Have you ever asked someone what wig she’s wearing on an Instagram post? You might discover a whole new world of women just like you! This is an iWig, custom cut and colored by Jessica at @awigandaprayer wig salon in Okemos, MI.
Girl, I love your hair. What wig is that?
Do you follow anyone on Instagram who wears hair? Have you ever commented “what wig (or topper) is that?”
Instagram is a great way to connect with others (virtually) who wear hair. When you do so, suddenly the landscape of hair wearing changes dramatically. There are literally millions of beautiful women – young and not so young – who wear hair every day, just like you do!
And many of them post photos of themselves in multiple wigs or toppers and share their experiences (good and bad) with their alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, alopecia universalis, androgenic alopecia and chemo hair loss. Many of them say exactly the same things you feel about hair loss – it robbed them of their self esteem until they could reset their feelings and come out of hair loss with a new perspective. Many share daily frustration of hair wearing – sweaty days in the summer, wig nape tangles, wig wearing at the gym or pool or how to let others know they wear hair.
Here in Michigan, specifically mid-Michigan, there are (statistically) 2% (or about 3,000) people with hair loss of some form or another. THREE THOUSAND (out of about 115,000). Where are they? The truth is, the woman with hair you’re admiring in Meijer may be WEARING it, not growing it. And you’d never know!
Have you ever been in a store and had someone compliment you on your hair? Not knowing (and not sharing) that it’s not your bio hair? I’m sure you’ve had this experience!
But what if you reached out to someone and asked her about her hair (online) and what if someone asked you about yours? Being open about hair loss is really hard. It can take YEARS to get comfortable with it. Instagram offers a safe place to share experience with hair loss. Reaching out to ask others about their hair is easier when you know the person wears hair. Some women create separate accounts to share that they wear hair (but don’t share that account with others they know in real life!)
Virtually EVERY celebrity you have ever seen has worn hair – whether it is extensions, toppers, or wigs. EVERY ONE. They wore it on camera, they certainly wore it on the red carpet, and many use wearable hair to have consistent beauty looks when they know the paparazzi photographers will be lurking. You never have to have a bad hair day with wearable hair.
Do a search by hashtag for your type of hair loss, e.g. #androgenicalopecia or #alopeciaareata and follow who inspires you!
Follow us at @awigandaprayer and #awigandaprayer and #michiganwigsalon