Wig Studio 1 News
What is Your Biggest Wig-related Fear?
(Wig shown above: ALEXANDRA 104A PETITE BY WIGPRO)
None of us are born wig wearers. It’s a learning curve for everyone. If you are in the early stages of hair loss and trying to make the big leap to helper hair, there are fears. Sometimes we just need a little push to get on with things.
The top big fears, those most reported by new wig wearers or those who want to be:
1. People will notice that I look different and what do I say? This is a very personal question because there is no one answer for everyone. The short answer is yes, people will notice, so be prepared for questions and comments ahead of time and you will feel less stressed about any encounters. If you have had a lot of hair loss and many have seen that, and now you go with a wig, yes, people will likely notice. What you say or don’t say is up to you. If you have early-stage hair loss but know there will be more and you are now at the point of getting helper hair then some may not notice if you stick to your current style and color.
2. Oh no, will I always have to wear helper hair and be stuck with this style? This is a difficult one because some people will regain their hair, but a lot of people won’t. Those of you who know that your situation is such that yes, now you must come to terms with this hair loss as a permanent thing, it’s a leap into the unknown. But no, you can change wig styles and colors just like you did with your bio hair.
3. Commitment! Taken from number two above and going further, once you commit, realizing it is an ongoing one—that can be scary. Wearing helper hair will be part of your life now. If you need help in dealing with that, there is help out there for you.
4. How will wig-wearing affect your life? Can you still do the things that you want to do? From swimming to riding a roller coaster, this question comes up a lot. In most cases, with some modifications, you can still go about your life as before. There are also many helpful articles, videos, etc., about this topic.
5. The cost: Yes, there are expenses for the topper or wig, the accessories, and the products required for maintenance. In my experience looking at cost, I found that I spent just as much at the hair salon before when averaged out over a year. Unless you go crazy with buying a lot of wigs (which I don’t recommend until you learn which wigs work best for you), the cost should not be that different if you had regular salon hair care.
6. Help, where do I start? That is the big question always. It is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed. Again, I urge you to reach out for help. There are wonderful articles, helpful videos, and a great customer service team waiting to help you. You are not alone! You will be amazed at how many people wear helper hair.
7. Nothing will ever be the same. These words can have many meanings, and if we stop and consider that we can say these words every day about life in general. Each day brings a new reality. We are another day older, another day wiser if we’re lucky, and we adjust. Accepting your hair loss and embracing the help that is there for you will make all the difference in how you see your days going forward.
8. One foot forward, one step at a time. It’s Lean in time! You can’t stay half in and half out forever. There will come a time when you must get out of the house with that wig or topper that you bought and are afraid to wear.
Most women have experienced facing fears, lots of them. We deal with judgment, discrimination, relationships, job pressures, health concerns, aging, and maybe marriage and children. At different points in our life, we had fears about all these things, but we kept stepping forward. This is just one more thing to step up to, over, or around, and claim another victory for yourself.
Leave your fears behind and know that all that time you spent in front of the mirror moving your thinning hair around, trying to conceal the issue, worrying if people could tell, is now a thing of the past. Be kind to yourself as you go through the learning curve. Don’t expect to learn everything in a day or even a month. But you will learn, and you will find the vendors you like best, the fibers and wig caps that you prefer, and the colors that work best for you. It’s a process and can be fun, believe it or not. In the end, you will save time, money, and stress. You will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!
Wishing you a happy new hair day, and new wigs for autumn and winter. I bought Portrait Mode in shaded Cappuccino, and it may be my favorite yet.
Until next time,
Vickie Lynn
It’s All About the Wig Cap
As lovely as your wig may be, and as beautiful as you may look in that style and color, it’s not a great experience if your head is uncomfortable. Is your head itchy after an hour, do you get a headache, is your head overly heated? This could be due to several things: how much helper hair is in your wig, the fit of the cap, the wig construction itself. What is touching your head? How is your wig secured?
You must be at peace with the wig you’ve chosen, and the cap plays a huge role. Maybe it plays a larger role than you thought, but if you are like me, you learned quickly that cap comfort can make or break your day.
When I first started on my wig journey, I was all about color and style. I didn’t know about permatese, the difference in fibers, what heat-friendly meant, or that all wigs with lace fronts were not created equal. Not to mention that I knew little or nothing about mono tops, partial mono tops, mono parts, or anything about the cap that I was going to be wearing on my head for many hours a day every day. Maybe you knew more than I did about wigs when you started, but I’ve since learned that so many people get discouraged about the very basics of wig-wearing—the cap, and how to keep the wig on.
As you can imagine, after wearing an uncomfortable wig for nine hours or more, I was unhappy with my first wig decision. Of course, the wig itself was fine. The color, style, and actual fit were good. My problem was that I had a sensitive scalp, and I needed a monofilament top, something easier on that area of my head that was most sensitive. I needed a lace front because I didn’t want to always wear bangs or worry about the wind blowing up and showing the edge of the wig. I needed a wig with a bit of stretch. Unfortunately, I just didn’t know what I needed until it was a problem. And worse, I had no idea what my options were. For fortunately for you and me we now have so much more information and companies like this that make a great effort to educate their buyers and help them make good decisions about what works best for them. We all have different needs when it comes to wig-wearing, just like we all have different tastes in styles and colors. It’s all about figuring out what we need to be happy with our wig. It’s a process.
After trial and error, I made peace with one of Raquel Welch’s wigs. It had everything that I had decided I needed to be a happy wig wearer. I have only strayed from the brand once and was disappointed. That’s not to say that there are not many other great options out there, and I will likely try others, but once I knew what would make me happy, I felt more secure in branching out with color and style. I came to see that a wig cap made all the difference. I’ve never made that mistake again.
If you are new to wigs, it is helpful to get some advice about wig cap structure and your options. Think about how you will be wearing your wig—many hours a day? What is your environment—hot, outdoors, moving around a lot? How sensitive is your scalp? How true to wig cap size are you—do you know how to decide between petite, average, and large and how to make adjustments to the wigs? How comfortable are you with wig security? Do you know the options available to you?
As you can see, and as many of you have already learned or are now learning, that cap that no one sees but you is just as important, if not more so at times than what everyone does see—the color, the style. Don’t shortchange yourself on the cap. You will never be entirely happy with your wig choice if you pick the wrong cap. And the one you want, or need might cost a bit more, but it will be worth it every single day if you can go through the day and not think about your wig. Trust me on this.
Happy wig days as we go into fall. I’m going to try a new style and color, how about you?
Vickie Lynn
Time to Re-Invent Yourself?
If you are feeling a bit blah and in need of a bit of excitement, how about a new wig style for the holidays? What better time to step out of your routine and your usual look and to try something different? The holidays, with the parties and celebrations, is the perfect time to swap out your “usual” with the different.
Have you been wanting to try another style or color, but have been putting it off? Now is the time. It is that time of the year when new hairstyles are a common thing, so you can pull off a change a lot easier if you are worried about everyone noticing the difference.
Things to think about as you determine what new look might be best for you:
- Don’t forget the same rules still apply—go with your best color family, the best style for your face shape, maybe branch out a little. Pick that radiant red, or the lighter blonde, or that rich brown—so many choices.
- Are you longing for that up-do, that sophisticated look you used to pull off when you were younger maybe, or when you had more bio hair? Then maybe look at the longer styles you can work with on a sophisticated do.
- Don’t forget to get your hairstylist involved if you do not feel comfortable tweaking, trimming, or altering the wig.
- Get your new wig in plenty of time to work with it before the big event, party, or holiday gathering so that you feel it is you and not new. You do not want to spend the entire night worrying about how you look.
- If you are new to wigs it’s even more important to give yourself plenty of time to make the new wig your own, and time to get help from a stylist if needed.
A new wig is always exciting and especially if you love it once you try it on. But sometimes, just like when ordering a dress online and getting it home and wondering what you were thinking—ugh. We know that things don’t always work out. That’s why it is so important not to get carried away by the look of the wig on a model or someone else. Helper hair is supposed to be just that, a helper for us, not another challenge we have to overcome. By sticking to the “rules” like knowing what kind of cap you want, what kind of fibers, what colors work for you, and what lengths are flattering, your chance of disappointment is greatly diminished.
So, with all this in mind, spend some time on the website, watch some videos, talk to your stylist if you have one who knows you well. Think about what events, parties, gatherings that you will be going to over the holidays, and what you would like to wear. Will it be a casual family thing, a big corporate dinner party, a trip to see relatives or friends? Let those things help guide you. Will you have a lot of time to spend getting dressed, and do you plan to use a hairdresser to help you for the big night or do you want something chic but easy like a smart bob in a new color? Or maybe both? Do you have multiple functions that one wig could work for, maybe put up for one function and left down for another? Now is the time to think about it.
No one wants to add more stress to the holidays, especially if you are having guests, or if you are traveling. Make it easy on yourself by preparing in advance.
Wishing you a lovely fall…and a fun Halloween!
Vickie Lynn
