Are Wigs Worth It?

Recently I went to receive the wigs I am entitled to, a synthetic wig and a real hair wig. When I went to pick up the synthetic wig it was a really weird experience. I went into this little shop and the woman working sat me in front of a mirror and asked what style and colour I wanted (which was all fine). I showed her pictures of my hair before and explained I wished to have a wig as similar as possible. She went away and came back with 4 boxes, I tried each of them on and they were extremely uncomfortable and looked NOTHING like me. Anyway, I chose the one that was semi-normal looking and that was that. I felt the appointment was very rushed and since getting it I’ve never worn it out once as it looks too much like a wig and people will know fine well that that’s what it is. Also, how uncomfortable it was means I couldn’t keep it on for long. With the synthetic hair, you can’t style it either, it comes as it is and you can’t use any heat or products on it which made it difficult to get it to sit on my head nicely.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the synthetic hair wig as I never wear it. To be fair it is probably a good thing I don’t have any pictures as it did look pretty shocking!

For the real hair wig it was a different idea. First of all, I went for a fitting to match colours to what my hair was like before I lost it. Also, I must mention this all took place in a normal hair salon which was very comfortable and not awkward. The hairdresser that was dealing with me was so lovely and seemed very professional and knew what he was talking about. Once I’d had my colour matched he explained it would take up to 2 weeks to be made. The real hair wig is hand-stitched individually which I thought was pretty impressive as a lot of effort goes into each and every wig made.

When I went back to pick it up, I really loved the colour. It wasn’t identical to my previous colour but it was a close as it gets. The wig wasn’t styled when it first arrived so I could choose how I wanted it to sit. I wanted to keep as much length as possible because my hair before was very long. I also wanted a side parting but apart from that I didn’t want anything too fancy. I could curl, straighten or plait the wig myself whenever I liked anyway. The condition of the wig was lovely, it was soft and healthy and a million times nicer than the feeling of the synthetic wig. It was also much more comfortable sitting on my head, which was a bonus.

 

 

The wig took a lot of getting used to, I only wear the real hair wig and avoid the synthetic one and I only tend to wear it when I’m going to be out and about and don’t want to be wearing a woolly hat indoors. For example; going out for dinner/lunch or meeting someone for coffee. With wearing anything on your head it does get warm and when it gets really warm it can get quite scratchy. I like to let my head breath when I’m in the comfort of home or around people I feel comfortable with.

 

This picture shows that a simple plait can make the whole look much more natural.

 

Overall the wig is great to just have there. If I feel like wearing it at least I’ve got the option to rather than worrying about going out without anything on. It does stop the number of stares you get (especially from little kids) and does make you feel all round more confident. At the same time, I’m not sure if it’s the same with everyone going through cancer who has lost their hair but I’ve almost adopted an ‘I don’t care’ attitude where if I don’t feel like wearing a wig that day then I simply won’t. I think it is personal preference however.