wear Wigs Due to Hair Loss?

[WinniWoman]

Ok. I am going to put this out there even though it is a sensitive issue for women.

So- I have been noticing over several years now that my hair texture was changing and a lot of hair strands would come out when I shampooed. You may or may not recall we had a thread on Tug about coloring hair or something like that and I had decided to cut my hair sort and let it go gray, hoping this would help. And it did seem to for a while.

I even tried using Rogaine for women twice- once for 6 months and another time for an entire year. I really did not notice hair growth, but it did seem to help keep my hair- but really not sure.

Anyway, I eventually decided to stop using it due to the lackluster results, not to mention the tedious application day in and day out, and the expense of it.

Well fast forward to now and my hair is thinning ever so badly. I really think my age and the stress of the move, living how we are living right now and the fact that I am still on overload with everything and knowing I will be for quite some time, has hastened the hair loss. Maybe some heredity- who knows? My nails are ok- fairly strong and nice white tips. ( I never use nail polish). I rather doubt it is anything like thyroid. I eat a lot of food with B12 like fish, turkey, and other forms of protein. I am not usually fatigued, so I don't think it could be iron. My blood tests are always ok. I do eat a lot of salad- but I doubt it is enough to overload on Vitamin A. I do take a multiple vitamin and Vitamin D3.

Amazingly, my mom had incredibly thick hair- nice and white though- like mine. She always got compliments on the color, as do I. Even through chemo she barely lost any hair! By the time she passed on- still really thick hair. My dad- the opposite. Bald by 30. My brother- bald by his early 20's. My son also lost most of his hair already. He's 31. My luck- looks like I took after my dad.

Bottom line- I have given up trying to fix it and, for the first time in my life, have succumbed to buying a wig. I found one on- get this- Amazon- for $50- that was a pixie style kind of like how I wear my hair now- just a little longer- and it is the similar white/grey color- though without the strands of "pepper" I still have on the back/bottom of my head.

My husband says it looks good (what a guy!) but I do have to get used to it and try to style it better. I am going to wear it out in public when I go to the food store tomorrow.

It was so funny- it came in a regular package-a brown envelope- in the mailbox. Made in China, but at least it is 70% human hair. I am using a paper towel roll as the head stand for it. LOL!

After I took the wig and cap thingy off- boy did my own hair look wretched! Could really see how thin it is- pink scalp showing and all. Ugh.

Of course, this wig does not look like the model in the ad. They probably have it cut and styled professionally for the pictures. I don't want to do anything to it because I have 30 days to return it. I am not even washing it first- just in case.

So there you go. I laid it all out there. Wondering about any tips. Like wearing it on a windy day or wearing hats with it. I know I can't swim with it on- well maybe I could but probably won't- but I am thinking when my head really gets bare I could get one of those combination scarf/hat things.

i guess my biggest fear is it could move or come off, or it will be very obvious that it is a wig. I don't have enough hair for the cobs to grab- I have very fine, ultra straight hair on top of the fact that it is thin. But the cap seems to be snug enough.

I know I am going to be very self conscious. Hoping I will learn to love wearing one.

 

[glenmore]

My hair has always been thinner on top and sides but generally ok

Last winter I couldn’t do a thing with it and realized it was getting REALLY thinner and a bit patchy.

One day a friend was first in the door for book club. I have known her for 9 years and always thought she dressed well and that her hair always looked great. I asked her where she got her hair done and she told me that she had had alopecia (sp?) since high school and that she was wearing a wig. I was floored!!! I looked it over from every angle and could not believe it was a wig

Next-I said-is it real hair? No, she said/synthetic-just wash, shake, let dry and go

so then I went to a wig store with my husband and tried on different styles. We had so much fun! The one I originally bought is very similar to a style I used to wear. At first, I was very self conscious-it felt like so much hair! But, after seeing a photo of me in the wig, I realized I looked “normal”.

I told everyone I had gotten a wig and no one could believe it. They still marvel at how natural it looks. I have saved so much time not washing my hair every day and setting it in hot rollers for some style. It is a dream on a trip

If you can go to a wig shop and try on different styles and colors-you will learn a lot. There is a difference in quality in some brands so it helps to try on wigs by different manufacturers at different price points

I paid full price happily for my first one and have bought several more at sale prices

I hope you have or find one you love. I feel much more attractive now that my hair always looks so good!!

 

[glenmore]

I wear a Wigrip headband which makes the wig VERY secure!

 

[Panina]

My mom has worn wigs for years due to complete baldness. I agree with @glenmore to try to go to a wig store and try them on. Quality differs dramatically as well as the caps. A headband should work to secure it for you as you still have hair. Mom actually uses a hard half headband on the wig to give it extra security. On very windy days she wears a hat too.

Of all the wigs I have gotten her the Racquel Welch for the money was the nicest.

For myself, I noticed when my gray hair grows in I look like my hair is thinner with bald spots. When I color in light blonde it looks fine. I think it is because the gray is closer to my light scalp color.

Everyone is my family is bald or has significant hair loss except me. When I notice lots of hair loss about 9 years ago I started doing Brazilian Blowouts and the loss stopped. I have natural frizzy curly hair and tried to go back to it without the Brazilian blowout and hair loss started again. So bye bye curls as the Brazilian blowout makes it straight on me where on most others it just takes away the frizz.

 

[am1]

Maybe a trip to Colombia is in store. Are taxes charged on wigs? I always thought they were mostly for men or certain women. If so seems that tax is as discriminatory as the pink tax.
Best of luck.

 

[WinniWoman]

Maybe a trip to Colombia is in store. Are taxes charged on wigs? I always thought they were mostly for men or certain women. If so seems that tax is as discriminatory as the pink tax.
Best of luck.

What are you talking about tax? Pink tax? What the?

 

[WinniWoman]

My mom has worn wigs for years due to complete baldness. I agree with @glenmore to try to go to a wig store and try them on. Quality differs dramatically as well as the caps. A headband should work to secure it for you as you still have hair. Mom actually uses a hard half headband on the wig to give it extra security. On very windy days she wears a hat too.

Of all the wigs I have gotten her the Racquel Welch for the money was the nicest.

For myself, I noticed when my gray hair grows in I look like my hair is thinner with bald spots. When I color in light blonde it looks fine. I think it is because the gray is closer to my light scalp color.

Everyone is my family is bald or has significant hair loss except me. When I notice lots of hair loss about 9 years ago I started doing Brazilian Blowouts and the loss stopped. I have natural frizzy curly hair and tried to go back to it without the Brazilian blowout and hair loss started again. So bye bye curls as the Brazilian blowout makes it straight on me where on most others it just takes away the frizz.

Just be careful with those.
https://www.healthline.com/health/brazilian-blowout-dangers#side-effects

 

[WinniWoman]

I wear a Wigrip headband which makes the wig VERY secure!

Thanks. I will check into those.

 

[WinniWoman]

My hair has always been thinner on top and sides but generally ok

Last winter I couldn’t do a thing with it and realized it was getting REALLY thinner and a bit patchy.

One day a friend was first in the door for book club. I have known her for 9 years and always thought she dressed well and that her hair always looked great. I asked her where she got her hair done and she told me that she had had alopecia (sp?) since high school and that she was wearing a wig. I was floored!!! I looked it over from every angle and could not believe it was a wig

Next-I said-is it real hair? No, she said/synthetic-just wash, shake, let dry and go

so then I went to a wig store with my husband and tried on different styles. We had so much fun! The one I originally bought is very similar to a style I used to wear. At first, I was very self conscious-it felt like so much hair! But, after seeing a photo of me in the wig, I realized I looked “normal”.

I told everyone I had gotten a wig and no one could believe it. They still marvel at how natural it looks. I have saved so much time not washing my hair every day and setting it in hot rollers for some style. It is a dream on a trip

If you can go to a wig shop and try on different styles and colors-you will learn a lot. There is a difference in quality in some brands so it helps to try on wigs by different manufacturers at different price points

I paid full price happily for my first one and have bought several more at sale prices

I hope you have or find one you love. I feel much more attractive now that my hair always looks so good!!

Thanks. I am starting with this one and see how it goes. I don't want to spend a lot of money as I will only be wearing it when I go out, alternating with hats right now in winter as I won't need to wear a wig outside most times if I have a hat on. I have no social life here right now either. But in the future I hope to after we move!

I like the idea of the color matching my own gray and the haircut the same style I have as it is as close to the real me. I don't see me wearing a different color than my natural one (which is gray) or long hair- I look best with short hair.

Having had short hair for a long time now it really was so easy- never had to do anything to it- so to me putting on the wig is harder. LOL!

I do have to get used to having that volume of hair the wig provides!

 

[clifffaith]

In my early 20's, when I told my hairdresser that I was loving the blonde hair she did for me she did not dissuade me when I said I wanted to be blonde and curly. She destroyed my hair. She had put me under a heat lamp to dry it, so I didn't realize until a few days later when I washed it the first time what had happened and why she had me under a heat lamp (and why every stylist in the shop came up behind me and touched my hair). It was like mush, like a wet sponge that would not dry. I was devastated. So I have an area in front that does not have as much hair as the rest of my head, but my short "perky" hair style has always covered it. Hoping it stays that way as I continue to age.

 

[Passepartout]

Different cause, same remedy. I was getting a haircut last week, and the lady in the chair had hair about like mine on my arms. Thin, white, much skin showing. She looked familiar, and seemed to recognize me, so we exchanged pleasantries, and it dawned on me than she and her husband are long term friends and associates, but she looked so different. She left, and I asked my haircutter, 'What happened to Mardo? She said 'Breast Cancer'. She'd recently had chemo and a radical mastectomy. Anyway, the next evening my DW had a dinner where the other couple attended, and Mardo was there with a wig on that looked exactly like her (former) usual hair.

I can heartily recommend doing whatever is necessary to make you comfortable out and about. If that includes going to a wig shop, so be it. Heck, nobody disparages Dolly Parton for her wigs! You Go Girl!

Jim

 

[am1]

What are you talking about tax? Pink tax? What the?

You can google it.

 

[WinniWoman]

You can google it.

I see what it is but I don't get how it applies to this thread.

 

[DancingWaters]

I take a supplemental called Biotin. I went to a dermatologist and he recommended taking it. I find when I go on a diet the hair loss is dramatic. The biotin really helps, you can actually see new growth

 

[WinniWoman]

I take a supplemental called Biotin. I went to a dermatologist and he recommended taking it. I find when I go on a diet the hair loss is dramatic. The biotin really helps, you can actually see new growth

Yes, Thanks. I tried that but it didn't work. As for weight loss- I wish! Ha! Ha!

 

[tashamen]

I am wearing my (synthetic) wig for the first time in public today, so can empathize. I had cancer surgery in the summer, and after the second round of chemo the hair started falling out as expected. I went to a wig shop with a girlfriend a while ago to pick out one that was similar in color and style to my then still normal hair. I have to say I was very nervous about wearing it, but so far so good. My husband even likes it. I did go on Amazon and ordered a wig cap to wear under it, though am not sure I need it. It is cold and breezy in Vermont and so far it doesn't feel like it will blow off...

 

[pittle]

I have a friend who wears a wig every day. She has more than one and the style is different, but she tends to wear the one that is basically "shake & go" for everyday. The others are for when she is wants to have a different look. She keeps her own hair extremely short.

 

[presley]

I have a friend who wears wigs. I have no idea what her head looks like without one. She changes them up often. Sometimes she has short hair, other times long, sometimes the coolest haircuts I've ever seen. They are always the same color.

I don't need a wig and have little patience for primping, but there are times that I am envious of her cool hair styles and change ups. If I ever do need a wig, I'll do it like she does - frequent change ups just for the fun of it.

I believe the Pink Tax comment above was that women's wigs are much more expensive than men's. I have no reason to believe one way or the other, but I feel like that is what the comment was referencing.

 

[clifffaith]

I was in junior high when there was an episode of That Girl where Marlo Thomas pretended she had cut her hair short. Then she removed what seemed to be a "fall", rather than a full wig, to reveal her long hair. The opposite, having short hair but buying a fall for length was real popular for about a year at the same time.

 

[turkel]

I am sure there are thousands of women who wear wigs and no one has a clue.

I went to college with a gal that had Alopecia I had no clue until someone told me. I say if it makes you feel better go for it! No one except for your husband will even know.

 

[Glynda]

I recently saw a dermatologist for thinning hair. My DNA tests show that I have more than one bad variant for "male pattern baldness." But so does my husband's and he still has a good head of hair. I've used Women's Rogaine for years, at first twice a day and now once. Although the "new" hair doesn't grow long, I do get a "fuzz" like crop of hair that seems to fill in. When my color fades, which seems to become more frequent month by month, the hair loss becomes more apparent. Rogaine is known to fade color faster.

I saw a medical dermatologist not long ago who first recommended an RX compounded liquid to use twice a day in place of Rogaine but that just wrecked my scalp. It itched, flaked and I got, for lack of a better description, a raised sore on my scalp. I actually lost hair. Prior to using this compound, I had asked my hairdresser if she'd heard of it and her comment was, "Yes, and that stuff is poison." I didn't pay much attention because she is an alarmist about all things, not just hair related. Turns out she was right about this one for me. The Dermatologist also recommends Nutrafol pills which are costly and huge to have to swallow three a day of. She gave me a shampoo and liquid ointment for inflammation of the scalp which reversed the scalp damage from the "poison" quickly. I like it and continue to use it. The next step from the dermatologist would be blood work, some hormonal related. And she recommended Ketamine injections, five in the scalp at one visit, that Medicare will pay for. I think she said only about 30% have success with those. And finally she is quite excited about PRP, where a lab draws your blood, spins it into stem cells and then the dermatologist injects it into the scalp. That has a higher success rate so far. A series of four sessions are recommended, which Medicare will not pay for, and each session runs around $500. I also asked about lasers for the scalp. My hairdresser has a client who bought a laser cap at Costco and supposedly it has been great for her. The dermatologist says it won't hurt me but they have not yet been studied enough to know if they really help.

My experience when I was young, wanting to experiment with hair styles, I bought a wig and it was so very hot and uncomfortable to wear. I know that there has been improvement since. When we were newly married, my husband's aunt wore a wig and it was so often unkept and crooked on her head that we just shook our heads and chuckled when talking about it. Though not in her presence, I'm ashamed of that now but the memory haunts me and I fear wearing one.

 

[Quiet Pine]

My friend (age 76) has no hair loss, but sometimes wants to dress up and look pretty and doesn't want to spend time/money in a salon. She bought a wig, same color & style as her natural hair, and wears it for special occasions. It looks great. I'm considering doing the same thing, but haven't gotten to a wig store to look around.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

My office is going to have me come back in starting on May 18. Does anyone know of a good wig I can buy, my hair is a wreck with not getting it cut in over 16 weeks. I go in every 8 weeks to get my haircut and my last appointment was for March 13th, the day MI got shut down and my appointment cancelled...I look like the walking dead and need anyone who has purchased a wig to give me some recommendations on a good place to buy one online...thanks

 

[WinniWoman]

My office is going to have me come back in starting on May 18. Does anyone know of a good wig I can buy, my hair is a wreck with not getting it cut in over 16 weeks. I go in every 8 weeks to get my haircut and my last appointment was for March 13th, the day MI got shut down and my appointment cancelled...I look like the walking dead and need anyone who has purchased a wig to give me some recommendations on a good place to buy one online...thanks

Well as I had mentioned when posting this, I bought mine on Amazon. LOL! It was $50 and it suits me, but a wig is such a personal thing, it is hard to recommend one over another. I also went cheap to start because I wasn't sure if I would even like wearing a wig long term.

I didn't feel I needed to spend a lot of money due to having very short hair and wanted a wig that was the same. Plus my hair is white and my wig is white. Most people- including my critical son- never realized it is a wig.

I haven't worn it in a while, since I have nowhere to go other than walks and it has been cold until recently so I always have my headband on.

Good luck on your search.

 

[Beachclubmum]

Sounds like many of you do a great job rocking the wig wearing!

I’ve always has a lot of hair but lost a ton of it a few months after going vegan (hit menopause at the same time so hormone changes as well). My doctor recommended biotin supplements and they seem to help me. I buy them at Costco in a large pink bottle, and they are like eating gummies. My hair is doing much better.

BTW my best gauge for how my hair is doing is to monitor my fingernails. When I added the biotin they started growing again much faster.