A wig is art for your head. Invest in what makes you feel great!
Wigs and other hair replacement options like extensions and toppettes, vary in price and quality. When you’re first shopping for a wig, it’s best to consult with a professional who can help you look at your lifestyle, not just try on wigs.
When you go to a wig salon with a professional stylist who works with replacement or alternative hair (aka wigs), you should expect to have her ask you about your lifestyle first. How long have you been losing your hair? When will your hair grow back (if ever?) What do you like about your hair (or dislike.)
If you are undergoing chemotherapy, for instance, you might have no hair for six to twelve months, but then, with successful ending of your treatment, your hair will grow back in. If you have alopecia areata, you might only need a topette to cover areas where your hair has fallen out. If you have androgenic alopecia, your hair might have been thinning for years and it’s finally time to add to it with extensions. If you have alopecia universalis, you might never grow hair again. Your cost investment depends on how long you will wear your hair, how often you’ll wear it when you need it and what kind of care and look you want from your wig.
A styled, colored and customized long hair human hair wig might cost $2-3,000. If you don’t have hair and you’re not expecting to grow any, this investment (which should last you, with care, 2-3years) will cost you just $3 a day for the time you wear it. But you might want to have more variety in your hair wardrobe and spend just $500-800 for a well-made synthetic wig that you will only wear for six months during chemo. If you’re really only interested in a wig for special occasions, you can get a synthetic wig, including trimming and styling for $200. And some programs, such as through your cancer center, have wigs for a very modest amount of money. This is a great option if you’re wearing your wig only occasionally through your treatment.
Many younger women with alopecia prefer to have several wigs for style variety-including length, style, color and cut – and for them, a wardrobe of moderate mid-range synthetic wigs are a great choice. If you’re wearing alternative hair for the rest of your life, having fun with the style and having the hair you really want is a way to cope with the hair loss in a positive way.
The key is to shop for wigs with your wig stylist at a wig salon, rather than a wig store or online. A wig stylist will take your wig and tailor it to you – thinning out, trimming or altering the wig’s style slightly to suit you. And buying the right size wig (small, medium, or large caps) is really critical if you want your wig to stay in place. Many women are surprised at the quality of synthetic wigs – but within the affordable wig category, quality varies.
A synthetic wig will cost less than a human hair wig, but there are exceptional heat-tolerant synthetics that look amazing and natural. Many long-hair wigs are lighter made from synthetics than from human hair, but they won't last as long.
Whatever your price range, if you need a wig for hair loss, a wig salon can help you feel beautiful again.
A Wig and a Prayer is an Okemos, Michigan (Lansing-Area) wig salon.