Tips for Wearing Wigs and Toupees for Alopecia

Suffering from alopecia can be a physically and emotionally draining experience. Alopecia is a condition where the immune system attacks healthy hair follicles, seemingly for no reason, leading to hair loss. This hair loss can cause your hair to fall out in clumps leading to bald spots and even complete baldness.

Many men and women who are suffering from alopecia choose to embrace this baldness, whilst many more choose to cover the signs of their alopecia by wearing wigs and toupees. Wig technology has evolved considerably in recent years, meaning that it is now possible to choose a hairpiece that both looks and feels like real hair. Provided your piece fits correctly, no one will ever have to know you’re wearing a wig unless you choose to tell them.

If you do choose to wear a hairpiece as a result of alopecia then here are our top tips for getting it right:

Choose the Right Style

There is a wide range of different wig and toupee styles, and picking the right one is essential to ensuring that your hairpiece looks as natural as possible. When you begin to lose your hair, take a photograph of it in its existing style and then keep a cut lock of your hair so that you have a sample to color match against. One of the easiest ways to ensure that your wig or toupee looks as natural as possible against your skin tone is to match it to your natural hair color. Of course, the beauty of wearing a wig is that you could also have fun by wearing new colors you might never have tried on your own hair: but be aware that fun ‘party’ colors might look amazing, but they won’t necessarily look natural.

Real Hair Versus Synthetic Hair

Once you’ve decided to choose a wig, one of the biggest decisions that most wig-wearers have to make is whether they will choose real hair or synthetic hair. Both wig types have their pros and cons. Human hair wigs tend to be much more expensive but they are also more versatile, meaning that you can treat them and style them just as you would your natural hair. However, this means that you do have to take the time to style your hair each morning: you can’t just put on your wig and go. Meanwhile, synthetic wigs tend to take on a fixed shape, which means that they are much easier to style. However, if you want to change the shape or style of your hair, you would have to change your wig, which means you’ll need to own several wigs if you want a range of versatile hairstyles.

Pick the Right Length

It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for a wig or a toupee, the length of the hairpiece you choose is important if you want something that will look and feel as comfortable as possible. Shorter ‘shake and go’ wigs are easier to wear because they don’t require as much care. This is the perfect choice if you don’t have a lot of time to style your hair each morning. Longer length hairs will require more maintenance and can become expensive: you will have to have them styled and blow dried regularly.

Many women get excited when choosing a wig, and pick one that is much too long to suit their lifestyle; think carefully about the time you will have to commit to styling your hair each day in order to choose the wig that’s right for you.

Cut to Fit

Finally, many people think that wearing a wig or toupee means that they’ll never have to sit in the hairdresser’s chair again. However, if you want your hairpiece to fit as naturally as possible then you should have your hairpiece cut and shaped to fit you perfectly before you wear it for the first time.

This is particularly important if you are choosing to wear a toupee: have your hairdresser cut and style your hairpiece so that it blends in with your natural hair and suits your face shape perfectly. If you have your natural hair cut shorter then don’t forget to take your hairpiece with you and have this cut shorter at the same time: this is the best way to ensure that your hair and your hairpiece always blend perfectly.