Category: That Wig Shop Blog

When asked, should I tell them it’s a wig?

Quite simply, it’s up to you.  Multiple factors may sway you in one direction, such as your mood, audience, the amount of time you have to respond to subsequent questions, or even how you feel physically.  Confidence and embracing your decision to wear a wig play a lot into this decision, and there is no right or wrong here.

It is quite understandable for someone not to want to expose their secret; after all, it is a sensitive topic and could breach other sensitive areas if pushed to delve more deeply into your situation.  Sometimes it just isn’t a good time for you, and that is ok.  On the other hand, your audience may be a group of people in similar situations who could benefit from your experience physically, mentally, and emotionally. Sharing with them could also grow your support group.

For others, embracing the decision to wear wigs includes several different styles and colors, and they change wigs frequently or even daily.  Some even consider their choice of hairpieces similar to a wardrobe accessory. What fun it could be!  Going to your local wig boutique, such as our favorite, https://lnyhairandwigs.com/ would be a great girl evening out experience, just as letting your spouse, children, and friends help you choose your hairpiece(s) could be a tremendous show of support to lift your spirits and give you confidence that you may be lacking.

Whether you have a medical hair loss condition or not, there are other times you may want a better hair, and a wig is a great temporary solution.  Think about weddings, special occasion parties, or just a date night where photos are likely to be taken, and you want a little extra touch to make your even as perfect as possible.  This is about you, your time, and the way you want to be seen and remembered at this moment.

So, what if someone asks the question?  Again, it is entirely up to you!  But, whatever you do, don’t let an interested onlooker take a moment from you, your decision, or your choice, and try to make it about themselves.  This is about you!  It is your moment to shine!

Ultimately the decision is yours!

Is your hair telling you to relax?

Ever look in the mirror and wonder, “What happened to all my beautiful long thick hair?”, “Why can’t I grow my hair as I used to when I was younger?”. Have you ever stopped to think that perhaps stress or a lack of a healthy lifestyle could affect how your hair grows and maintains itself?

Now I know what you’re thinking; everyone goes through stress. How can I avoid something that everyone goes through at one point in their life? Some signs of hair loss that can be stress-related include receding hairlines, bald spots, thinner than regular buns or ponytails, patchy eyebrows, or beards! Your hair can lose about 50 to 100 strands naturally every day. This number goes unnoticed compared to the 100,000 hair follicles on our scalp.

Hair follicles can be pushed into a resting phase caused by stress. Due to the strands being made back, they do not produce new hair strains, leading to hair falling out more quickly. This is called Telogen Effluvium. Pulling out your hair due to stress is called Trichotillomania. While this is also a psychological condition, the phrase “I’m going pull out my hair, I’m so stressed” is quite literal in this situation. Pregnancy is also a factor for hair loss due to the constant changes your body and hormones go through in the short span of some months.

Managing your stress levels can help your keep your hair loss under control. While that may be easier said than done, consulting your local/family doctor can also help with these symptoms.

 Maintaining a healthy balanced diet with foods rich in protein and biotin can promote healthy hair and nail growth. Factoring these foods into your meal plan can be a step in the right direction for your hair recovery journey. Sleep and even participating in relaxation methods like yoga or meditation can help restore and alleviate a stressed-out environment or mind. Another tremendous protective measure for already damaged and thinning hair is lessening the amount of heat and chemicals used on your hair. Using hot water directly on your scalp can dehydrate your scalp, making your hair weaker and more prone to breakage in succession.

When looking at stress and your hair, your body will always give off telltale signs of health issues. The arrival of more greys at an early age can be a sign of stress. Cushing syndrome is when your body produces more stress hormones than usual; this can cause symptoms of brittle hair. Thyroid disease has been linked to indications of thinning hair. Hair loss can also be a sign of protein deficiency, a common problem for most Americans.

Your hair is not only just a protective layer from the sun’s rays, but it can also be an indicator for when your health and stress may need to be addressed. Our bodies are aligned to pick up what our needs or wants are. Knowing and seeing the signs can be an early start on your hair recovery. Remember, you can’t be the best when you are not 100% you. If your hair is showing signs that you may relax, you should do just that.

A quick tour through the history of wigs

To understand the lengthy background of wigs and how they’ve played an essential part in our history, we must first travel far into time to understand the Pioneers of wigs themselves.

Ancient Egyptians were some of the first people to create wigs. Hair and wigs during those times established a sort of social standing. At the same time, practical uses were for protection from the sun’s intense rays on their head, neck, and back. Those of wealthier backgrounds had their material for their wigs made from human hair. As for the lower class, wigs were composed of wool cloths, and palm leaf fibers were woven to resemble hair.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the ability to own a wig was still considered a sign of wealth and status. People who could not afford such a luxury would style their hair to look as wig-like as possible, as was the trend then. The hair for these elaborate wigs was usually taken from rural working people’s heads as they could be compensated (a small amount) for this.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wigs were desired to look more natural and softer in style. Although in France, this was not the case. Victorian-style wigs were becoming popular. These wigs were an expression of who was wealthy, of higher status, and of course, a show of beauty.

However, once the twentieth century arrived, the style of wigs changed significantly. The earlier years in this period were flooded with sleek bobs, classic finger waves, or the popular pin curl look. However, in Black, afro culture, wigs grew immensely popular to allow the person wearing them to create looks without the hassle of taking hours to style and ultimately damage their natural hair in the process. As time went on influential artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin used wigs as a staple of their styling. They created iconic and attractive looks.

During this time, many wigs were handmade until Hong Kong was able to make a machine that made wigs from nylon and acrylic. This invention was able to mass-produce wigs. As a result, hairpieces became much more accessible and affordable, so began the renaissance age for Wigs.

As time progressed, wigs became more of a necessity versus a fashion choice.

Now, wigs have become helpful for people facing thinning or damaged hair and those affected by diseases that cause hair loss symptoms. In addition, the stigma of wearing wigs has long washed off. No more do we attach a financial bracket on those wearing wigs. While wig styles have also been ever-evolving, they are now a part of our world where everyone can have one, for necessity or just for their desire to change their look.

It’s Not Just A “Bad Hair Day”

Most memories are attached to something defined. A smell in the air. A song in the background. The touch of someone’s skin. We can all agree, the majority of first impressions are always met with a “Wow your hair looks great! Who did it?” But for most people who are suffering from hair loss, the thought of social gatherings and being met with the questions of hair loss, and the prevention of it can be overwhelming.

Society standards have always been hard to keep up with. Styles come and go faster than most seasons. Having beautiful hair has always been correlated to youthfulness, your health, and sometimes even your social standing.

For many people having healthy hair is a laundry list of positives. Having great hair can help hide unwanted facial features, give you a boost of confidence and a sense of self-care. More importantly, it can help you stand out from the crowd. For some, having healthy hair can give a person a sense of identity.

The beginning stages of hair loss can be a difficult journey of self-awareness. Most diagnoses of hair loss can be traced back to genetics, health, or even stress. The effects of hair loss are devastating to most women and men of all ages. Anxiety, depression, or even social anxiety can be traced back to hair loss.

Social phobia can be named one of the biggest anxieties traced back to hair loss. Turning away from social engagements and causing isolation because of the lack of confidence in your appearance, can lead to anxiety, depression, humiliation, and body-esteem issues. When speaking on some of the physical affliction hair loss can cause, less shielding from the sun’s rays, which may lead to irritation in the scalp, they seem less drastic than the psychological damages.

Studies have found that patients with Alopecia (a condition that causes hair loss in the scalp and body) have reported psychological and emotional damage. Many avoid social situations, which can later then impair close relationships, due to the stigma of judgments from others. Reports have shown, the impact and significant impairment of these emotional stresses can be equivalent to those suffering from chronic skin diseases.

While most reports will show that a large percentage of women develop a more negative body image due to their hair loss; close to 75% of men report that they feel less confident about themselves as well. Other reports show 60% of men have even said they’ve been mocked for their baldness at some point or another.

All in all, hair loss, while to some may not be life-changing; for those who must deal with Alopecia or balding, it can be a drastic change to their everyday social life and mental well-being. The turmoil of trying to find confidence in yourself, while also dealing with the sadness of losing your own identity can lead your psyche down a dark path of isolation. We live in a time when mental health and the treatment of it are widely understood to be damaging to your overall life. It’s now time to understand, sometimes having a bad hair day, is just about having a bad hair day. It can be much bigger than that.

An In-Depth Discussion about Wig Caps and Its Various Types

Today we are going to discuss wig caps; the cap is the foundation of the wig no matter what type of hair it has on it is, synthetic, blended, or human. The two are separate selections however one should take both into consideration to make the proper selection.

There are many types of wig caps to choose from. Sometimes people will make their choices based on price, need, or aesthetic function. Keep in mind, this is a conversation about wig caps only and not the various hair types that may be attached. First today, we will discuss Machined wig caps.

Machined

A machined wig cap is just that, it is made entirely by machine with no handcrafting at all. It is also referred to as an open cap and in many highly textured styles, some may also refer to them as a perma-tease cap. The most significant advantage is that the machined cap is the most economical of all wig types. Being that they are also made from wefts they tend to have a good bit of elasticity allowing for some stretch and making it more comfortable for the wearers who are slightly above or below average head size. Another advantage to a machine-made cap, due to the way the wefts are bound together, is that it creates a lot of open area for ventilation allowing for air to flow more freely and thus reducing the amount of heat emanating from the head because of the open ventilated space.

The most significant downside to a machined cap is that it lacks intricacy of any type. Meaning, if you are not wearing bangs or some sort of front fringe it is often easy for others to see the front banding across the forehead.

Front Lace

The front lace wig cap is one that is made with lace starting at the front hairline, moving back toward the crown, and down to each temple. The most significant advantage to front lace is that when the lace color is somewhat close to the wearer’s skin tone it creates an almost invisible transition from skin to wig at the hairline. This is thought desirable by most wig wearers. The amount of lace used on the top just behind the hairline and in front of the crown varies by the design of each individual wig, wig maker, or mass manufacturer. The remaining areas on a front lace wig are typically machined using banded hair wefts. The wefts on the remaining pieces of the cap will be either open or closed in those areas using a material of the makers choice typically some type of stretchy polyester or nylon. One of the most beneficial points of wearing a front lace wig is that it is when worn properly and in the appropriate color, a much more non-detectible piece than in a fully machined wig. Using machine-made weftings in the remaining areas of the cap behind the hairline will keep it more economical than the full lace alternative which we will discuss next.

The major drawback of front lace wigs is that they can only truly be parted, for a natural look, in the lace areas of the front and back towards the crown.

There are many variations of a front lace wig, some will even have what is called a lace part giving you a one to two-inch area within the top or crown in which to part freely while all other areas would be machine wefted in order to keep the cost down. This also applies to a mono crown where the crown section gives you the free parting while all other areas of the wig will be machine wefted.

Front Lace / Monofilament Top

It is often common for a front lace wig to have a monofilament top behind the front lace. The difference between lace and monofilament varies by product, however, the typical commonality is that the monofilament tends to be a much firmer material giving the same look like lace.

Full Lace

A full lace cap is just that, the entire wig cap is made of some sort of lace and is completely hand-tied. Often you will find a sturdier, firmer type of lace in the front or even a monofilament top behind the front hairline. The sides are usually made of some type of stretch lace material to give flexibility and comfort. The diameter of the types of lace used will determine the amount of density or lack thereof, that can be attached to the wig cap in whatever form, synthetic or human hair, the wearer desires. This is typically the lightest, most comfortable, and most natural-looking base designs found. When the wig cap is coordinated to match the wearers’ skin tone it is practically undetectable throughout the entire head.

The only downside found with a full lace wig cap is that it’s the most expensive to produce and requires the most amount of time to complete, however, it is often well worth the wait!