Wig Life

Tremors here today to talk about something that is kind of a big part of my life.  For those of you who are new here, or who don’t remember, I am missing a lot of my hair.  Basically, I am pretty much bald, give or take a few patches of hair here or there thanks to alopecia.  Because of this I wear hats, or a wig.  (Having little to no hair makes your head really cold, and at the same time you do not want to get a sunburn on your head)  I have had a wig for around 3 years now, and let’s just say that it is a love/hate relationship.  

My primary wig is nice, like really nice.  It’s a human hair wig that matches my previous hair color almost perfectly.  The primary one that I wear is called a gripper, meaning that there is a band around it on the inside that grips my head making it more difficult for it to come off.  It goes past my shoulders, and has baby hairs cut to look more natural.  This is to prevent the usual boxy look of a wig, since most wigs have too much hair, and do not have a natural looking hairline.  Many people around me who do not know me well think that I have a full head of hair.  Which is really entertaining, because eventually they see me with a beanie on and have no idea what is happening.  Another nice thing about my wig is that I have the option to look “normal.”  I can pretend that I did not lose almost all of my hair.  This is something provided to me by a group of family and family friends who all pitched in to get me a wig.  Something that I am very grateful for, even though having a wig can be a pain.  

A wig is something that varies greatly from wig to wig.  There are many different kinds of wig, but it comes down to two main types, synthetic (AKA plastic) and human hair.  I myself have worn a synthetic wig, and let me tell you, it was not pleasant.  Now there are some upsides which are that synthetic wigs are much cheaper, but at the same time they do not look natural all the time.  Many choose synthetic wigs because they are cheaper, which means that you can have many in all different styles.  Personally, I have found that they are often far too shiny, they feel like plastic, and they often do not have a natural cut.  Now, the synthetic wig that I have is a hand me down.  This was given to me by a friend of a friend shortly after I got my first wig.  Since it was a hand me down, it is at least 3 shades too dark of a brown, and was too short.  It felt like plastic, and felt like I was wearing a sauna on my head.  I wore it because I had a volunteer position at a day camp for two weeks and did not want to wear my nice new wig in the dirty campground.  Let’s just say that these girls loved to braid hair, and would often walk behind me and braid the ponytail the wig had while I was unaware.  The wig would kind of melt in the 100 degree heat, and would keep the small braids in all day.  Let’s say that that wig was awful, and wearing plastic on your head in the heat is not something I would recommend.  It was itchy, and not something I am willing to repeat.  Now, for all of the good that my human hair wig does, there are some downsides.  Like the fact that this wig is also not super fun to wear while it is really hot out.  It also is something that you need to keep better care of than your normal hair.  This hair isn’t growing back, and from time to time this hair may need to be sent in to be supplemented.  

Now, wearing a wig is a decision that needs to be made by each individual person.  I personally, was all for a wig in the beginning.  However, I have grown to accept my alopecia, and are much more comfortable in a beanie, or other hat.  While I may like my hats, I do still wear my wig at times.  I will wear my wig out to family events, days out with friends, and when I go to (most) classes.  Now, there are some people out there who are more use to me bald / in a beanie than in a wig.  Some of my friends are like this, along with my brothers.  There is no way that I am wearing my wig 24/7 in my house.  That is too much work, and I would probably go insane doing so.  Every person needs to decide if wigs are for them.  If they are, or not it is a choice that needs to be respected, and not refuted.  If they are more comfortable in a wig, except it, and do not try to push them.  If they want to go out in a scarf, hat, or even bald, except it and do not make them wear a wig.  Every person is different, and deserves the right to their own choice.  

To all of those out there with or without a wig, we support you, and

WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

-Nemo, Tremors and Secret Agent Puppy