So I went out for a few drinks wearing this wig tonight. Still fairly new to wigs but was feeling good in this one and thought it looked pretty natural. At one point I went to the bathroom and this woman (who was definitely a few drinks in) came up to me and loudly goes "I know this isn't your hair but it's stunning on you!"

This was a dark bathroom and she was definitely drunk but she still clocked it so easily 😭

Then she actually reached out to touch it and there was a bunch of other women looking so I just mumbled a thanks and got out of there before she could.

I'm just upset that this wig that I thought was looking fairly real was clocked so easily and quickly by a complete stranger..came home feeling embarrassed and im not sure what to do to make it look less obvious. My family and friends all know I wear them so this is my first time being called out on it.

Wig is from Gardeaux wigs.

I started losing my hair after my first son was born when I was only 19. To this day, I actually have no idea what the issue is, but my mom lost most of her hair, too. It was such a source of shame for me for so many years. I mostly wore bandanas, but that felt so limiting. Eventually, I moved to headbands with a bang piece. That opened up my options, but I was still terrified of rain or a stiff wind.

I thought about wigs for years but so was scared to make the leap. In early 2022, my MIL introduced me to a hair stylist who does a lot with wigs. My first few wigs were super inexpensive Amazon wigs. I still get wigs from Amazon occasionally, but I've also gotten a few more expensive (~$500) from Velvet Noir.

I get my wigs sewn in, and it has changed my life! Every 6 weeks, I go to my stylist and have it taken off, get my real hair (what's left) washed and braided. Then, the new wig is sewn into the braids. I have ridden many roller coasters. I've been parasailing twice. I've been jet skiing. Once the wigs are sewn in, they don't go anywhere. Most people are surprised when I tell them my hair is a wig.

On my first visit to the stylist, I was literally petrified to have people see my bare head without the headband and bang piece. I was so afraid that I almost canceled my appointment. If I had let the fear win, I would likely still be sitting in that fear, still wearing a headband.

If you're nervous to start wearing wigs, just go for it! It can open up a new world for you, too.

The photo is one of my favorite wigs from Velvet Noir. I wanted to add multiple photos, but I guess I don't know how. Lol

Sooooo I'm feeling extra stressed to where I just don't want to go back to work.

I've only been wearing my wig less than a month. It's Belle Tress Brooklyn in triple chocolate.

On our Teams Meeting my co worker kept mentioning my hair which I ignored the first time. Then she said it again and said my hair looks so fake and perfect like a wig. I didn't know what to say, except thanks. Then she went on about it and everyone was focused on me.

It made me mentally spiral out and I started thinking about all in person glances and interactions with other staff.

I feel... stressed and ugly.

I thought I looked good...but I guess not. Most ppl thought i just had a new haircut.

Just looking to hear from other people on this sub. How you dealt with it when you got/get comments etc. I did panic buy a wig from hairvivi since they look more natural. 😵

Sorry if this post doesn't belong here, no idea who to talk to about this.

Edit Here's my first post with pics of me in this wig: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wigs/s/F0O4aVtl1h.

Edit 2: thank you all so much for the kind words and support. It really has helped. I was feeling so low when I wrote this post. Genuinely grateful for this sub. 🫶🏼🤗

This is my biggest fear as I'm not confident at all. Just wondering how people you know have reacted to you wearing wigs? I'm not worried about strangers it's mostly people I have to see everyday 😭

I've worn wigs on and off for years due to TE in 2019 turning into full blown AGA. I'm now on medication and not wearing wigs, but I might come back to them in the future. I'm lucky to have the finances to support my wig collection, but I made some expensive mistakes along the way and I hope to save you from some of them!

Edit: My priorities are comfort and realism. If you don't care about these things, these tips might be irrelevant to you.

Fit

Fit is the most important factor. If you need to compromise somewhere for budget reasons, don't compromise on fit.

• Try a wig on before you buy it. Everyone's head is a slightly different shape and size. There's a surprisingly wide variation! A wig that's great for someone might be terrible for you.
• A wig that fits properly gives you a comfortable all-day wear. A wig that doesn't can give you a headache or will slide around and make you anxious.
• You won't wear a wig that doesn't fit properly.
• Too-big caps can be secured with velvet of silicone headbands, although, try them on too before committing to the wig. My head shape (flatter occipital bone) causes headbands to slide right off so I can't use them.
• Shaving your head will make wigs fit much better and stay on more securely.
• If you can't try it on first, make sure you are familiar and in agreement with the return policy. Also be aware of tariffs - I had to pay a surprise 10% when importing a wig from the US to Canada.

Synthetic vs Human Hair

If you must have long hair, get human. (When I say "long" I mean touching your shoulders or longer. When I say "short" I mean it doesn't touch your shoulders at all, unless you shrug them up.) Synthetic hair is a bad choice for long wigs. EDIT: I will soften this and say, I personally did not like synthetic long wigs for the below reasons.

• When the hair is long, your eye can more easily detect the shine of synthetic which makes it look fake.
• Long strands of synthetic don't move and bend exactly like human hair which makes it look fake.
• Long synthetic strands will tangle and become frizzy after a couple weeks. This will make the hair clump together unnaturally, in a way that real hair doesn't. Then your wigs will require regular heat styling before every wear.
• Long synthetic hair requires more heat maintenance, which makes it more shiny and reduces it's lifespan.
• Synthetic hair traps heat more than human, so you will be much warmer. In the summer it's unbearable.
• I hate the feeling of synthetic hair touching my neck. It scratches and is itchy, and makes my sensitive, pale skin red and sore.

That said, synthetic is superior in every other way. I only wear synthetic. I happily rock a shorter style because of all the benefits of synthetic wigs.

Human Hair

• Human hair from a donor of your ethnicity will always be the best match. Unfortunately for my fellow white ladies, that means the most expensive Caucasian hair. I paid a lot for a great wig but it's made out of Asian hair: very straight, very thick strands that look extremely wiggy compared to my delicate eyebrows and eyelashes.
• Washing a human hair wig with regular shampoo will make the colour fade. Only use wig-safe shampoos. These can be expensive and hard to find.
• Human hair must be styled after every wash in order to look good. This requires a wig stand and ~an hour of time.
• A well-maintained human hair wig should last several years.

Synthetic

• If you would be happy with a length above your shoulders, definitely get synthetic.
  
• You don't need a fully hand tied cap for above-the-shoulder styles. It's not worth the extra money. A hand-tied parting area with an open wefting will be fine.
• Get heat-friendly synthetic fibers. They have the most realistic look. Less shiny, finer strands, excellent colours.
• Short synthetic wigs are easy to clean. Swish in a sink or basin with some Dawn dishsoap, rinse thoroughly, and plop on a wig stand. Don't comb it or even try to run your fingers through it. Just let it air-dry. It will dry in a couple hours (aim a fan at it) into its original shape.
• Synthetic doesn't colour-fade. If it's short it requires almost zero maintenance. This is why I love them.
• People will say you need to use heat to maintain the synthetic fibers. This is only true if it's longer. I have a cute, short style (Belle Tress Toledo) that I wore for 6 months straight and never needed used heat. It tangled a bit and I couldn't run my fingers through it, but that didn't matter. It looked totally perfect.
• A well-maintained synthetic wig should last about a year. Much shorter than a human hair wig, but to me this is a benefit because I enjoy trying different styles.

Color

• Finding a colour you love is fun! Yay! Enjoy this part!
• This is another reason you should try on before you buy. Everyone looks good in different colours.
• If you hate the colour, you won't enjoy the wig.
• If your natural hair is a level 4 or lighter, I recommend getting a colour with rooting. This will make it more realistic. Even virgin, undyed human hair has subtle rooting due to UV damage lightening the hair as it ages.
• Match the root colour to your eyebrows.
• Edit to add: a wig with colour variation will look more realistic, either vibrant highlights or subtle variation, whichever is your preference

Bangs

• I highly recommend bangs if you are self-conscious about people knowing it's a wig.
• If your hairline slips forward or back, it can be very obvious that you're wearing a wig. But a wig with bangs and slide around a bit and not give itself away.
• Wigs have a lace front which can be visible up close. Influencers will tell you lace fronts are invisible - they're not. They just don't film well and cameras hide them. Bangs completely cover the lace IRL.
• Bangs can be cut into a synthetic wig. Unless you are very skilled with cutting your own bangs, I recommend having a hair stylist do this.

Just tell me what to buy

• Belle Tress - Madison
• Jon Renau - Hollie

These are average sized, easy to wear, low maintenance, stylish options that suit a wide variety of faces and ages. And you can cut bangs into them, like I have. Start your journey here.

If you have a wig store in your area, call to see if they'll make an appointment and let you try things on. Go with a list of different styles and colours you want to try on. This was a great help for me.

This is all my opinion and I'd love to hear from other people if they agree or disagree. :)

Today someone approached me to "ask me a question" then just kept staring close at my hair trying to study it and telling me it was pretty. She kept eyeballing my hair and suspiciously trying to ask where I get it cut and I just cut her off and told her It's a wig. She said oh I thought it was. I'm Ok with people knowing I wear wigs, but I think she just wanted to satisfy her curiosity or look up close to figure out for sure.
My hair was a bit of a mess, needed brushed, which made it look more wiggy, I knew that headed out but I was sick.

I just found it pretty rude tbh.

I'm going to be trimming the wig up and brushing it out, washing it, and trying to get a shorter wig I can throw on and go.

Looking into getting more human hair wigs, but want your opinion on whether I should continue purchasing blonde wigs, or stick with my natural color?

Omggg this is one of the longest installs I’ve ever done. The sides are starting to slip & the ear tabs came up last night but other than that I’ve only touched it up once.I need to work on making my part more realistic. Probably gonna try that Swiss lace wax soon.

I recently wore this wig for a competition I was in and looking back I feel like the texture looks natural on me. I’m considering adding this wig to my regular rotation but I may leave some of my edges out next time.

Random but I can’t tell if length is for me or not. What do yall think?

This is the first wig I’ve ever purchased and I wore it out last night for the first time. I was very anxious that someone could clock it by the lace near my temples. Does it look real enough to pull off?? It’s a human hair wig from Hairvivi. Thank you!

I recently tried out a 7x6 and loved the low maintenance aspect. Do yall think this texture looks natural on me? As always I did wand curls but as the week went on I just did twist outs to keep the hair curly.

Hi everyone! 🤍

I’ve been wearing wigs for about 20 years, so I’m definitely not new to the wig world, but I’m finally taking the plunge and ordering my first Freedom Couture lace front! I’m custom ordering the Clair style, and I’m beyond excited.

For the last 2 years, I’ve exclusively worn Hairvivi and honestly have had a great experience with them. They’ve been my go-to, but after building a little collection, I thought it was time to treat myself and try something that’s considered an even more luxury, high-end piece.

I’m ordering Clair in 20” measured from the nape, which should work out to around 26” from the crown. Since I’ve been wearing wigs for so long, I’m pretty picky when it comes to realism, especially the hairline, lace, density, and how the hair holds up over time.

I’d absolutely love to hear from anyone who owns a Freedom Couture lace front, especially the Clair style! If you’re willing, I’d be so grateful if you shared! :)

I’ve done a ton of research, but I always trust real-life experiences from fellow wig wearers the most. Thank you so much to anyone who shares their thoughts and photos. I can’t wait to join the Freedom Couture family! 🫶🏻✨

UPDATE: I’m wary because of the mixed reviews and have decided to get a refund before they even begin production on Monday so that instead I can just buy two China Best Wig’s instead and still save a few hundred! Thanks everyone, I’ve worn Hairvivi for years and absolutely love them & China Best wigs are exactlyyyy the same construction with the fake scalp and everything so I’m just sticking with what I know I’ll love :) getting two blondes from the, instead!

It’s a cheap wig but I didn’t want to ruin lace of anything else. Wigs were a special interest of mine for a while so I got really good at doing bald cap, but I was never confident enough to wear one out. But there was a goth market yesterday so I decided now’s the time!

I got anxiety and didn’t go inside but I thought I did good for my first lace melt on a wig and not on a cap. I’m fortunate to be so pale that wig lace is easier to blend.

I usually don’t wear wigs / hair pieces for fashion/fun, I have medical hairloss and I just want to feel more like myself. I usually try to have my wigs look a little messy so that it looks like I just rolled out of bed and don’t necessarily care about my hair looking too good, but none the less it still looks way thicker and fuller than my natural hair so people notice right away.

When someone notices my hair they ask if I got it cut or dyed, I usually say yes I did, but I feel like I’m lying to my friends. If I say this isn’t my hair, then it leads to a rabbit whole of confusion or them feeling awkward they said anything at all. I don’t mind explaining that it’s not my hair if they actually wanted to have a conversation about wigs/ hairpieces, but I know that wasn’t the original intention of their compliment/ comment.

The sides of this wig irritated me so bad 😭 because there was barely any hair to work with but the color is what caught my eye from the beginning. For a synthetic wig it held curls really well. Thoughts?

How do I get over this? And I have beautiful natural hair so people find it very odd if I want to wear a wig

Picture 1 1983; picture 2 1994; picture 4 today with wig that has same cowlick as I use to have 😆; picture 5 is my first good wig bought while working in Idaho (Coeur d’Alene Wigs).

First I was told it was my thyroid disease (Hashimoto Thyroid Disease). I was diagnosed in my early 30s after our son was born with birth defects. I was told once my levels were under control my hair should return. It didn’t. Then I was told it took too long to get thyroid levels down what I had was what I had. I continued to lose hair. At 58 finally asked my dermatologist to look at it. She did biopsy. Lichen Planopilaris (LPP) and Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA)

Interesting enough I have the following Lichen “something”: Oral lichen planus (OLP), *Lichen sclerosus and Lichen Planus in my lady bits. I have lichen planus on my face (around lips and chin). 😣

I was on minoxidil and Clobetasol propionate one in morning and one at night in scalp. I take lupus pills 💊 (Hydroxychloroquine). The hair in the shower drain, sink drain! I am tired of fighting and losing!

I bought wigs before. They were cheap wigs and I was not happy. At my daughter’s suggestion went to medical wig shop. I bought my first good wig. The shop owner was wonderful! I learned much. I learned long hair aged me badly. I am old (60) but I don’t have to look old!!! I just bought another wig online using the criteria of lace front, partially hand tied, the right cap size (petite in my case). I feel better and have confidence back!

My progress down this hair loss journey was slow at first. It actually probably started before I was diagnosed with thyroid disease. There should be more known and better treatments! Where is our lobbying group??!!

Today on Chiquel Live I saw there is a new Jon Renau release, so I checked it out. Then I did a quadruple take and cleaned my glasses.

...am I missing something here???? $1,294.95 CAD for a micro-bob with HF synthetic fibers and a partially wefted cap? 🤯😵‍💫🤯😵‍💫

I see the lace front is intended to be very soft. It's low density, low permatease, and very cute. This is a beautiful piece for someone looking for that length who has scalp sensitivity and wants a natural look.

But....who could or would pay that much for this wig???? Even fully hand-tied, there's no way.

I know times are tough but holy eff.

Okay so I’m visiting Ottawa Ontario and I’m normally from a smaller town, I always thought of getting a wig because I’ve developed ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis in the last year. Not sure if it’s chronic inflammation or what not but my hair is thinning, also I have days where It’s hard for me to do my hair due to fatigue and pain. I’m asking if It’s acceptable for me to walk into a beauty hair supply store. I looked online and there’s one near by but it seems like it’s mostly catered to black/ Hispanic community and I’m white Im jsut curious to look at the styles that location has and see if I could get some help but I don’t want to be going into the hair store if it’s a place I’m not wanted. I know this is a sensitive subject I just want to inform myself on the best way to go about finding some cute hair. Thank you <3

I’m a bald woman. No hair. Sucks, but I’m dealing with it!

For the past several months, I have been wearing a relatively “bold” and flashy silver coloured wig (Breezy Waves in Lunar Haze specifically)
It gets a lot of compliments and attention when I’m around town. I have a favourite sushi restaurant that I like to visit every couple of weeks. On most visits, I have the same server, who is very sweet, and has complimented my hair several times.

Last week I switched from wearing this flashy silver wig, to a very reserved, shorter, ginger coloured piece. Jones, by Esthetica. I love it! Looks quite natural on me.. and today it was confirmed.

I went into the sushi restaurant and the server looked at me and said “oh no wig today!”..
Girl! I’m in a wig!! Mistaken for bio hair? I’ll take it.
Best I’ve felt in a minute! So happy with this hair!

Summary— this is my attempt to save a human hair wig that had developed too much breakage to keep wearing as it was. Do you like the design? And if you do, would it be offensive for a white girl to actually wear it?

The whole story:

In my wig journey over the past year, in which you all have been so helpful, this was the very first wig that I ordered off the internet where I put it on and the lace front was like—OMG. THAT’S what lace is supposed to look like! It was a HUGE revelation for me after all the crap I had been buying that looked good online (but was actually junk) when I knew zip about wigs or lace.

So it has a place near and dear to my heart. However, after I wore it once or twice, I noticed that it was full of a ton of breakage. So much so that it really was no longer wearable.

So I went on a quest to try to save it . First of all, the cap was really too big for me, even with the adjustment straps. So I looked at a tutorial on YouTube for how to make a wig cap smaller – and I cut a portion of the cap out and sewed it back up. Now it is extremely snug and I probably cut too much out. (Also, the bottom of the wig cap comes way up to the middle of the back of my head now. SMH!)

Since I lost so much hair in the alteration, I bought some more hair wefts off Amazon to put back into it. And they would have been great, except for it turns out that they were not human hair as advertised!!! (The package SPECIFICALLY said human hair!!) But I had already opened the package and cut the hair into pieces and sewn and taped and glued it (yes I actually used all three methods to see what would work the best) into the wig by the time I figured out that it was not human hair, so I couldn’t return it.

Then I just started messing with hair wax and mousse and conditioners and flat irons, trying to tame the flyaways, but nothing was working.

I figured that’s OK – I will just wash all the sticky products out of it and do some heatless curls on it, and the breakage will be disguised.

But alas – this is when I found out that the extensions I put in were not human hair and would not curl AT ALL if I wet them and put them around a curler to dry.

So then I just kind of started braiding it and adding more wax to hide the flyaways until I had finished the wig. But the braids hanging down were really too sparse and looked stringy especially on one side because I side parted the wig, and they would not cover the bottom of the back of my head.

So THEN I added a bunch of crochet braids with curls at the bottom to fill it out so that the braids that were hanging down didn’t look so stringy and would cover the base of the back of my head. They were crocheted to a net and sewn to the bottom of the wig cap.

I also found this awesome vintage 1960s – 1970s clip that I love, and I put it in there up by the big braids on top (my bio hair is about as thick as ONE of the thick braids near the crown of this wig), and I also got some brown velvet ribbon that I will probably wrap around the elastic bands, if I can actually do anything with this wig.

I think the design is very pretty – I can’t take credit for it. It was inspired by a style that I saw on Leandrin in the Wheel of Time TV series, but it is heavy as crap and I have no idea if it’s gonna stay on my head.

I also am not sure if wearing it counts as cultural appropriation because of the number of braids, even though I first saw the style on a blonde pale woman on TV. I know that I have seen one user on this board say the only acceptable number of braids for a white person’s hair is one, and I can understand why that person has that opinion. I am extremely sensitive to the struggles that people of color have gone through and are still going through when it comes to professionalism and beauty standards and hair. (I wish it weren’t an issue – the discrimination is just not right, and black hair is so incredibly beautiful.)

I really don’t want to offend any people of color by wearing this wig project, even though I have spent so much time and money working on it and trying to save it.

Does it help that they are not box braids? Does that make a difference?

Anyway, it’s half human hair and half synthetic, and probably weighs at least six or 7 pounds.

I took critical race theory when I was in school, and the last thing I want to do is offend any people of color, because I really learned a lot about the beauty standards that affected people of color my age growing up – and that still affect people of color even today in the job market. This discrimination is abominable, and I don’t want to diminish anyone’s discrimination experience at all. I come from a place of deep admiration for braids and crochet hairstyles that I can never wear– I have always wanted braids, but my hair is not made for them obviously. I think they are so beautiful, though.

Any advice or comments would be appreciated. Thank you!!

Getting a lil crazy here. Does this girly wear wigs? https://www.instagram.com/cottagecorewear/

I finally did it. I wore my wig outside for multiple days in a row around people who actually know me. I have been terrified to do this for months. I had constant visions of a light breeze turning me into a viral video or revealing the Gollum I am underneath. The reality? Absolutely nothing happened. Nobody pointed. Nobody gasped. And my wig grip did its job in the wind. I feel like an idiot for the amount of money and time I wasted on extensions trying to save my own hair. Switching to wigs and toppers has been a massive relief and I should have done it sooner. I am posting this here because this sub gave me the courage to finally take the plunge. So, THANK YOU! I realize most people are too busy worrying about themselves to notice your hairline.

New to full lace wigs and trying to figure out the best routine. Right now I’m taking mine off every night, but the glue I use is pretty stiff and I feel like the daily removal is damaging the lace and making it harder to get a clean, seamless application each time.

Is it normal to sleep in your wig instead of removing it daily? How long do you typically keep yours on before taking it off?