Category Archives: Hair Replacement

Hair replacement systems for women versus Human hair wigs

Deciding what the best solution is for your hair loss is a very personal process which can depend on a number of factors, for instance:

  • The type of hair loss you have
    Is it patchy, overall, thinning, or receding?
  • The extent of your hair loss
    It can be mild thinning to complete baldness
  • Whether your hair is growing back or not
  • Your age
  • What type of activities you like to take part in
    Are you a sporty person, an outdoor enthusiast, or are you engaged in a regular round of social events?
  • Whether you have a partner or not and want to look your best for them all the time
  • Whether you want a 24/7 solution or are happy with a temporary one

FrancescaAll these factors and more may be relevant to your choice and it’s important to understand how the different methods of attachment and different approaches to wearing the various types of wigs and hair systems can be accommodated into your lifestyle and daily routines.

The choice is often confused by perceptions that may be out of date or skewed by images of men’s wigs and hair pieces – which seem to be more prevalent in the media than women’s ones – or by cheap “glamour” wigs.

Cover up or disguise?

Fundamentally there are two approaches:

  • To cover up the hair loss completely – which is basically what full wigs do – by hiding the existing hair (if any) completely.
  • To disguise the problem by adding new hair to the existing hair and blending the two types together.

Of course it’s not entirely black and white, and there are examples of partial coverage from both sides of the spectrum, but this can be a good way to think about them initially.

Activity types – matching your hair to what you like doing

If you are the sort of person who regularly goes running, or swimming, or plays a lot of sports then that may be a major factor in your choice. If you want something that will be secure and easily washable and will allow you to look good at the same time then a hair system is likely to be the best choice, unless you are happy to be seen removing a wig before taking part and replacing it later.

Alternatively if you are more of a social person and regularly attend functions or meet friends and want to swap looks and styles easily, then a wig or selection of wigs may give you a flexibility that suits your lifestyle more than a system.

24/7 or temporary?

JoeleneFor some women what matters is looking and feeling good in specific circumstances while for others it’s an overall feeling of confidence that’s the key consideration. If you are happy to remove a wig when you get home or go to bed then that may suit you best, but if you want to be able to forget about your hair loss and get back to a full-time normal feeling then it’s likely that a hair system will be a far better solution.

Many women, particularly with partners, feel very self-conscious removing a wig as it makes them feel less attractive and “incomplete”, so having a hair system that doesn’t need to be removed in a day-to-day setting helps them to feel fully themselves all the time.

Connecting to your hair

How your chosen solution attaches to your existing hair can also greatly affect your final choice. It’s common to see images of men’s toupees being glued or taped into place on a bald head, but unless you have complete hair loss – Alopecia Totalis – it’s much less common for a woman to have to use such a method. That’s because women usually have some remaining hair, and that can usually be used as a base; although sometimes a much smaller section of hair may be fixed by an adhesive method to cover a receding hairline in a case such as Lichen Planopilaris.

With partial wigs or toppers it is more common in women to use clips to help secure them to your remaining hair, and that method can also be used with clip-in extensions for volume. While with hair systems it is more common to have a method of integrating the new hair into your own hair. That can be by using a mesh system as with our Intralace Systems or by gluing extensions to existing hair as we do with our Medi Connections.

The main question here is what feels secure and comfortable for you. Clips sometimes need adjusting and tape and glues on the scalp can lose their adhesion or sometimes cause irritation. If that is a concern for you then you may well feel better with a system that has more durable connections to your own hair.

Maintenance of your hair choice

Another consideration that may affect your decision is maintenance. Both wigs and hair systems require looking after, but with wigs it’s down to you to keep them clean and well conditioned, whereas with a hair system they can normally be washed as a normal part of your daily routine, while there are other aspects of keeping them well maintained that the salon will do for you at regular visits. In the case of systems that are connected to your own hair these will need adjustment as your hair grows – otherwise the system will gradually become loose.

Both wigs and hair system will wear out in time, and generally speaking the more you pay for them the longer they will last.

Costs

Good hair systems and regular maintenance are not cheap – although compared to regular trips to the hairdressers they may not be too much more. Wigs have improved in quality and appearance in the last couple of decades but good ones are also not cheap, and if you want to have more than one for changing styles then they soon add up. So overall costs may be quite similar and it will ultimately depend on what you think is acceptable in terms of appearance and realism.

The final decision

Now we have to declare that we’re biased. We don’t make conventional wigs, although our Intralace Freewear systems are perhaps closer to wigs than to systems in some ways. We think our systems, along with their associated hair partings and fringes, which we’ve developed and refined over four decades (and which are even patented in the US) are often the most suitable solutions for the many women who come to us for help.

However we’re fully aware that there is no universal solution that suits everyone and we’ll always try to advise our clients on what best for them – not for us. We won’t ever pressure you into something that you don’t feel is right for your situation. The final choice is yours after you’ve explored all the options. Come and talk to us and let’s explore those options together.

Tel: 0208 741 8224 or use any of our UK contact forms for:
London
Manchester
Edinburgh
Midlands (Solihul)
Bristol
Southampton

 

Androgenic alopecia, or pattern baldness, doesn’t just happen to men. A considerable number of women throughout the world have the condition, which is mainly caused by genetic factors. This means that you can inherit androgenic alopecia from your mother, father or their parents, and there isn’t much you can do to stop it happening.

What many women with pattern baldness choose to do, however, is to take control of their hair loss through hair replacement systems. Developed as an alternative to human hair wigs, the following hair replacement systems provide bespoke and personally tailored solutions to help you manage your hair loss and take back control of how you look.

• Medi Connections. This is a hair replacement system designed for people who have experienced fine or thinning hair. This can include women in the early stages of androgenic alopecia. The system uses ultra-fine, light hair extensions to cover areas where hair is lost or thinning, and generally improve the volume and thickness of hair.

• The Intralace System. This system again uses light, fine hair extensions to cover and disguise hair loss, but on a larger scale. It can be integrated with your existing hair to create a natural, healthy look.

After getting a formal diagnosis of your hair loss condition from your doctor, you may be recommended treatment such as medication.

However, with some conditions, treatment of a medical kind is not needed and you simply need to wait for the hair to grow back. For example, hair that falls out after childbirth – the trauma on the body causes hair loss – will generally grow again between six months and two years later.

Regrowth is also expected when hair is lost due to illness, fever, radiation therapy or major surgery, starting when the illness or therapy ends.

It can be a comfort to some people with hair loss to know that their hair will eventually grow back on its own, but what about while you are waiting for it to happen? Hair loss can seriously damage your self-esteem and confidence in your appearance, negatively affecting the way you interact with the world and your home and work life.

Many female hair loss sufferers choose to wear human hair wigs, hats or scarves to disguise their hair loss whilst waiting for the hair to grow. If you have been told by your doctor that your hair may take a long time to return, you could also consider hair replacement treatments which use natural hair extensions to cover bald patches and thinning hair.

If you have decided to choose a wig as a way to manage your hair loss, you are likely to be faced with a lot of decisions before you find the right one for you. Wigs have moved on a great deal in the last few years, meaning that it is no longer a case of ‘one type suits all’.

You can now find wigs in a wide range of different styles, colours and materials, so there should be something available to suit you. Even better, you can get wigs that are personally tailored to you, so they look completely natural right from the start.

The first choice you will have to make when choosing a wig is between synthetic and human hair wigs. To help you choose, here are the pros and cons of each:

Human hair wigs

Pros: They look very natural, can be styled just as you like, and you can generally use them for up to a year.

Cons: Human hair wigs are more expensive than other varieties (due to how natural they look) and it can sometimes be tricky to get the hang of styling them yourself.

Synthetic wigs

Pros: They are less expensive than other varieties, are colour-fast, and come pre-styled. This means you don’t have to style them yourself, as they stay in shape even after washing.

Cons: You can’t change the colour or style of synthetic wigs, they sometimes look false or over-shiny, they can be damaged by heat and they don’t last very long.

Female hair loss can be extremely difficult to come to terms with, as it represents a drastic change to your body and your appearance. Losing your hair can play havoc with your self-esteem and your confidence in dealing with the world.

The psychological and emotional effects of hair loss make many women feel desperate for their hair to grow back, something that can sometimes take a long time. It can often feel like you’re putting your life on hold whilst you wait for normal hair growth to start again.

To help you counter the feelings of frustration and impatience whilst waiting for hair to grow back, it is worth considering hair replacement systems. There are many advanced options available for hair loss sufferers these days, all designed to cover and disguise hair thinning or loss and make you feel like yourself again.

Hair replacement treatments such as the Intralace system or Medi Connections involve the use of natural-looking hair extensions tailored to your hair, which are integrated into any remaining hair so seamlessly that no one would even guess that they aren’t real. As well as being able to wash and style your hair as normal, you can sleep, exercise and even dance in these extensions with complete confidence.

As a woman, losing your hair can be devastating to your self-esteem and your confidence in your looks. However, there are products and solutions available nowadays to allow you to manage your hair loss, whether you want to cover it up or not. These solutions are designed to help you feel like yourself again, until your hair begins to grow back.

There are two main types of non-surgical hair replacement solutions available for female hair loss sufferers – human hair wigs or hair replacement treatments involving hair extensions. The benefits of both of these solutions are detailed below.

Human hair wigs

Human hair wigs have come a long way in the last few years. From ridiculous, artificial-looking hair pieces that were obviously not the wearer’s natural hair, these wigs have become natural-looking, comfortable and secure to wear. They are also customisable and available in a vast range of styles, colours and hair thicknesses, so that the wearer can find something that suits them perfectly.

Hair replacement treatments

These treatments don’t just involve normal hair extensions (which often look fake and tacky); they use natural-looking, fine extensions designed to blend into existing hair to thicken it and cover bald patches. The benefit of these solutions is that you don’t have to put them on and off every day, so you can wash and style your hair as normal and generally just get on with your life.