wig advice

Thnx poodleluv, good key words for google I hadn't tried. I'm looking for a little hair added around a hat also. I'm so sorry you lost your hair! Hope you can save some of it for hats, etc.I'm trying to figure out a way to make a small strip of it for the sides of hats with iron on stuff and binding. My daughter sent me some of hers in honor of me bless her heart.

I just bought my first wig and have to say I love it, and my hair hasn't even fallen out yet! I got yhe correct size [which is large] and I forget it's even on. I am used to wearing caps outside because I hike alot, so this was a similar feeling on my head. I have to say though, I went to one wig dealer who kept strtching small wigs on my head, they were uncomfortable, and they promised to stretch them. I decided not to buy from them because my experience with a hat is if its too small, eventually you get a headache and its constantly bugging you.

I can imagine with a chemo hair loss you need a perfect fit for comfort. You can write down a list of names online and hunt them down in your area. Mine is a lace cap monofilament around $160, light wieght, not full, moves when you do, soft and a small area at the top with a fake scalp so it really looks natural. Its so soft I can pop a hat on top of it! I may just get one more and cut it a little shorter. The long ones were so cute, but I'm too old for them, lol. I did end up in the smallest wig place with a very nice lady who had cancer also, less expensive, which BTW the top shop lady said you can not get similar wigs for less than $400, and that was simply not true.

Keep looking and the net is a good source for wig names/ID

bump

Luckily I was able to pull of the Gi Jane look, I tried the wigs it lasted I think half a day at work, then I just wore it when I went out on the town, that lasted about a week.  I also had to get my drivers license renewed bald head and all.

I really hate the wig I bought. I had blond hair before so I bought a blond Rachel W. wig. It is so shiny...nobody has hair that shiny! It looks so fake and I feel ridiculous wearing it. I bought a ring of hair that I found online when I googled "hats with hair". I can wear any hat with it. I bought a lot of different hats to match any outfit I wear. I like this better than a wig but now it is starting to get kind of ratty looking...like dolls hair. Ugh! I am waiting on my own hair to grow back...I am 8 weeks since my last chemo. I live in a rural area where there are no wig stores, so I had to order my wigs online and then they would only let me exchange the wig for another wig ,,,and only one time. So I ended up with a ugly wig. Does anyone know of a website that lets you try on a lot of wigs and then return the ones you don't like? Thanks ladies!

POODLELUVBUG,

I think the strict return policy is probably conncected with the board of health guidelines.  Believe it or not, the best place where I live for wigs is this one booth at the flea market.  They are fabulous and someone will spend how ever long it takes with you till you find one that works.  But, when you try them on, you must do it over a skull cap for sanitary reasons.  Do you have any flea markets near you.  I used to think it was only junk at these places, but I was proved wrong.  NO one could tell I was wearing a wig when I used mine.  

If I remember correctly it takes a good six months before you are sporting what appears to be a high fashion short haircut.   I would say you should have enough hair to go commando after 3 to 4 months after your last chemo, but that is still very short hair that no one will think you got it styled that way by choice.  I for one did not wear my wig much, used scarves and/or when out and went bald and comfortable in my own home.  I did wear my wig to certain things, especially if I knew there would be pictures.

I couldn't wait to go without anything on my head, so as soon as I had a covering of hair, looking like the shortest buzz you could get, I stopped wearing anything on my head.....................and guess what, no one cared and no one stared.  You will know when it is the right time........................Caren

synthetic hair will always look shiny. I did have very shiny hair but the wig still looks fake. I did go to a place to try on wigs… I still don't like the way it looks but it will have to do. I wear scarves most of the time but certain family affairs I will be wearing the wig. When chemo is over I will be looking for a job so I will be wearing the wig for sure.

I also agree that having it styled properly makes a huge difference. Even adding a few long layers can make it more natural looking and break up that shiny look.

Of course we care about losing our hair, and it's not just vanity, so don't feel bad for caring so much about losing your hair. There are all sorts of emotional issues wrapped up in our tresses. One of my issues was that I felt like being bald "branded" me as a sick person - you might as well have tatooed across my forehead "breast cancer patient - please feel sorry for me." And of course that was the last thing I wanted anyone to think.

I found that the synthetic wigs, while reasonably priced and locally available, were, for lack of a better word, horrible. I went to the local wig shop in the mall, which was a traumatic experience - they are not in the least bit equipped to deal with cancer patients. Everything was so "old lady" looking. I bought a synthetic wig online, which of course looked nothing like the pictures when I got it, and couldn't be returned. I ordered a wig through a local barber shop - it was okay, but nothing great. Then I found out about a "hair replacement" salon in a larger city two hours away. They ordered me a human hair wig which was ridiculously expensive but was so worth it. They cut it to look like my hair, showed me how to care for it and how to style it. It felt like my hair, looked like my hair, didn't have that fake hairline, even had a part like my hair. Working with wigs is VERY different from working with hair, so you have to find someone who really knows what they are doing - and unfortunately those people seem to be few and far between. But it was so worth it to me to feel like I kind of looked like myself with my long, thick brunette hair.

I am now 7 months out from chemo, with short curly hair that finally looks like an "intentional" short hairstyle. I am amazed at the comments I get on how cute it is - even from my sometimes cranky oncologist. I'm thinking I probably won't go back to the long hair, as much as I loved it at one time. That girl with the long hair just isn't me anymore. I think a short curly bob would be a nice "new normal," more of a reflection of the person I've become. And the wash-and-go is so easy. We fought so hard for our lives, who wants to waste hours of it every week fussing with hairstyles?

The cancer society sponsored site in the US is: http://www.tlcdirect.org

I have one of their wigs and it's not bad at all.

Hi Leah.  Thanks so much for this post.

I recently purchased lace top wigs.  You mentioned the cotton cap.  Can I wear it with lacefront wigs?  If so, would you mind recommending a certain cap or place to get them?  I am unfamiliar with them.

Thanks!

Tonya

A Great solution for the Orhodox Jewish woman and those going through hair loss is the ABonita Scarf it is made of 100%cotton for easy care and comfort and you get four looks from one scarf with not tying needed, it has a built in adjustable headband that snaps! ABonita Scarf comes with a little directions hang tag booklet that shows you how to put it on and get the four different looks just by tucking the extra fabric different ways over the built in headband. Best of all it is designed by a breast cancer survivor who felt a need for a stylish solution to hair loss and thin hair. It is popular with those with hair too as a fashion accessory. Bikers love it also because it stays on the head while riding, also those with boats and convertibles! check it out online at abonitascarf.com

Leah, thanks so much for this information. I'm just looking into this. Start chemo next week. This is a great resource.

 Pinkmama, I'm in Mtl too... do you mind me asking where in Mtl you bought your wig? (I'm assuming you bought one)

<<< new wig came today form wig.com I love it.

This is a great thread and I've visited it many times in preparation for wig shopping.  I'm having an awful time of it.  I'd gotten my hopes up after hearing, here and elsewhere, about getting a wig that looks like your real hair.  Well, it seems that is not going to happen for me. 

For starters, apparently I have a large head, so I can't just take something "off the rack," as it were.  I have to have a type of wig that can be stretched.  I went to a wig shop where they do that for you -- stretch, cut, and style the wig, and cut your hair when it starts falling out.  But I'm so frustrated.  I didn't get to try on many different colors or styles.  We ended up ordering a wig that is sort of close to my color, but it is still bothering me.  There is no wig that looks like my hair -- fine, thick, wavy, with a tendency to frizz.  I'm trying to treat this as an opportunity to have good hair for a change, but I don't know how to deal with hair that's a different texture from what I have.  It's taken me 49 years just to figure out my own hair, and now I have to start over?! 

I tried to come to terms with having a wig that was maybe not perfect, but good enough.  But now that the stylist has started cutting the wig, I'm even less comfortable.  I'm afraid she's cut more layers than I wanted, and you can't add hair back on after it's cut off!  It's hard enough having my real hair cut -- but wig hair is not going to grow back; you're stuck with it! 

She let me take the wig home to get used to it over the weekend, which was really nice of her.  The wig looks fine on the wig stand.  But when I put it on, I can't seem to get rid of the feeling that I look like a punk rocker.  It feels thick on top, even though she has thinned it out; yet it feels thin and flat on the sides, not like my hair at all!  It has no wave, but I assume at least that part is something she can fix.  Will have to call and ask. 

I have another appointment next week to take it back in.  And I'm running out of time...I might not lose all my hair on my particular chemo treatment, but I want to be ready!  I've been up all night over this and I'm going into chemo #2 in a few hours.  Ugh.  Sorry, I just needed to vent -- and maybe to raise a red flag that not everyone has a great experience finding a wig, even in a shop that caters specifically to women who need a wig for medical reasons.  I expected finding a wig to be time-consuming, but I never imagined it would be so incredibly stressful.  I'm ready to crawl under a rock for the next two years -- and I haven't even lost any hair yet!

It really depends on how long you plan on wearing the wig.  I have always had long hair so I want to wear a wig for awhile.....so I opted for human hair which lasts a long time.  A cap underneath makes it more comfortable....friends of mine have complained about itchiness but mine is comfortable with the cap.  Also, you can buy a cheap wig that has 'strings' on top that are meant to be worn with hats and caps and they are about 50 dollars.  You can't wear them alone because there is nothing on top but the straps but with a hat they look great!